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In December 2011, a US RQ-170 Sentinel drone went missing in airspace close to the Iran-Afghanistan border.

The Sentinel resurfaced on Iranian TV days later, where it was paraded as a very valuable acquisition. Six years later, an Iranian-made copy of the drone crossed from Syria into Israel, sparking a deadly exchange of fire.

The case was not a one-off. Iran has come to specialise in reverse engineering and boasts a long record of producing cruise missiles, anti-tank weapons, and fighter jet components based on designs from the US, Russia and China.

Irans engineers now enjoy far greater opportunities to test their skills than a solitary captured drone, according to US officials, who believe that Russia is regularly sending captured Western weapons from the battlefields of Ukraine to their increasingly close ally.

The Iranians are masters of reverse engineering, says Michael Knights, a scholar of the Iranian military at US think-tank the Washington Institute. They have been doing it for such a long time and they are very good at it.

Dr Knights has little doubt that Tehrans engineers are busy with the spoils of war from Ukraine. Every time they come into contact with foreign military technology, they reverse engineer it. This is not something they occasionally do. Its something they always do.

The specialism is partly a product of historic circumstances. Before the fall of the Shah and the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran was a close ally of the US and a leading importer of its state-of-the-art hardware. Tehran bought up F-4 Phantom fighter jets in the 1960s, and then became the only foreign owner of the F-14 Tomcat.

But after the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini took power, Iran was cut off from its chief military supplier and relations with the US have remained hostile ever since. Sitting on a stockpile of ageing American weapons, but unable to replace or repair them with new parts, Iran set about building its own versions.

The results shocked the world during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, says Steven Ward, a former CIA analyst and author of Immortal, a history of the Iranian military.

Most observers thought the still state-of-the-art Tomcats would quickly become inoperable without US support, he said. Instead, Iran kept some flying and the Iraqi air force remained wary of coming into contact with the more capable Iranian pilots.

Scarcely plausibly, Iran is still operating a fleet of F-14s, having continuously replaced worn-out parts with home-made products. Analysts believe that the jets in service have been almost completely rebuilt with few of their original parts remaining.

Tehran has shown a preference for US gear over the years, often looking to its imported stockpile for inspiration. From the US-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile came the Toophan replica, which has become a staple of Irans armed forces and a profitable export model.

The BGM-71 gave up another deadly gift that displayed the creativity of Iranian engineers, says Dr Knights. The warhead of the missile was used as a model for a mine that was littered across the roadsides of Iraq during the US invasion, and killed more than 100 US soldiers.

The reverse engineering programme benefits from a military industrial complex that is only behind Turkey and Israel in the wider region, and has a symbiotic relationship with the nations top universities, says Dr Ahmed Hashim, professor of war studies at Deakin University, Australia.

Iran has built a big scientific cadre, and it produces more scientific output than the entire Arab world combined, he said, noting this has taken them to the threshold of nuclear weapons.

There are limitations to Irans programme, analysts note. Tehran has struggled to reverse engineer a jet engine, which is why it is seeking to import Russian jets.

Iran might struggle to produce sophistication to match the most advanced Western weaponry, says Dr Knights, but in many cases it doesnt need to.

A lot of Western military equipment, like a Tomahawk cruise missile, is very over-engineered, he says, noting that Iran has come to specialise in pared-back, lower cost imitations that perform a similar function, often using cheaper carbon fibre material instead of expensive metals.

Concern over Irans ability to replicate Western innovation is likely a constraint on Western aid, according to Dr Kenneth Katzman, a former CIA agent and now an Iran specialist at the Soufan Center think-tank.

That is one reason why the US has held back some of the systems from Ukraine, because there is a risk of capture, reverse engineering, and learning about US capabilities, he says.

Dr Katzman highlights jet fighters and long-range missiles among the sensitive areas where the US has so far rejected Ukrainian pleas.

Combat aircraft are very complex so that would certainly be a concern, and the ATACMS missiles from long range artillery the precision of US weaponry is very good and the US doesnt want to lose its advantage by having things captured.

The US has also withheld advanced drones such as Reapers and Predators, he notes although a Reaper was brought down by a Russian jet over the Black Sea last month.

Dr Knights believes advanced communications technology and anti-tank weapons are likely to be among Irans priorities.

Losing Javelins would probably be the scariest thing, he says. Iran could also seek Himars rockets and other long-range missiles, he adds, but Russia would need a major offensive victory to capture Western air defences stationed in the rear.

The influx of Western tanks is less likely to be of interest to Iran, Dr Knights adds, as Iran has already captured nine M1A1 Abrams tanks widely seen as the worlds most advanced tank from Afghanistan and will have taken them apart down to molecular level.

