International inspectors have been given permission to take environmental samples from Iran’s Parchin facility (shown in a 2004 satellite image; AFP photo). Iran Won’t Allow Inspections of Military Equipment International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will be allowed to take environmental samples during their upcoming visit to Iran’s Parchin site, but they will be barred from examining military equipment, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Jan. 7)...Full Story

United States Sanctions Chinese, Other Entities for Allegedly Aiding Iranian Weapons Programs By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States has imposed sanctions on nine entities for allegedly aiding Iranian WMD and missile programs, the U.S. State Department announced last week (see GSN, Dec. 1, 2004)...Full Story

China Apparent Source of Albanian Chemical Weapons China was apparently the source of a small stockpile of chemical weapons agent now set to be destroyed in Albania, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Dec. 3, 2004)...Full Story

	Monday, January 10, 2005

United States Sanctions Chinese, Other Entities for Allegedly Aiding Iranian Weapons Programs By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States has imposed sanctions on nine entities for allegedly aiding Iranian WMD and missile programs, the U.S. State Department announced last week (see GSN, Dec. 1, 2004). The sanctioned entities include six Chinese companies and one Chinese national — Beijing Alite Technologies Co., China Aero-Technology Import Export Corp., China Great Wall Industry Corp., China North Industry Corp., Wha Cheong Tai Co., Zibo Chemet Equipment Corp. and national Q.C. Chen (see GSN, Dec. 9, 2004). The Taiwanese firm Ecoma Enterprise and the North Korean company Paeksan Associated Corp. were also sanctioned. The entities were sanctioned for violating the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 by allegedly transferring to Iran items controlled by one of several multilateral export-control regimes “or otherwise having the potential to make a material contribution” to WMD programs or ballistic and cruise missile programs. The alleged transfers occurred between 1999 and mid-2004, a U.S. State Department official said today. The official refused to further specify when the alleged transfers occurred or detail what items were involved. Under the two-year sanctions, which went into effect late last month, the entities are prohibited from entering into contracts with, or receiving aid from, the U.S. government.  In addition, the sanctions prohibit new licenses from being approved, and they suspend existing licenses, for U.S. exports of controlled, high-technology and military items to the entities. Several of the sanctioned Chinese entities have been punished previously for allegedly aiding Iran, including the China Great Wall Industry Corp., China North Industry Corp. (NORINCO) and Q.C. Chen. The United States has also previously sanctioned North Korean and Taiwanese entities for alleged aid to Tehran’s WMD and missile efforts. China last week called the latest U.S. sanctions “very irresponsible.” “We believe such actions by the United States will not help expand Sino-U.S. cooperation on nonproliferation,” a Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying in a press release. The ministry said that any cases of alleged proliferation by Chinese entities would be prosecuted according to Chinese law.  “If they were taking care of the problem, we wouldn’t have to do this,” the State Department official said of the recent round of sanctions. The State Department also announced last week that sanctions imposed against the Spanish company Telstar had been lifted. The company was sanctioned in September for alleged weapons equipment transfers to Iran (see GSN, Sept. 30, 2004). The sanctions were lifted after Telstar agreed to no longer do business with Iran, the State Department official said. “It was pretty straightforward to reach,” the official said of the agreement. Back to top

