Agencies/Tehran
Iran yesterday inaugurated a plant for producing carbon fibre, which it is banned from importing by international sanctions targeting dual-use materials, the official Irna news agency reported. “Today we are witnessing the fulfilment of a strategic project of the ministry of defence,” Defence Minister Brigadier General Ahmed Vahidi said as he inaugurated the production facility, Irna reported. “We are among 10 nations producing (carbon fibre),” he added. “All of the design- and manufacturing phases of the machinery for carbon fibre production have been carried out in the ministry of defence,” Vahidi added. “Not only the manufacturing technology but the carbon fibre itself was on the list of the sanctioned materials,” he said. The “restrictions challenged us to build advanced defence systems,” Vahidi added, referring to an international embargo against dual-use goods that can be used for conventional weapons and in the nuclear industry. Iran has been slapped by four sets of UN sanctions and additional sanctions by Washington and the European Union over its controversial nuclear programme. Western powers suspect Tehran seeks an atomic weapons capability under the guise of its civilian space and nuclear programmes, a charge it vehemently denies. “Carbon fibre has many uses in defence fields, including in the manufacture of heat shields... the fuselages of solid fuel composite missiles, airplane wings, the fuselage of warplanes and some lightweight weaponry,” Vahidi said.. Carbon fibre can also be used in the nuclear industry, particularly for the rotors of centrifuges to enrich uranium, according to experts. Enriched uranium can be used to produce both the fuel for a nuclear reactor and the fissile material for an atomic warhead. Iran has increased in the past two years the development, testing and unveiling of new “indigenous” military equipment, including missiles, and regularly boasts about developing them with substantial range and capabilities. Western military experts, however, cast doubt over its claims. lIran’s state prosecutor yesterday defended the sentences handed to two Americans who were convicted of illegal entry and espionage. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were each given eight-year jail terms. They were arrested along with a third US citizen, Sarah Shourd, in July 2009 when they crossed the unmarked border from Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The trio said they had been hiking in the area and denied the charges brought against them. “The detained Americans had been charged (with espionage), their charges were thoroughly investigated and proven and eventually convicted by court,” Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejehi told Fars news agency. The state prosecutor rejected reports that the case has been politicised by the judiciary, saying that the court has decided independently and without any political considerations. “Remarks such as the two Americans were held here as hostages (for political reasons) are totally baseless as the judiciary in Iran is and acts totally independent,” Mohseni-Ejehi said. The pair’s lawyer, Massoud Shafei, has already appealed the verdict. Shourd was released in September on health grounds after posting $500,000 in bail and returning to the US. Last week’s verdict came unexpectedly. Earlier this month, Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi expressed hope that the two men would be released.