October 5, 2009: In the United States, a Dutch company, and its two principal executives, pled guilty to smuggling aircraft parts, parachutes, and paints and chemicals needed for aircraft maintenance, to Iran. The two Dutch citizens are expected to get probation, because they cooperated with the investigation, and provided valuable information on Iranian arms smuggling efforts. The U.S., and other Western governments, have been having a lot more success, in the past few years, in halting the illegal flow of military equipment to Iran.
Ever since the U.S. embargo was imposed in 1979 (after Iran broke diplomatic protocol by seizing the American embassy), Iran has sought, with some success, to offer big money to smugglers who can beat the embargo and get needed industrial and military equipment. This is a risky business, and American and European prisons are full of Iranians, and other nationals, who tried, and often failed, to procure forbidden goods. The smuggling operations are currently under more scrutiny, and attack, because of Iran's growing nuclear weapons program. But the Iranians simply offer more money, and more smugglers step up to keep the goodies coming.
The U.S. has gotten more aggressive, and successful, at shutting down Iranian smuggling operations. Not just by bribing the smugglers themselves, but also by getting the cooperation of nations the smugglers operate out of. This has been so successful that most of these smugglers no longer feel safe working out of Arab Persian Gulf nations (especially the United Arab Emirates). As a result, more smugglers are operating out of Malaysia, and the U.S. is trying to shut down that activity as well. America also monitors the international banking network, seeking signs of smuggler activity, and leaning on the banks involved, to step back.
