Iran
Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group
About
The Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG) produces a variety of solid-fueled artillery rockets and ballistic missiles, including the Fateh-110.1 According to IISS, SBIG “is believed to have assumed responsibility for solid propellant production in Iran in the mid-1990s.”2 Christoph Bluth asserts that Russian engineers assisted SBIG in the production of long-range solid-fueled missiles.3
SBIG is the target of both UN and U.S. sanctions. In 2006, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned four Chinese companies that allegedly provided SBIG with financial, material and technological support.4 In 2018, the U.S. imposed sanctions on five subordinate companies of SBIG that it claimed contribute to Iran’s ballistic missile program.5 Additionally, the Treasury Department froze the assets of Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabachi, head of SBIG, pursuant to Executive Order 13382.6
Glossary
- Sanctions
- Punitive measures, for example economic in nature, implemented in response to a state's violation of its international obligations.
- Ballistic missile
- A delivery vehicle powered by a liquid or solid fueled rocket that primarily travels in a ballistic (free-fall) trajectory. The flight of a ballistic missile includes three phases: 1) boost phase, where the rocket generates thrust to launch the missile into flight; 2) midcourse phase, where the missile coasts in an arc under the influence of gravity; and 3) terminal phase, in which the missile descends towards its target. Ballistic missiles can be characterized by three key parameters - range, payload, and Circular Error Probable (CEP), or targeting precision. Ballistic missiles are primarily intended for use against ground targets.
Sources
- “Testimony of Pat O’Brien, Assistant Secretary, Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of the Treasury, before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,” Washington, DC, 22 June 2006, www.ustreas.gov.
- Iran’s Ballistic Missile Capabilities: A Net Assessment, The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2010, p. 49.
- Christoph Bluth, Korea (Basingstoke, United Kingdom: Polity, 2008), p. 165.
- “Treasury Designates U.S. and Chinese Companies Supporting Iranian Missile Proliferation,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, 13 June 2006, www.ustreas.gov.
- “US penalizes companies linked to Iran missile programme,” BBC News, 4 January 2018, www.bbc.com.
- “Treasury Designates Iranian Proliferation Individuals, Entities,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, 8 July 2008, www.ustreas.gov.