Global Security Newswire

Iran has sought to circumvent U.N. trade and economic sanctions by using Venezuelan aircraft to deliver missile components to Syria, the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported yesterday, citing Western intelligence agencies (see GSN, May 1).

Sanctions adopted by the U.N. Security Council to pressure Tehran into curbing its nuclear program called for stopping international trade by select Iranian firms, including the industrial group Shahid Bagheri, Agence France-Presse reported.

That firm, however, has used the Venezuelan airline Conviasa to ship computers and missile engine parts to Damascus, according to La Stampa. Caracas has in turn received law enforcement and intelligence training from elite Iranian military forces (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Dec. 21).