(C) MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME (MTCR):

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 000707 SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/MTR AND EUR/AGS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2032 TAGS: MTCRE PARM PREL MNUC ETTC TSPA KSCA GM SUBJECT: (C) MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME (MTCR): GERMANY FORWARDS EU PROPOSAL FOR IRAN WATCH LIST Classified By: Economic Counselor Douglas B. Neumann, for reasons 1.4 ( b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is an action request -- please see paragraph 5. ¶2. (C) German MFA Export Control Division Desk Officer Ina Schuett passed the following English-language EU proposal to Global Affairs officer April 2. Schuett said the proposal comes from those MTCR partners which are also EU member states. According to her, the EU Council adopted a Common Position to scrutinize the exports of dual-use items to Iran in advance of the adoption of UNSCR 1737 on December 23, ¶2006. The Council decided to create a watch list of dual-use items useful to Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile programs that are otherwise unlisted under any EU export controls. Under the Common Position, EU exporters must apply with their national export control authorities before shipping any goods on the EU watch list to Iran. Customs authorities in EU members states are also instructed to watch for unauthorized shipments of these goods to Iran. In addition to this internal watch list, the EU also complied with UNSCR 1737 by adopting a Common Position in February 2007 to prohibit the export to Iran of all items listed within the MTCR Annex and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) Guidelines. Schuett noted that EU member states, acting under these two Common Positions, are following strict and comprehensive export controls concerning Iran. ¶3. (C) Schuett said that the EU would now like to propose that the MTCR adopt a watch list of dual-use items for Iran, based on those ballistic missile-relevant items on the EU watch list. She added that EU experts prepared the watch list after months of careful analysis and would like input from other MTCR partners' experts. To that end, Germany, as the EU President, submitted the proposal for the watch list to MTCR partners April 2 via the electronic Point of Contact (ePOC). Germany hopes that the MTCR partners will reach consensus on the watch list as quickly as possible. By submitting it in advance of the April 12-13 Reinforced Point of Contact (RPOC) meeting in Paris, Germany hopes that the MTCR partners will be ready to discuss it at the RPOC. Although the partners may suggest slight alterations in wording or technical parameters, Germany expects that they will agree to adopt the watch list. If no consensus is reached, then Germany will press for a silent procedure, enabling those in favor to adopt the watch list on their own and those opposed to review it further. ¶4. (C/REL MTCR) Begin text of English-language EU proposal: Proposal of the EU Member States Participating in the MTCR on MTCR Watch List Iran Introduction At the 2006 Copenhagen Plenary MTCR Partners decided to exercise vigilance against the export to Iran of any items, materials, goods and technology that could contribute to Iran's ballistic missile programs. In Op. 3 of UNSCR 1737 the Security Council decided among others that all states shall take the necessary measures to prevent transfers to Iran of all goods or technology that could contribute to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems, namely those listed in category I and II of the MTCR Annex (with the exception of items covered by Item 19.A.3 of Category II). The EU decided in its Common Position of February 27th 2007 that the export of all MTCR-listed goods to Iran shall be prohibited. Furthermore, the UN Security Council decided in Op. 4 b) of UNSCR 1737 that all states shall take the necessary measures to prevent transfers to Iran of non-listed goods if the state determines that they would contribute to the development of nuclear weapons delivery systems. To strengthen the EU's export controls concerning sensitive non-listed goods, the EU has drafted a watch list of materials and goods that might be of particular interest and utility for Iran's ballistic missile program. The items mentioned in the attached list are believed to deserve special attention of the competent export control authorities with regard to exports to Iran. However, the list of items is for internal use of control authorities only and not for submission to exporters. The items mentioned in the attached list are believed by EU experts to deserve special attention - either because they have been regularly observed in procurement attempts by Iranian end-users of concern, - or because a thorough technical review of the Iranian ballistic programme has led EU experts to the conclusion that they were likely bottlenecks for Iran. In both cases, it means that Iran is not believed to be able to manufacture those items indigenously. These items therefore represent a vulnerability that an export control regime such as the MTCR should take advantage of in the furtherance of its nonproliferation objectives. The EU believes that the list of items attached could help implementing Op. 4 b) of UNSCR. The EU therefore proposes that MTCR Partners should apply utmost vigilance in their national export controls with regard to the goods listed in the Annex with destination Iran. Annex: Ballistic missile related non-listed goods Equipment or material -------------- Fuselage and structural materials -------------- Equipments and materials designed or modified for the manufacturing of airframes for manned or unmanned aircraft and missile structures ¶1. Aluminium and alloys Other than produced by powder technology and following technical note to 1C, sheets to watch particularly, and particularly with tensile strength greater than 415 MPa. ¶2. Aluminium alloys and sheets Alloys with good corrosion resistance are of particular concern (for example nitric acid) ¶3. Special steels Special steels not classified in maraging steels. Tensile strength greater than 1200 MPa ¶4. Special corrosion-resistant steels Limited to steels resistant to Inhibited Red Fuming Nitric Acid or usable for nitric acid tank, foreign availability assumed ¶5. Tungsten and alloys of this metal in solid form (i.e. blocks, cylinders, tubes or ingots) with a purity of 97 percent or higher in any of the following form factors: a) cylinders having a diameter of 120 mm or greater and a length of 50 mm or greater; b) tubes having an inner diameter of 65 mm or greater and a wall thickness of 25 mm or greater and a length of 50 mm or greater; or c) blocks having a size of 120 mm x 120 mm x 50 mm or greater ¶6. Thermal treatment furnaces Temperature greater than 850 degrees Celsius and one dimension greater than 1 m ¶7. Plasma cutting equipment ¶8. Measurement equipment usable for wind tunnel (balance, thermal stream measurement, . . .) ¶9. High pressure air industrial compressor Pressure greater than 100 bars ¶10. Carbon-fiber materials ¶11. Silica (and compounds) fiber ¶12. Fibrous and filamentary materials or prepeg ¶13. Hydroforming machines ¶14. Explosive bolts, flexible linear shaped charges, ball locks, compression springs, acceleration rockets usable for staging mechanisms ¶15. Pure aluminium, Serie 1000 Usable for nitric acid tank ¶16. All Climatic test chamber, temperature shock and vibration test chamber All test chambers without technical thresholds -------------- Propulsion -------------- ¶17. Isocyanates (TDI, MDI, IPDI) and production equipment ¶18. Ammonium nitrate ¶19. Iodine Usable for propulsion ¶20. Non destructive test chambers The X-rays radiography is used to control rocket motors propellant. One dimension of the equipment to be controlled greater than 1 meter -------------- Guidance and navigation -------------- ¶21. Inertial equipment for civil aircraft, satellite, geophysical survey, marine vessels or land vehicle ¶22. Inertial equipment for any application Including equipment certified for civil aircraft, except those specially designed for automotive industry. End text of English-language EU proposal. ¶5. (C) Germany would like to receive input from U.S. export control experts on this proposed watch list, preferably in advance of the April 12-13 RPOC. Post requests compliance with this request. TIMKEN JR