State Department Issues Notice of Reports to Congress on Iran Counter-Proliferation

The State Department issued notices of its report to Congress under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act, which requires the State and Treasury Departments to assess where Iran is buying sensitive materials for its nuclear program and which sectors of its economy are being controlled by the country’s military.

In its first assessment from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2016, the State Department said Iran was not using certain materials described in the IFCA “as a medium for barter, swap, or any other exchange” and could not identify a sector of the country’s economy being controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The agency did say, however, that Iran was using certain products in connection with its nuclear program, including “stainless steel 304L tubes, 3 MN40 manganese brazing foil, MN70 manganese brazing foil and stainless steel CrNi60WTi ESR+VAR (chromium, nickel, 60 percent tungsten, titanium, electro-slag remelting, vacuum arc remelting).” Exporters that knowingly sell these items to Iran may be subject to sanctions, the State Department said.

In the second assessment from Jan. 1, 2017, to Dec. 21, 2018, the State Department also said it could not determine whether Iran was using materials mentioned in the IFCA but said the IRGC was controlling the country’s construction sector. The agency said it had not “identified any additional” materials being used in connection with Iran’s nuclear program.