Iran weapons program hampered by western suppliers

LONDON — Problems with western suppliers are frustrating Iran's weapons development program.

Last month, Austrian police raided an office in Vienna that shipped such equipment as air defense components to Teheran. Authorities targeted Dieter Buehrle, chief stockholder and former chief executive officer of the Oerlikon Buehrle Holding Group.

Oerlikon produces short-range air defense systems deployed by Iran. Buehrle also is the sole stockholder of Zurich's Technology Trading Limited, which has supplied Iran with 155 mm artillery barrels and other military equipment.

The Vienna-based magazine Profil reported that the equipment was shipped to Iran through the Slovakian firm ZTS. The company did not obtain an export license.

Defense sources said Iran's problems stem from legal problems by European suppliers, stymied by new export restrictions on weapons components and dual use equipment to Teheran. In some cases, the suppliers have been raided by authorities on suspicion that they violated export laws.

Iran faces supply problems in other locations in the West. In San Diego, a U.S. federal grand jury indicted an Iranian national, Soroosh Homayouni for conspiracy to violate export laws.

Homayouni was a shareholder in the London-based Multicore, investigated seven times by the U.S. Customs Service on suspicion of illegally exporting military equipment to Iran such as components for the F-4, F-5 and F-14. The export of military and dual use items to Iran require a U.S. license.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Export Administration lists people denied export privileges because they have violated regulations concerning Iran.

Iran has embarked on what officials term a self-sufficiency program that would allow the Islamic republic to upgrade and produce aircraft, tanks and missiles. Most of the components for these programs are being supplied by Russia and other members of the former Soviet Union.

In Washington, a Pentagon report said Chinese and Russian companies and government bodies are the main suppliers to the weapons of such countries as Iran, Libya and North Korea. The report identified a dozen countries that are pursuing biological and chemical weapons programs.

"Entities in Russia and China are the main suppliers of NBC [nuclear, biological and chemical] and missile-related equipment and technologies, especially to states of proliferation concern," the report said. "Moreover, some countries that have traditionally be recipients of foreign missile technology are becoming suppliers and are pursuing cooperative missile ventures."

The report said China remains one of the world's key sources for missile-related technologies. "Although China has ratified several key nonproliferation treaties and regimes and made numerous nonproliferation pledges, it likely will continue to take advantage of those ambiguities in those commitments to advance its strategic and economic interests," the report said. "Foreign assistance, particularly from Russia, China and North Korea, continues to have demonstrable effects on missile advances around the world."

In another development, President Bill Clinton has revised U.S. export controls on high performance computers, the sixth revision since 1993. The revision reduces the number of tiers of countries eligible for U.S. computer exports from four to three but maintains export controls on Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Tier 1, comprised of Western Europe and most U.S. and NATO allies, will now be combined with what had been Tier 2, which consisted of South and Central America nations South Korea, Slovenia and most of Africa. Exports without an individual license will be permitted for all computers.

The next tier will comprise all Middle East countries, China India, Pakistan and the former Soviet Union. Exports will be permitted under general license of computers of up to 28,000 MTOPS, or millions of theoretical operations per second.

The last group of countries comprise Iraq, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Cuba, Sudan and Syria. Clinton said the United States will maintain a virtual embargo on computer hardware and technology exports to these countries.