Iran Won’t Allow Inspections of Military Equipment International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will be allowed to take environmental samples during their upcoming visit to Iran’s Parchin site, but they will be barred from examining military equipment, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Jan. 7). “The discussion is not about visiting military installations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said yesterday. “The IAEA had asked to take environmental samples from the complex’s green spaces,” Asefi said, referring to landscaped areas outside the Parchin facility. The United States suspects Iran has been using the military complex to develop high-explosive components for nuclear weapons. “To show that nothing other than peaceful nuclear activities are carried out in the Islamic Republic of Iran, we agreed to allow the taking of environmental samples from the green spaces in the complex,” Asefi said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Washington Times, Jan. 10). Back to top       U.S. Seeking No-Confidence Vote on ElBaradei The United States has begun seeking support among the 35 members of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors for a vote of no-confidence in agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, Jan. 5). The United States opposes the re-election of ElBaradei, who faces no competition in his campaign for a third term as head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, AP reported. In order to remove ElBaradei, the United States must obtain the support of 12 of the 35 agency board members. “They’ve already started lobbying in the capitals,” one diplomat said. “Whether or not they call for a (no-confidence) vote depends on the support they will get.” Washington can expect support from allies including Canada and Australia, along with possible backing from former Soviet bloc nations, AP reported. Some West European nations have not decided whether to support ElBaradei. “He continues to enjoy our confidence but we support the principle that heads of U.N. organizations should sit only two terms,” one diplomat said. If successful, the United States has a potential candidate to replace ElBaradei, according to the Associated Press. “Member states have asked me to continue to serve,” ElBaradei said. “I see that as confidence in my stewardship” (George Jahn, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 8).  Back to top       No Deadline on North Korea Nuclear Talks, U.S. Says The United States on Saturday denied reports last week that it has set a February deadline for North Korea to state whether it will return to the negotiations on its nuclear program, Reuters reported (see GSN, Jan. 7). “There’s been no such decision,” said State Department spokeswoman Darla Jordan Another U.S. official, however, predicted Pyongyang could only delay a return to negotiations for another two or three months. “I think realistically that the six-party process is on its last legs and if the North continues to refuse to come back to the table, the U.S. will have to consider other options,” he told Reuters (Carol Giacomo, Reuters, Jan. 8). South Korea’s deputy chief delegate to the six-party talks also denied that a deadline had been set. “Such ideas have never been talked about between officials of the U.S. and South Korea,” Cho Tae-yong told the Korea Times. “I don’t believe it is a reasonable theory that the U.S. will stop negotiations right away and opt for a different method in early February, when the security lineup of the second-term Bush administration will take shape” (Ryu Jin, Korea Times, Jan. 7). North Korea announced Saturday it would wait until U.S. President George W. Bush presented a new policy before considering further action, adding it remains committed to a negotiated settlement, Reuters reported. “We will closely follow what Korea policy the second-term Bush administration will shape and react to it,” North Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement Saturday. Analysts said Pyongyang could be preparing to resume negotiations. “North Korea might be thinking now, ‘Hey, there might just be a change in the second Bush administration,’” said Kim Sung-han of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security in Seoul. “What we are hearing from the North is caution,” Kim said. “The best scenario we can anticipate would be that talks could get back on track two or three weeks after Bush’s inauguration” on Jan. 20, he added. One potentially promising sign for North Korea is the expected departure of hard-line U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton, who has traded insults with the regime in Pyongyang, sources told Reuters (Jack Kim, Reuters, Jan. 8). Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) met with officials in Pyongyang today, the official KCNA news agency reported, according to Reuters. Lantos held talks with Yang Hyong Sop, a vice president of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun (Reuters, Jan. 10). Back to top       Limited Indian-Pakistani Conflict Could Escalate to Nuclear War, Study Says A recent study by a Pakistani defense official warns that a limited conventional war between rivals India and Pakistan could escalate to a full nuclear conflict, United Press International reported today (see GSN, Jan. 3). The study, which was presented at a Washington think tank, examines several scenarios in which India launches a limited conflict against Pakistan. Such scenarios include surgical strikes against Pakistani troops and militant camps along the Line of Control that divides the disputed Kashmir region, as well as the crossing of the line by Indian troops, according to UPI. If India were to cross the Line of Control, “Pakistan is not going to sit quiet. It will be an act of war which will not remain limited, and it can escalate to a full-scale war and ultimately it can lead to a nuclear conflict if Pakistan's national interests are threatened,” the Pakistani official said. The report also notes India’s “cold start” strategy, for which eight to 10 combat groups are being prepared, UPI reported. Each group would have as many as 4,000 troops and would be expected to achieve its military objective within 72 hours, before Pakistan could react or call for international aid. Pakistan would not view such an attack as an act of limited war, the defense official said. “For us it will be a full-scale war, and Pakistan will respond with full resources, and if we fail to contain the Indians, the nuclear factor will definitely come in,” the official said (Anwar Iqbal, United Press International/Washington Times, Jan. 10). Back to top       NNSA Considering Consolidating Nuclear Weapons Component Production at Sandia National Laboratories The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration is considering whether to consolidate the production of some nuclear weapons components at a single site, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, Dec. 16, 2004). The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is now responsible for loading tritium into neutron targets, which are used to initiate a nuclear blast. The targets are loaded into larger devices known as neutron generators, which are built at the Sandia National Laboratories. The Energy Department agency is considering whether to move the tritium loading operation from Los Alamos to Sandia, and has begun a required environmental study of the idea, according to AP. “It makes sense to consolidate wherever possible,” agency spokesman Bryan Wilkes said (Associated Press, Jan. 8). Back to top

