| Year/Date |
Exporter |
Item(s) |
Remarks |
| Between 1955 and 1960 |
United States |
Training |
11 Iranian officials attend US Army chemical and biological weapons training courses. |
| 1980s |
Canada, The Netherlands |
Toxin-producing fungus |
An Iranian scientist reportedly makes repeated efforts to acquire different strains of a fungus that produces mycotoxins from Canadian and later Dutch facilities. |
| Mid-1980s |
Private Polish company, run by an Israeli individual |
NBC protective suits |
Mana International Investments, a company registered in Poland and controlled by Israeli businessman Nachum Manbar, supplies Iran with nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) protective suits. |
| 1989 |
Germany |
Growth media |
Iran reportedly purchased growth media for producing mycotoxins. |
| Early 1990s |
Unknown |
Castor beans |
Iran reportedly acquires 120 tons of castor beans, used in the production of the toxin ricin. |
| Spring 1993 |
Switzerland, Germany |
"advanced technology" from Switzerland and "containment equipment" from Germany |
Reports suggest that Iran has succeeded in obtaining advanced technology that can be applied to BW from companies in Switzerland, as well as containment equipment and technology from Germany. |
| February 1997 |
China (National Chemical Import-Export Corporation –Sinochem) and Poly Group, or Polytechnologies, or the Chinese Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (or any of their affiliates) |
BW-related equipment and technology |
These Chinese companies are suspected of illicitly transferring such materials to Iran. |
| 8 December 1998 |
Russia |
Scientific personnel |
According to a New York Times report to Russian scientists and US officials, Iran has allegedly succeeded in recruiting at least five scientists from the former Soviet Union "who once worked in laboratories tied to Moscow's vast germ warfare program." [Note: This claim is refuted by Russian scientists; see 24 January 1999 entry in biological chronology.] |
| 2001 |
Cuba |
Vaccine-related equipment |
The Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in Cuba states that CIGB sold Iran the "production technology for three of the CIGB's most significant accomplishments: a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, IFN-αIIb, and streptokinase." |
| 2001 |
Chinese entities |
CBW equipment |
Several Chinese entities are sanctioned by the Bush administration for selling materials to Iran. The three firms penalized by the sanctions are Liyang Chemical Equipment, the China Machinery and Electric Equipment Import and Export Company, as well as Mr. Q.C. Chen. One of those firms produces glass-lined equipment; however, the reports did not mention if such equipment was transferred to Iran. The State Department statement goes on to say that "Q.C. Chen is already subject to US sanctions. In May 1997, he was among seven Chinese entities sanctioned, pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, for knowingly and materially assisting Iran's chemical weapons program through the transfer of chemical weapons precursor chemicals and/or chemical weapons-related production equipment and technology. These sanctions currently remain in place." |
| 2002 |
Cuba |
Dual-use technology |
According to Undersecretary of State John Bolton, Cuba "has provided dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states." [Note: It is not immediately clear if this incident is separate from the 2001 entry in the biological chronology.] |
| May 2002 |
Chinese, Armenian, and Moldovan entities |
Export-controlled materials |
The Federal Register announces today that two Armenian, two Moldovan, and eight Chinese entities have been sanctioned under the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2002 for transferring equipment and/or technology controlled by multilateral export control regimes. |
