1999
A senior official from the Iraqi Military Industry Ministry visits Russia. His visit allegedly initiates military cooperation between Russia and Iraq. [NOTE: See April 2000, 16 April 2000, August 2000.]
--Michael Evans, "Saddam Seeks Russian Missile Deal," The Times (London), 14 August 2000.

1999
A North Korean delegation visits Baghdad and meets with Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Rashid. They discuss plans to build a missile factory in Sudan. Rashid is a chief procurer of ballistic missiles for Iraq.
--"Iraq Rumored to Build Missile Factory in Sudan," IPR Strategic Business Information Database, 2 April 2000.

1999
A North Korean delegation visits Baghdad and meets with Iraq's chief engineer, Ra'ad Ismail Jamil. It is suspected that this meeting is a continuation of discussions about Scud missiles dating back to Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Rashid's 1998 visit to Pyongyang.
--William Safire, "Essay; Saddam's Sudan?" The New York Times, 23 March 2000, p. A27, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

1999
According to Arab diplomatic sources in Damascus, Maher Assad, the brother of the Syrian president, makes a secret two-day visit to Baghdad to discuss military cooperation with Iraq. During his visit, he meets with Qusay Hussein, the younger son of Saddam Hussein. Maher Assad appoints a committee of military and intelligence officials headed by Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam to oversee military ties with Iraq.
--Gary C. Gambill, "Syria's Foreign Relations: Iraq," Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, Vol. 3, No. 3 (March 2001), <http://www.meib.org/>.

1999
Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), believes that Iraq forges ahead with preparations for a large missile delivery system. BND estimates that Iraq could potentially construct a missile with a range of 3,000km by 2005.
--Johannes Leithaeuser, Main Frankfurter Allgemeine (Frankfurt), 24 February 2001, in "German Intelligence Service Reports Expansion of Iraqi Weapons Program," FBIS Document EUP20010224000093, 24 February 2001.

1999
Iraq builds a facility for the production of ammonium perchlorate at the Al-Ma'moun fuel manufacturing plant. This chemical is one of the three components necessary for solid fuel production. NEC Engineers Private Limited, a New Delhi-based Indian chemical engineering firm, acts as an overseas buyer for the project. The firm delivers products to Iraq by way of Dubai and Malaysia. [NOTE: NEC Engineers Private Limited is on the German Economics Ministry's list of enterprises known to have been involved in arms proliferation.]
--Johannes Leithaeuser, Main Frankfurter Allgemeine (Frankfurt), 24 February 2001, in "German Intelligence Service Reports Expansion of Iraqi Weapons Program," FBIS Document EUP20010224000093, 24 February 2001.

1999
According to satellite photographs and US intelligence reports, Iraq rebuilds military and industrial sites that were damaged by US and UK air strikes in late 1998.
--Steven Lee Myers, "Signs of Iraqi Arms Buildup Bedevil U.S. Administration," The New York Times, 1 February 2000, p. A1, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

Early 1999
Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic dispatches officials including director Major-General Jovan Cetkovic of Jugoimport, Yugoslavia's defense procurement agency, to Iraq and Libya.
--"Serbia's Grain Trade: Milosevic's Hidden Cash Crop," ICG Balkans Report, No. 93, 5 June 2000.

1999
A large Russian corporation signs a five-year contract with Baghdad to improve Iraq's surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems. The 300 million pounds deal includes the corporation's providing seven advanced SAM-10 missile systems, the improvement of SAM weapons, and the administration of technical assistance and maintenance services. Iraq and Russia agree to set up a high-level Iraqi military and security committee in Baghdad to coordinate the arrangements. Intelligence sources approximate that 15 Russian air-defense specialists are in Iraq helping with the operation of the air-defense system.
--Michael Evans, "Iraq Intent on Buying Air Defence System," The Times (London), 4 August 1999.

