Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Green Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Afghan Journal
Africa Journal
India Insight
Global News Journal
Pakistan: Now or Never?
World Video
Politics
Politics Home
Front Row Washington
Politics Video
Technology
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
Felix Salmon
Breakingviews
George Chen
Bernd Debusmann
Gregg Easterbrook
James Pethokoukis
James Saft
John Wasik
Christopher Whalen
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
The Great Debate
Unstructured Finance
Newsmaker
MuniLand
Money
Money Home
Analyst Research
Global Investing
MuniLand
Reuters Money
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Life & Culture
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Left Field
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Nude Scarlett Johansson Photos Pop Up Online -- FBI's Hot on the Trail
14 Sep 2011
Scarlett Johansson naked pictures leaked on Web
|
14 Sep 2011
Casey Anthony dad says Caylee died of drug overdose
14 Sep 2011
Nicolas Cage awoken by naked man with Fudgesicle
14 Sep 2011
Obama hardens tone in push for his jobs bill
14 Sep 2011
Discussed
153
Al Gore in 24-hour broadcast to convert climate skeptics
128
Number of poor hit record 46 million in 2010
55
Obama confronts jobs ”crisis” with $447 billion plan
Watched
Scarlett's naked pics, Tyler Perry is highest paid
Wed, Sep 14 2011
Crowd lifts burning car, saves motorcycle crash victim
Tue, Sep 13 2011
Buenos Aires Fashion week sizzles
Mon, Aug 22 2011
Exclusive: Belarus suspected of helping Iran skirt sanctions
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Jailed Americans to be freed soon: Ahmadinejad
Tue, Sep 13 2011
Iran stresses its nuclear "rights" in letter to EU
Tue, Sep 13 2011
Russia resists Syria sanctions, Assad forces kill 15
Mon, Sep 12 2011
Iran plugs first nuclear power plant into grid
Sun, Sep 4 2011
Concern rising about Iran military nuclear work: IAEA
Fri, Sep 2 2011
Analysis & Opinion
After Kabul attack, pressure remains on Pakistan
Despite progress since 9/11, government must do more to combat terror finance, experts say
Related Topics
World »
Russia »
United Nations »
A plane flies in the sky in Minsk March 10, 2010. The Belarussian national flag is in the foreground.
Credit: Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS |
Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:42am EDT
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Belarus is the latest country that Western powers suspect of helping Iran skirt U.N. sanctions aimed at preventing it from expanding its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, Western diplomats told Reuters.
If the suspicions are confirmed, the already isolated Belarus would join China, Russia, Syria, North Korea, Turkey and other states Western powers believe have helped Tehran flout U.N. measures since the Security Council adopted its first sanctions resolution against Iran in late 2006.
The suspicions were expected to be raised during a visit by several members of a U.N. panel of experts to Belarus this month to discuss compliance with the U.N. ban on selling Iran nuclear and missile technology, diplomats said.
Tehran, accused by Western powers and their allies of developing a nuclear-weapons capability under the guise of a civilian atomic-energy program, says its nuclear ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of electricity. Iran also dismisses all sanctions against it as illegal.
Diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Belarus is beginning to act as a kind of middleman to help secure the Iranians access to Russian technology.
"Belarus is becoming a key element in Iran's efforts to develop its SSM (surface-to-surface missile) and nuclear capabilities, especially with regard to navigation and guidance products, which are defined as dual-use," a diplomat said.
"Belarus is becoming increasingly important to Iran, due to the drastic reduction in Iran's ability to procure products from countries such as China, Russia and Dubai, which used to be its major sources of such procurement," he said.
Several Western diplomats confirmed his remarks about Iran and Belarus, including the Iranians' interest in navigation and guidance technology for their missile program.
BELARUS IS 'ON OUR RADAR'
Belarus itself has been under U.S. and European Union sanctions since President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, launched a crackdown on protesters in December 2010 following a presidential election that Lukashenko's critics say he rigged.
The country is now in the throes of economic crisis.
One diplomat from a country that has been critical of Iran's nuclear program gave an example of how Belarus has entered into the picture.
He cited intelligence information that a Belarussian businessman named Yuri Charniauski has been trying to secure technology for his company, TM Services, from a Russian firm named Optolink in order to sell it to Iran.
Charniauski, who spoke with Reuters by telephone from Belarus, denied the allegation, saying he had no business dealings with Iran.
"Never," he said, adding that he had neither contacts in nor connections to Iran. "I'm not working for this country ever. ... Optolink has this same information."
Optolink general-director Yuri Korkishko told Reuters that Charniauski's firm, was planning to purchase an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) from Optolink, which Charniauski said is for Belarus' National Technical University. The deal is TM Services' first transaction with Optolink.
Korkishko said TM Services was now Optolink's official distributor in Belarus. He said he was unaware of any links between Iran and Charniauski or his firm but acknowledged that Iran, like Pakistan, has expressed interest in Optolink's products in the past.
"We do not (work) with Iran at all," he said. "Iran, Pakistan -- I am receiving all sorts of requests from them, but we never reply ... We do not need it."
IMUs are a key navigation and guidance component for guided missiles, as well as aircraft, watercraft and spacecraft.
Diplomats said they were interested in hearing what the authorities in Minsk told representatives of the U.N. Security Council's expert panel this month. The panel members were expected to end their visit this week.
"I think it's good that Belarus knows that it's on our radar," one diplomat said. "Hopefully it will think twice about helping Iran break the law."
Russia's U.N. mission in New York did not have a comment when contacted by Reuters. Belarus' U.N. mission did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
As the United Nations, United States and European Union have tightened their sanctions on Iran, its preferred suppliers of nuclear and missile technology in countries like Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates have become increasingly reluctant to do illegal business with Tehran, envoys say.
The diplomats say that as the stranglehold on Iran's nuclear and missile procurement has tightened, so has the monitoring of Iran by Western intelligence agencies, which have become increasingly adept at uncovering illicit attempts by Tehran to import nuclear technology.
"Sanctions are constraining Iran's procurement of items related to prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile activity and thus slowing development of these programs," the Security Council's panel of experts on Iran said in a recent report.
"At the same time, Iran's circumvention of sanctions across all areas, in particular the use of front companies, concealment methods in shipping, financial transactions and the transfer of conventional arms and related materiel, is willful and continuing," said the confidential report.
(Additional reporting by Gleb Stolyarov in Moscow and William Maclean in London; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
(Editing by )
World
Russia
United Nations
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Mobile
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Newsletters
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.