Botulinum Toxin Missing From Florida Clinics Federal officials are attempting to track down dozens of vials of botulinum toxin sent to 13 customers in South Florida and suspected of causing paralysis in four people who used the substance as a facial-smoothing alternative to Botox, the Palm Beach Post reported Sunday (see GSN, Oct. 17, 2003). Officials could not say how many of the 51 botulinum vials sold in South Florida have been recovered, but one physician said he flushed his purchase down the drain, the Post reported. Palm Beach County Health Director Jean Malecki said Saturday she is “very concerned” by the easy availability of the toxin, which was sold by an Arizona company and marked “not for human use.” “Where is Homeland Security on this? If you can buy the most lethal toxin known to man (botulinum) over the phone, why hasn’t something been done? … $53,000 worth of this stuff could kill a lot of people” (Daugherty/Pacenti, Palm Beach Post, Jan. 9). Back to top       Ricin-Maker Sentenced to Five Years Probation A Washington state man charged with possession of a biological toxin for preparing ricin in his apartment was sentenced Friday in federal court to five years probation, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 14, 2004). Robert Alberg, 37, was arrested in April and had faced up to 10 years in prison. As part of a plea agreement, he admitted making the poison, according to AP (Associated Press, Jan. 8). Back to top       Canada Signs Deal to Develop Anti-Anthrax Inhaler Canada has agreed to pay a U.S. firm $2.9 million to develop an antibiotic inhaler that could be made available for both civilian and military use against anthrax, the Canadian Press reported Saturday (see GSN, Sept. 24, 2002). “The initial target population was military use,” said Maj. Don Van Loon. “However, this is a drug product that will have dual-use potential.” Aradigm Corp. of California has signed a multiyear contract to develop and test the device, which is expected to counter the effects of anthrax and other biological warfare agents. The device is to be based on work by Canadian defense researchers and would contain the antibiotic ciprofloxacin and possibly other drugs as needed, according to Canadian Press. Canadian officials said the device could improve upon oral ciprofloxacin, the existing treatment for airborne anthrax exposure. “We believe that this . . . version will have an enhanced treatment effect,” Van Loon said. “So it is making available to the medical community a potentially better drug” (Stephen Thorne, Canadian Press/CTV.ca, Jan. 8). Back to top