Beginning of 1999
Moscow signs agreements with Iraq worth more than 100 million pounds. The contracts guarantee Iraq will receive military equipment from Russia in defiance of UN sanctions. The military equipment will include motor vehicles, ships, and airplanes. The Iraqis express interest in the goods produced at the GAZ Plant, the Sokol Aviation Building Plant, and the Krasnoye Sormovo Shipbuilding Plant. [NOTE: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov denies this report. Ahmed Murtada Ahmed Khalil, Iraq's Transport and Communications Minister who allegedly negotiated the deal along with Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, served from 1987 to 1990 as director of the Technical Research Center at the secret Salman Pak facility on the outskirts of Baghdad.]
--Con Coughlin, "Revealed: Russia's Secret Deal to Re-Arm Saddam," The Sunday Telegraph (London, Internet), 14 February 1999, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/>; Vladimir Dunayev, "Souvenir Photos Saddam Husayn Uses Russian Photos To Keep an Eye on His Neighbors from Space," Moscow Izvestiya, 20 October 1999, p.1, in "Izvestiya Rebuts Space Photos for Iraq Story," FBIS Document FTS19991019001002, 20 October 1999; Con Coughlin and Peter Almond, "The War against Serbia: Milosevic and Saddam Plot Joint Revenge," The Sunday Telegraph (London, Internet), 28 March 1999, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/>; Con Coughlin, "International: Russian Weapons Experts Confirm Baghdad Connection," The Sunday Telegraph (London, Internet), 21 February 1999, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/>; "Russian Foreign Denies Report of Russian-Iraq Deal," Deutsche Press-Agentur, 14 February 1999.

January 1999
Sources at the Iraqi embassy in Jordan say that Iraq will test missiles "similar" to a surface-to-surface missile (SSM). They also claim that Iraq maintained contacts with an unnamed Arab state regarding the possibility of conducting tests on that state's territory.
--Al-Bilad (Beirut), 9 January 1999, p. 9, in "Iraq Said Developing Surface-to-Air Missile," FBIS Document FTS19990113000995, 9 January 1999.

January 1999
The Iran-based Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) says there is a major deployment of SAMs set up with an army brigade, Republican Guard troops, and Ba'ath Party units along the Amara-Basra road that leads to the Kuwait and Saudi borders. In addition, it is estimated that Iraq deploys 25 missiles near the border, possibly all SAMs but maybe some Scuds. Iraq also deploys Scud rockets to the southern provinces of Basra and Nasiriya with more troops for reinforcement.
--"Opposition Group Says Iraqi Troops, Missiles Massing In South," Agence France Presse, 22 January 1999.

January 1999
The Iraqi Civil Defense Department defuses several cruise missiles that US and UK aircrafts dropped on several areas in the Al-Ta'mim Governorate.
--Baghdad Iraq Satellite Channel Television, 30 January 1999, in "Iraq Defuses Cruise Missile, Cluster Bombs," in FBIS Document FTS19990130000628, 30 January 1999.

January 1999
The Iraqi Civil Defense Directorate defuses 58 unexploded missiles and bombs launched by the United States and Britain in Baghdad and the surrounding governorates. According to Civil Defense Director-General Major Qasim Muhammad Nuri, the Iraqis defuse 24 missiles and bombs in Al-Karkh, 15 in Al-Rasafah, one in Al-Qadisiyah, three in Wasit, eight in Al-Basrah, five in Dhi Qar, and two in Babil.
--"Civil Defense Teams Defuses 58 Unexploded Missiles, Bombs," Baghdad INA in Arabic, 4 January 1999, in FBIS Document FTS19990104000762, 4 January 1999.

1 January 1999
According to Iraqi diplomatic sources in Amman, Iraq prepares to announce "an important step" during the annual anniversary of the Iraqi Armed Forces on 6 January. Iraq says that it intends to carry out a host of tests on recently produced intermediate-range missiles.
--"3rd Army Corps Mutiny Reported in South Iraq," Al-Hayah (London) in Arabic, p. 3, in FBIS Document FTS19990101000423, 1 January 1999.

