US sanctions Russian firm for selling arms to Iran
( 2003-09-17 09:48) (Agencies)
The United States said on
Tuesday it imposed sanctions on a Russian company for transferring laser-guided
artillery shells to Iran and it imposed, and immediately waived, broader
sanctions on Russia.
"The United States government has determined that the government of Russia
transferred lethal military equipment to countries determined ... to be state
sponsors of terrorism," the State Department said in the U.S. Federal Register.
While the notice did not identify the equipment, a State Department official
said it was laser-guided artillery shells.
The State Department said it would bar U.S. aid to Russia's Tula Design
Bureau of Instrument Building for one year but that it had decided it was
important to the U.S. national interest to waive broader sanctions on Russia.
In addition to barring U.S. aid to the firm for a year, the State Department
announced further sanctions on Tula including "denial of U.S. Government
procurement for one year and denial of new licenses and other approvals for
exports and imports of defense articles and services for one
year."
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