MTAG 5-96: FOLLOW-UP ON AUSTRIAN FIRM'S OFFER TO

S E C R E T VIENNA 003464 SIPDIS FOR ISN/MTR, EUR/AGS, AND EUR/PRA E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2015 TAGS: PARM PREL MNUC ETTC AU MTCRE SUBJECT: MTAG 5-96: FOLLOW-UP ON AUSTRIAN FIRM'S OFFER TO SELL GRAPHITE TO IRANIAN MISSILE PROGRAM (S) REF: A) VIENNA 3325 B) STATE 185786 Classified By: Economic-Political Counselor Gregory E. Phillips for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S/NF) PolUnit Chief and EconUnit Chief followed up recently with Helmut Krehlik, Head of the Ministry of Economy's Export and Import Control Division, and Margit Bruck-Friedrich, Head of the MFA's Export Control Division, to discuss the Daniel Frosch Export (DFE) Industrial Spare Parts company's offer to sell graphite cylinders to an Iranian missile organization subordinate to Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization. Krehlik said that Austrian authorities had stopped the shipment at the Graz Airport. Customs officials were now investigating this shipment, as well as various other shipments over the last two years, to ascertain whether or not DFE Industrial Spare Parts needed licenses for the shipments. Krehlik noted that some of the items, which authorities had seized in the recent action were of U.S. origin. Krehlik thanked the USG for ref B information, adding that collaborative and extremely detailed information from HMG and Israeli officials had also contributed to the GoA's success in stopping the Graz shipment. van Voorst