The burgeoning partnership between Russia and Iran is likely to be an increasing headache for the West as the states pool resources and share knowledge, with support from an extended network including North Korea and China.

Analysts believes the partnership between Russian and Iran is more equal now in Moscows hour of need, and Iran is likely to be handsomely compensated through fighter jets and technical support for its assistance in Ukraine, including swarms of suicide drones.

Irans reverse engineering expertise has benefitted from the regular conflicts it has been involved in, suggests Dr Katzman. Tehran is not directly involved in the Ukraine war, but it could offer a unique opportunity to steal the secrets of Western militaries.

Excerpt from:
Iran's pirate weapons industry is cloning Western military hardware ... - inews

The UK will proscribe Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Security Minister said on Monday, but he did not give a time.

Tom Tugendhat made the comments during a meeting with journalist and activist Vahid Beheshti, who is on the 33rd day of a hunger strike camped on the pavement opposite the UKs Foreign Office.

During Beneshtis meeting with Mr Tugendhat, the minister expressed concerns for activists health.

I explained to Mr Tugendhat that I remain firm in my position, and my concerns over the IRGC's undermining of our values, safety and security are growing every day, the activist said later.

In the end, I asked Mr Tugendhat to pass my message to our Prime Minister, that he must uphold his pledge to proscribe the IRGC, which he made before being elected.

I assured him that I will continue my hunger strike until the IRGC is officially proscribed by the government."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has for months faced pressure from MPs and British Iranians to place the IRGC in the same category as Al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah.

While ministers have announced several rounds of sanctions against Iran, they have stopped short of recognising the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

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Mr Beheshti has said that sanctions are not enough to deter the IRGC from its malign activities at home and abroad.

He said sanctions imposed by the UKs Conservative government against Iran, including officials within the regime, did not go far enough.

He said the effect of such punitive measures would not be felt in the short-term and therefore would be ineffective in sending a powerful message.

Mr Beheshti said that only proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist entity would make it clear to the regime that Britain would no longer consider it a credible authority and its human rights abuses would not be tolerated.

On Friday, day 30 of his hunger strike, he wrote an open letter to Mr Sunak, pleading with him to meet him to discuss his demand.

He said the failure of past British governments to stand up to the Iranian regime's oppression in Iran and abroad has reached a critical level.

Born and raised in Borujerd, a city 400km south-west of Tehran, Mr Beheshti migrated to Britain 24 years ago and has since worked as a journalist and human rights activist.

The tipping point, he said, came in February when the TV station Iran International was forced to close its London studios after journalists received death threats from the Iranian regime.

Updated: March 27, 2023, 8:17 PM

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Tugendhat says UK will proscribe Iran's IRGC but gives no time - The National

Donald Trump has issued a warning for some of the U.S.'s biggest adversaries while accusing them of "dividing up the World."

In a post on Truth Social, the Republican, who is running for president again in 2024, wrote that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea will "respect" the U.S.

Trump earlier posted that a recent clip of China's President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussing a once-in-a-century geopolitical power shift during talks at the Kremlin was a "low point" for the U.S.

In a social-media post on Sunday, Trump wrote: "China, Russia, and Iran, not to mention North Korea and other countries, have placed the U.S. in a very bad and dangerous position. They are dividing up the World as we sit around and let them do it. They no longer respect the U.S., BUT THEY WILL!!!"

On March 21, Presidents Xi and Putin were seen shaking hands while discussing the strength of their alliance. The U.S. has frequently accused China of siding with Russia amid the Ukraine invasion.

"Right now, there are changes, the likes of which we haven't seen for 100 years. And we are the ones driving these changes together," Xi told Putin via an interpreter. Putin responded: "I agree."

Trump reacted negatively to the exchange in a Truth Social post. "President Xi's statement to President Putin, caught on hot mic, was maybe a low point, in history, for the USA," the former president wrote.

Trump has frequently said that countries do not "respect" the U.S. now he is no longer in the White House. He flipped between praising and threatening authoritarian rulers while president.

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Trump said Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he were still president, while citing his positive relationship with Putin. Trump was widely criticized for describing the Russian leader's military tactics before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as "savvy" and "genius."

Trump has also praised North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The Republican said at a September 2018 rally in West Virginia that the pair "fell in love" while exchanging letters.

This positive relationship also saw Trump become the first sitting president to step foot in North Korea to meet its leader in June 2019. However, Trump had threatened to annihilate the country in January 2018.

"North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,'" Trump tweeted. "Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"

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Trump Sends Warning to Russia, China and Iran, Says They 'WILL' Respect Us - Newsweek

Mohammad Javad enters a fashionable shop in well-to-do north Tehran with his mother. For the first time ever he wants a necktie, long banned in Iran as a symbol of Western decadence.