6 January 1999
According to Iraqi Embassy sources in Jordan, Iraq introduces a SAM into military service. Sources say that Iraq will conduct tests on similar missiles and that Iraq has been in contact with an unnamed Arab country regarding carrying out the tests on its territory.
--"Iraq Said Developing Surface-to-Air Missile," Beirut al-Bilad in Arabic, 9 January 1999, p. 9, in FBIS Document FTS19990113000995, 9 January 1999.

10-14 January 1999
Iraq's Transport and Communications Minister Ahmed Murtada Ahmed Khalil visits Moscow with representatives of the Iraqi Military Industrial Commission (MIC). His mission supposedly involves the purchase of Russian-built civilian aircraft, ships, and vehicles. The Iraqi delegation visits a number of Russian defense plants, including three factories in Nizhniy-Novgorod and Fazotron in Moscow. The three factories in Nizhniy-Novgorod manufacture MIG spare parts, while Fazotron develops weapons-control systems. Khalil signs a number of arms contracts that Russian First Deputy Premier Yuri Maslyukov approves himself.
--Con Coughlin, "The Re-Arming of Saddam: Russia and Iraq," The Telegraph (London), 14 February 1999, p. 22.

12 January 1999
A US F-16 warplane fires a missile at an Iraqi early-warning radar. According to Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Mike Doubleday, the early warning radar is linked to at least one SAM installation near Mosul.
--Robert Burns, "Iraq Said to Have Double Defenses," Associated Press (Online), 13 January 1999.

13 January 1999
US officials say that Iraq has nearly doubled the number of SAM batteries in the no-fly zones.
--Robert Burns, "Iraq Said to Have Double Defenses," Associate Press (Online), 13 January 1999.

13 January 1999
According to a US intelligence estimate, Iraq possesses approximately 110 SAM launchers that are spread throughout the country. A senior US official says the locations of 13 of these launchers remain unknown.
--Robert Burns, "Iraq Said to Have Double Defenses," Associated Press (Online), 13 January 1999.

17-23 January 1999
The United States installs Patriot anti-missile defenses at the Incirlik base in Turkey because it fears that Saddam Hussein may escalate the confrontation with the West by launching ballistic missiles. US aircrafts drop three bombs on an anti-aircraft site north of Mosul that had fired upon them.
--Alan Philps, "International: British Air Base on Scud Alert after Iraq 'Fires Missile,'" The Daily Telegraph (London), 29 January 1999.

20 January 1999
Russian Lieutenant General Vadim Kyrpitchinka, a senior advisor to the Russian External Intelligence Service, says there are no means to carry weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq.
--Doha Qatar al-Jazirah Space Channel Television, 20 January 1999, in "Russian Intelligence Official on Iraq, US," FBIS Document FTS19990121000933, 20 January 1999.

22 January 1999
An Iraqi opposition group claims Iraq is amassing troops near the Iraqi borders with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
--"Opposition Group Says Iraqi Troops, Missiles Massing In South," Agence France Presse, 22 January 1999.

28 January 1999
In a statement before the US Senate Armed Services Committee, the Commander in Chief of US Central Command, General Anthony Zinni, says that the destruction of key missile production facilities and specialized equipment in Iraq has set back Iraq's ballistic missile program by one to two years.
--Anthony C. Zinni, "Prepared Statement of General Anthony C. Zinni Commander in Chief U.S. Central Command before the Senate Armed Services Committee," Federal News Service, 28 January 1999.

28 January 1999
The Incirlik air base in southern Turkey goes on alert briefly as a result of a reported potential missile threat from Iraq. [NOTE: Incirlik is home to US and British planes that monitor the "no-fly" zone in northern Iraq under the name "Operation Northern Watch."]
--"Incirlik Alert Was Due to Potential Missile Threat, US Embassy Says," Agence France Presse, 28 January 1999.

29 January 1999
Commenting on an explosion, the Turkish military confirms that no missile attack on Turkey occurred. A US Defense Department spokesman says, "The commander of the 39th wing at Incirlik air base, based on reports of a possible ballistic launch from northern Iraq, initiated standard protection procedures and put the US forces into protective gear." US officials say that there is no proof that an abortive missile launch caused the explosion.
--Alan Philps, "International: British Air Base on Scud Alert after Iraq 'Fires Missile,'" The Daily Telegraph (London), 29 January 1999.