China Apparent Source of Albanian Chemical Weapons China was apparently the source of a small stockpile of chemical weapons agent now set to be destroyed in Albania, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Dec. 3, 2004). The discovery helps to confirm suspicions by U.S. intelligence that China previously supplied chemical weapons technology abroad, the Post reported. Beijing is known to have provided military assistance to Romania, the former Yugoslavia and several Middle Eastern nations in the 1970s and 1980s, U.S. officials said. If China did transfer chemical weapons to such countries, it is unknown if they have been destroyed or forgotten, as was the case for years in Albania, U.S. intelligence analysts said. “The threats turn up in the darndest places,” said Joseph Cirincione, director of the Nonproliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “It illustrates the problem we face with Cold War arsenals, which are still deadly and still large. Just as you have to worry about what a crazy man is thinking in a cave in Afghanistan, you also have to worry about what happens to these weapons in places like Albania and North Korea. It’s not that the Albanians would use them, but a terrorist group could learn of them and then try to pick the low-hanging fruit,” he said. There are also concerns that additional quantities of chemical weapons could be discovered in Albania beyond the 16 tons slated to be destroyed beginning in 2006, according to intelligence analysts. While Albanian defense officials have said they are confident all of the country’s Cold War-era weapons are secure, the government has been unable to find any documentation on the purchase of the known weapons, the Post reported. “It was the height of the Cold War,” said Lt. Col. Muharrim Alba, a senior arms-control specialist with the Albanian Defense Ministry. “Communist countries helped each other. And they didn’t always leave documents to show what they did” (Joby Warrick, Washington Post, Jan. 10). Back to top       Workers Patch Chlorine-Leaking Railroad Car Workers in South Carolina yesterday temporarily sealed a railroad car that had been leaking chlorine gas since an accident last week that killed nine and injured more than 250, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Jan. 7). Work will now begin on transferring the gas to a safer container and removing the damaged railroad cars, said South Carolina Health and Environmental Control Department spokesman Thomas Berry. Federal investigators are examining why a switch mechanism had been set to send an oncoming train into cars parked on a side track, according to AP. The FBI checked for fingerprints on the switch mechanism to determine who may have operated the equipment, said a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board, adding that there were no signs of tampering (Associated Press/Baltimore Sun, Jan. 10). Meanwhile, current and former officials said that more needs to be done to improve the security of trains that carry hazardous chemicals, especially since many cars contain structural weaknesses that make them easier to rupture, the New York Times reported. The National Transportation Safety Board released a report last year warning that more than half of the 60,000 pressurized tanker cars in operation were not built according to current industry standards, according to the Times. The FBI warned in 2002 that al-Qaeda could be seeking to cause train derailments or to blow up tank cars containing toxic materials, the Times reported. “Whether it’s an accident or al-Qaeda, these hazardous materials are very vulnerable and pose a great risk to populated areas,” said Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.). Last week’s accident may improve the chances that local officials in Washington, D.C. would pass a ban on toxic rail shipments through the city, according to the Times. Federal and railroad officials oppose such a ban, and the District of Columbia Council rejected a proposal last year (see GSN, Nov. 23, 2004). The ban is expected to be reconsidered by council members early next month, the Times reported. “Frankly, the horrific news out of South Carolina underscores that these really are nasty chemicals,” Councilwoman Kathy Patterson said, “and that could make a difference with my colleagues, especially given the extent that we are vulnerable here” (Bogdanich/Drew, New York Times, Jan. 9). Back to top

U.S. Believes Canada Likely to Join Missile Defense U.S. officials believe Canada will join the U.S. missile defense program before the end of March, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 18). “We’ve been told that it will be dealt with over the next couple of months,” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci told the Canadian Press. Asked if he expects that Canadian officials will decide to join the program, Cellucci replied, “Yes.” “We continue to hope that Canada makes a positive decision on the missile defense program, which we believe is consistent with the mission of NORAD,” added Cellucci, who is leaving his post this spring (Robert Russo, Canadian Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 9). Back to top       Japan Would Not Use Missile Defense to Intercept Missiles Targeting Other Countries Japan would use a planned missile defense system only to intercept missiles fired at the island nation, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 17, 2004). Tokyo would not intercept missiles passing through Japanese air space or targeting other countries. That would be considered collective self-defense, which is not allowed under Japan’s pacifist constitution, Kyodo News reported (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Jan. 9). Meanwhile, Japan is also considering a U.S. proposal that the two countries conduct joint research to develop an Airborne Laser to shoot down ballistic missiles as part of Washington’s missile defense program, Japanese officials told the Mainichi Shimbun. The laser is designed to fire a laser beam from an airplane at a ballistic missile shortly after it is launched, according to Mainichi (Mainichi Shimbun, Jan. 10). Back to top

South Korean Radioactive Material Smuggling Suspect to Be Tried in Russia This Month A South Korean man is expected to go on trial at the end of this month in Russia on allegations that he tried to smuggle radioactive material into the Russian Far East, Reuters reported today (see GSN, June 3, 2004). “The government is in talks with Russia to speed up the process and ensure he has not been receiving unfair treatment there,” a South Korean Foreign Ministry official told Reuters. “Without any knowledge about Russian rules, he appears to have tried to bring to the country material that was supposed to be used for resources exploitation,” the official added. The suspect was apprehended following the seizure of 13 devices containing uranium 238 early last month in the port of Korsakov, RIA Novosti reported. The material could be used to develop a radiological “dirty bomb,” according to experts (Reuters, Jan. 10).   Back to top

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