The 27-year-old dentist said he opted for this clothing accessory in hopes of looking his best during the first meeting with his future in-laws.

"In our society, wearing a tie is like wearing a mask before COVID-19 hit," he said as the salesman adjusted his suit. "People would look at you differently because the negative view still remains.

"I think a man looks chic with one. Unfortunately, we Iranians have imposed strange and unnecessary restrictions on ourselves. It'll take time for that to change, but hopefully it will."

Dress rules have stoked strong passions in Iran, especially restrictions on women who have long been required to wear modest clothing and headscarves.

Iran was gripped by unrest, labeled "riots" by the authorities, after the September 16 death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, 22, following her arrest for an alleged violation of the country's strict dress code for women.

Iran banned the tie for men after the 1979 overthrow of the US-backed monarch as a symbol of Western culture. Although it has made a slow comeback since, government officials and most Iranian men continue to shun the cravat.

The upmarket Zagros shop on the capital's Nelson Mandela Boulevard however displays rows of ties in different colors and in wool, cotton or silk.

"We sell around 100 a month," said deputy store manager Mohammad Arjmand, 35. "We import them mostly from Turkey, but some are also made in Iran. "Customers buy them for ceremonies or for work. In this neighborhood, you will find that two out of 10 people wear one. These days more people are wearing ties compared with previous decades."

The recent unrest "had no effect on our sales", said branch manager Ali Fattahi, 38. "Our customers who were wearing ties before still do so and come to us regularly to buy new ones."

Iran's Shiite clerics who came to power in 1979 banned the tie because, in their eyes, it was un-Islamic, a sign of decadence, a symbol of the cross and the quintessence of Western dress imposed by the shah, said one trader who asked not to be identified.

After vanishing for decades, ties reappeared in some shop windows during the era of reformist president Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005.

Today, government ministers, senior civil servants and heads of state-owned companies don't wear ties with their suits and opt for shirts with buttoned, open or Mao collars.

Lawyer Masoud Molapanah said "wearing a tie is certainly not a crime" under the constitution or Islamic sharia law. "But there are dress restrictions in certain places such as on television."

Javad, while choosing his tie, was accompanied by his chador-clad mother, who not only encourages him to wear one but also asked the salesmen to teach her how to tie it properly for her son.

"At one time, some sought to remove it," said the 50-year-old state employee, with a smile. "The reason given was the rejection of any sign of Westernization.

"But then it would have been necessary to also remove the suit and return to the traditional dress worn at the time of the Qajar dynasty" of 1794-1925, she said, adding this "was obviously impossible".

The head of a nearby Pierre Cardin store, Mehran Sharifi, 35, said many young people now are enthusiastic about the necktie.

"Ties give prestige to people -- a lot of people buy them," said this son and grandson of a tailor, pointing to a century-old photograph on the wall of his grandfather wearing a tie. "Customers come to buy suits and we match ties to their choice of clothing. Others buy them as a gift."

In some classy cafes, the black tie or bowtie are part of the uniform of waiters, and doctors in several Tehran districts have also sported ties.

The fashion accessory is almost compulsory for Iranians working at embassies and in some foreign companies, although most remove it when they go out on the street.

Sadeq, 39, employed at the Japanese embassy, said he puts on his tie when he gets to work "because wearing a tie in public is not very common in Iran".

"If you dress up like that and walk in the street, you'll definitely turn a few heads. People will think you're either a foreigner or someone headed to a very formal meeting with foreigners."

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Once banned, now back: Iran sees timid return of neckties - Japan Today

They are the last survivors of an international crisis that hobbled Jimmy Carters presidency and may have cost him re-election. Many are now in their 80s.

With the former president gravely ill in hospice care, some of the 52 Americans who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days are looking back on Mr. Carters legacy with a mix of frustration, sadness and gratitude.

Many feel neglected by the government, which has paid them only about a quarter of the $4.4 million that they were each promised by Congress in 2015, after decades of lobbying for compensation, said their lawyer, V. Thomas Lankford. Some endured physical and mental abuse, including mock executions, during the hostage crisis. About half have died.

Last week, their ordeal was thrust back into the news with the account of a covert effort to delay their release until after the 1980 presidential election in a bid to help the campaign of Mr. Carters Republican challenger, Ronald Reagan.

A former Texas politician, Ben Barnes, told The New York Times that he had toured the Middle East that summer with John B. Connally Jr., the former Texas governor, who told regional leaders that Mr. Reagan would win and give the Iranians a better deal. Mr. Connally, a former Democrat turned Republican, was angling for a cabinet position.

Mr. Barnes, 84, said that he was speaking out now because history needs to know that this happened.