Late January 1999
A Ukrainian delegation visits Iraq. An Iraqi senior diplomat and the representatives of an Iraqi arms company represent Iraq, while the chief executives of two arms manufacturers represent Ukraine. The representatives sign a document that follows up on an agreement made in November 1998. In the first stage of this agreement, Ukraine will sell Iraq engines for tractors, trucks, and heavy vehicles; generators; tires; gears; and electrical circuitry. These items will be declared as agricultural equipment to Customs, although some sources believe the equipment could be put to military use, including for the overhaul of missile launchers and the upgrade of tanks with the help of Ukrainian experts. According to the agreement, Iraq will pay using dollars obtained from oil sales to Ukraine. The transaction is to be handled by a company set up in Amman, Jordan.
--"An Iraq-Ukraine Deal?" Foreign Report, 22 April 1999.

February 1999
Iraqi military intelligence officer Brigadier General Imad Muhammad Ali and Iraqi Transportation and Communication Minister Ahmad Murtada Ahmad participate in talks in Moscow to arrange a Russian arms deal for Iraq.
--"Al-Hayah: Iraq Uses New Missiles, Warned of US Attack," Al-Hayah (London), 14 August 1999, pp. 1, 6, in FBIS Document FTS19990814000465, 14 August 1999.

February 1999
Four members of the Yugoslavian air-defense team spend two days visiting the Iraqi military headquarters in Baghdad.
--John Diamond, "U.S. Intelligence Suspects Yugoslav Military Getting Help from Iraq," Associated Press, 29 March 1999, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

2 February 1999
US planes bomb an Iraqi anti-ship missile launch battery shortly after Iraq moves it into position in the Al Faw Peninsula. Iraq's CSSC-3 anti-ship cruise missiles are an older Russian designed weapon with an approximate range of 96km.
--"U.S. Planes Strike Iraqi Missile Site U.S. Planes Strike Iraqi Anti-ship Missile Site along Persian Gulf," Associated Press (Online), 8 April 1999.

2 February 1999
Lieutenant General Patrick M. Hughes, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, tells the Senate Armed Services Committee that Iraq could acquire hundreds of theater ballistic and cruise missiles by 2020.
--Patrick M. Hughes, "Global Threat and Challenges: The Decades ahead," Senate Armed Service Committee, 2 February 1999.

1999
According to secret NATO Report MC 161/96, Libya has made missiles with a range of 1,000 to 3,000km available to Saddam Hussein which, beginning in the year 2006 or earlier, could target NATO's southern flank with a chemical and biological charge.
--Vladimir Alexe, Bucharest Adevarul, in Romanian, 6 February 1999, p. 2, in "Saddam, Al-Qadhdhafi Said to Aid Romania's Tudor," FBIS Document FTS19990226001534, 6 February 1999.

4 February 1999
US officials say that Iraq begins withdrawing air-defense batteries, artillery, troops, and other material from its northern and southern "no-fly" zones in response to US and British airstrikes.
--Paul Richter and Robin Wright, "Allied Strikes Set Back Iraq Defenses, U.S. Says," Los Angeles Times, 5 February 1999, p. 1.

14 February 1999
Iraq and Russian firm Mapo-MiG discuss creating a new contract to enable Iraq to lease combat-ready planes, as well as to purchase new advanced air-defense batteries and surplus batteries from the Russian army. Top secret talks on these and other subjects take place in Baghdad with officials from the Iraqi Military Industrial Commission (MIC) and a representative of the Russian state-run Rosvooruzheniye Company. An official at Mapo-MiG firmly denies doing business with Iraq, while Avtoexport and the Russian Foreign Ministry both refuse to comment. Western diplomats estimate that the deal with Mapo-MiG is worth more than 60 million pounds.
--Con Coughlin, "The Re-Arming of Saddam: Russia and Iraq," The Sunday Telegraph (London), 14 February 1999, p. 22; Con Coughlin, "International: Russian Weapons Experts Confirm Baghdad Connection," The Sunday Telegraph (London) 21 February 1999, p. 30.