He told The Times that he did not know if the message that Mr. Connally gave to Middle Eastern leaders ever reached the Iranians, or whether it influenced them. Mr. Connally died in 1993. Nor was it clear if Mr. Reagan knew about the trip. Mr. Barnes said Mr. Connally had briefed William J. Casey, the chairman of Mr. Reagans campaign and later the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in an airport lounge after the trip.

The account stirred anger among some of the former hostages, while others dismissed his story of election sabotage as not credible. They are a diverse group that includes former diplomats, retired military officers and academics, and members of both major political parties.

Its nice that Mr. Barnes is trying to soothe his soul during the last years of his life, said Barry Rosen, 79, who was press attach at the embassy in Tehran when it was overrun on Nov. 4, 1979. But for the hostages who went through hell, he has not helped us at all. He has made it just as bad or worse.

Mr. Rosen, who lives in New York, said that Mr. Barnes should have come forward 43 years ago, given the decades of speculation about political interference.

Its the definition of treason, he said, knowing that there was a possibility that the Carter administration might have been able to negotiate us out of Iran earlier.

Kathryn Koob, 84, of Waterloo, Iowa, who was the director of an Iranian-American cultural program when she was taken hostage, said, If somebody wanted to be so cruel as to use us for political gain, thats on their conscience, and they have to deal with it.

That Mr. Connally could have been engaged in political skulduggery was hardly shocking after Watergate, said John W. Limbert, 80, who was a political officer at the embassy when he was taken hostage.

Its basically just confirmation of what we strongly suspected all along, Mr. Limbert said. We should not be surprised about this in American politics people willing to stoop to anything.

He credited Mr. Carter with showing patience during the crisis, even if voters blamed him for mishandling the showdown with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Iranian leader whose followers stormed the embassy after the Carter administration admitted Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the deposed shah of Iran, to the United States for medical treatment.

He basically sacrificed his presidency to get us out alive, Mr. Limbert said.

But Kevin Hermening, a certified financial planner in Mosinee, Wis., who was a Marine Corps sergeant guarding the embassy, said that he did not believe Mr. Barness account and that, even if it were true, the effort would not have influenced his captors.

The Iranians were very clear that they were not going to release us while President Carter was in office, said Mr. Hermening, 63. He was despised by the mullahs and those people who followed the Ayatollah.

And Don Cooke, 68, of Gaithersburg, Md., a retired Foreign Service officer who was vice consul at the embassy, called Mr. Barness account mildly amusing.

It suggested, he said, that there were these other dark forces that were sabotaging our efforts to get these hostages free, and I just dont buy that.

Mr. Cooke still blames Mr. Carter for the crisis. He said the president should have cleared the embassy of its personnel before he admitted the shah or have refused to allow the shah to enter the country.

When Mr. Carter flew to Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany to greet the freed hostages, Mr. Cooke said he snubbed the former president, staying on the phone with his parents as Mr. Carter put a hand on his back. He handed the phone to Mr. Carter, who spoke to his mother.

The reason we were released was because Ronald Reagan was elected president, Mr. Cooke said. The Iranians were clearly afraid of Reagan. No question about that. And they had every right to be.

The hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981, minutes after Mr. Reagan took office.

It was the end of an anguished chapter. Network news anchors had kept nightly counts of how long the hostages had been in captivity, accompanied by martial music and America Held Hostage graphics. People across the country tied yellow ribbons around trees in a show of support for the hostages.

After months of fruitless negotiations, Mr. Carter had authorized a rescue mission in April 1980 that ended in disaster when a helicopter crashed into a plane in the Iranian desert. Eight service members were killed, and their charred bodies were displayed by Iranian officials.

In the end, Mr. Carter did not pull off the pre-election October surprise that some in Mr. Reagans orbit feared. It was only after Mr. Carters defeat that his outgoing administration struck a deal that released billions of dollars of frozen Iranian assets.

Those assets were the weapon that kept us alive, said Mr. Rosen, the former press attach. Referring to Mr. Carter, he added, I think the thing he did and did absolutely right was to free the American hostages without us getting murdered.

The Barnes account cast a new light on these long-ago events, troubling David M. Roeder, a retired colonel who was the deputy Air Force attach at the embassy. Mr. Roeder said that he had repeatedly told his captors that if Mr. Reagan won, they would be dealing with a much tougher person.

I have come to the conclusion perhaps because I want to that hopefully President Reagan was unaware that this was going on, said Mr. Roeder, 83, of Pinehurst, N.C.

But, he added, I gained a great deal more respect for President Carter because Ive seen what he went through with us in captivity.

Original post:
Former Iran Hostages Are Divided on Jimmy Carter and a Sabotage Claim - The New York Times