14 February 1999
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov denies the report that Russia has signed a $163 million contract to improve Iraq's air-defense system.
--"Russian Foreign Denies Report of Russia-Iraq Deal," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 14 February 1999.

16 February 1999
US Department of Defense spokesman Kenneth Bacon says that he does not have any proof to confirm the report of a Russian arms deal with Iraq. He says, "It would strike me as a particularly dangerous act on the part of any country to sell weapons to Iraq in violation of the UN arms embargo...."
--Kenneth Bacon, "Defense Department Regular Briefing," Federal News Service, 16 February 1999.

22 February 1999
A Washington report says Russia has sold missiles to Iraq capable of shooting down patrol aircraft over the no-fly zones. According to the Israeli sources, three Russian companies identified as Techmashimport, Vneshtechnika and Mashinoimportinvest, have recently made a weapons deal with Saddam Hussein and have sent some hardware to Iraq.
--Hugo Gurdon, "International: Russians Accused of Re-arming Saddam," The Daily Telegraph (London), 23 February 1999, p. 16.

25 February 1999
Ambassadors of Arab states, including Iraq, complete an official visit to Minsk, Belarus. Belarus provides a draft of a special investment program to each Arab diplomat in an effort to launch mutually beneficial cooperative business endeavors. The program features the Minsk tractor factory (MZKT), the Svyatlahorsk chemical fibers factory, the Belarusian optomechanical enterprise (BelOMO), and the wheeled truck tractors factory.
--Andrey Makhowski, "Arab Diplomats' Visit to Minsk Viewed," Minsk Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta in Russian, 26 February 1999, p. 1, in FBIS Document FTS19990302001404, 26 February 1999.

4 March 1999
British Defense Secretary George Robertson tells the Commons that Iraq uses heavy SSMs as improvised anti-aircraft weapons. A senior defense officer says that Iraq also fires large numbers of missiles at aircraft from primitive versions of multi-launch rocket systems.
--"British Planes in Raids on Iraqi Air Defence System," The Herald, 5 March 1999, p. 3, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

Early March 1999
A delegation of Serb military experts travels to Baghdad to formalize an alliance with Iraq. Serbia's Deputy Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Jovan Djukovic, leads the Serb delegation. Saddam Hussein reportedly agrees to provide Serbia with oil and cash in return for Serbia's assistance in rebuilding Iraqi air defenses. [NOTE: Iraq wants Serbia to provide it with the advanced SA-7 anti-aircraft missile system. Originally built from a Soviet design and upgraded by the Serbs, the SA-7 could seriously threaten allied warplanes. It is believed that Serb technicians are already assisting the Iraqis in preparing air-defense traps for allied warplanes.]
--Con Coughlin and Peter Almond, "The War against Serbia: Milosevic and Saddam Plot Joint Revenge," The Telegraph (London), 28 March 1999, p. 7; Douglas Davis, "Serbia, Iraq Forge Secret Military Pact," The Jerusalem Post, 29 March 1999, p. 1, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

Early March 1999
According to General Sir Charles Guthrie, the chief of the Defense Staff of Britain, a Serb delegation tours Iraqi air-defense sites to learn tactics for downing allied aircraft. Guthrie says that Iraqi tactics have already been put into practice in Serbia, and that the Yugoslav Army is hiding its SAMs as well as constructing dummy SAM sites in an effort to foil NATO bombers. He adds that the Iraqis probably also advised the Serbs to preserve their most potent SAM systems, such as the SAM-6, until a later point in the allied air campaign.
--Michael Evans, "Serbs 'Get Defence Tips from Saddam,'" The Times (London), 1 April 1999.

12 March 1999
Hasan Fahmi Jumah, the Iraqi ambassador to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, says that Iraq is extremely interested in purchasing Belarusian tractors, wood, cellulose, and other products and in return providing Belarus with oil.
--"Envoy Says Iraq Wants Belarusian Products," Minsk Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta in Russian, p. 2, in FBIS Document FTS19990323000572, 23 March 1999.

17 March 1999
The Minsk tractor factory named MTZ considers participation in an enterprise to assemble "Belarus" tractors on Iraqi territory.
--"Industry and Production," Economic Press Review, 17 March 1999.

1999
Iraq receives a shipment of advanced Russian-made radar systems for the SAM-6 missile network. [NOTE: Iraq plans to use the new radar systems within the huge "Mother of Battles" air-defense system it started in 1992. Military sources say this air-defense system consists mainly of French radar systems and short-range Roland-type missiles, in addition to Russian long-range SAM-6 missiles that are dubbed "the three-dimensional radar." However problems, including a lack of some high precision equipment and spare parts, have kept the system frozen since 1995. The main system will be responsible for distributing Roland radar-guided SAM-6 missile batteries to 54 branch systems. Only 22 branch systems have been completed by the engineers and technicians thus far, including two branch systems that they built under the supervision of Hussein Kamil in 1992. The northern and southern air-defense sectors, and the commands of the northern and southern Republican Guard Corps, received advanced Russian-made computer and radar systems but on a smaller scale.]
--"Iraqi Regime Acquires Russian-Made Air Defense System," (Internet) Iraqi National Congress in Arabic, 22 March 1999.

After 23 March 1999
According to a US senior defense official, Yugoslav military experts begin advising Iraq about improvements to its air-defense system.
--"China, Yugoslavs Helping Iraq Fine-tune Attack in No-fly Zone," The Houston Chronicle, 24 February 2001, p. 28.

27 March 1999
A British Foreign Office spokesman says that his office is aware of reports linking Iraqi and Serbian regimes.
--Con Coughlin, "Milosevic in Arms Pact with Saddam EXCLUSIVE," The Telegraph (London), 28 March 1999, p. 1.

April 1999
Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Rashid visits Moscow. He negotiates a deal to purchase satellite intelligence photographs from Russia.
--Con Coughlin, "Iraq to Buy Satellite Intelligence Photos from Russia," The Telegraph (London), 10 October 1999, p. 34.

April 1999
Iraq relocates SSM batteries to the coastal area of the Al Faw Peninsula. These missiles are with a range of nearly 96km.
--William J. Clinton, "Letter to Congressional Leaders on Iraq's Compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions," Public Papers of the Presidents, 19 May 1999.

8 April 1999
A US Navy FA-18 aircraft bombs an Iraqi anti-ship missile site on the Al Faw Peninsula. The bombing is in response to the repositioning of anti-ship cruise missile launchers at the site that aims them towards coalition naval operations and maritime vessels.
--"U.S. Planes Strike Iraqi Missile Site U.S. Planes Strike Iraqi Anti-ship Missile Site along Persian Gulf," Associate Press (Online), 8 April 1999.

13 April 1999
In an interview with Al-Ittihad, the head of Thabit al-Baldawi Aluminum Company says the Iraqi leadership installed the first industrial site for aluminum production in the Dhi Qar Governorate, where there is a high percentage of aluminum and manpower available. The Ur Engineering Industries Company in Dhi Qar is assigned to manufacture aluminum sheets there.
--Al-Ittihad (Baghdad), 13 April 1999, p. 2, in "Iraqi Paper on Aluminum Industry," FBIS Document FTS19990511000360, 13 April 1999.

23 April 1999
According to an Iraqi diplomatic source, Iraq will introduce advanced SAMs into the Iraqi air-defense system during the week of 25April.
--"Iraqi Offices Attacked; New Anti-Aircraft Weapons Due," Al-Hayah (London), p. 2, in FBIS Document FTS19990423000689, 23 April 1999.

1999
Saddam Hussein allegedly transfers the Al Taw'Han, also known as the Fire Ray, mid-range air-to-air missile project technology to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. [NOTE: The Fire Ray is an air-to-combat missile that 21 Brazilian experts from the HOP Company built by the end of the 1980s. Brazilian experts also participated in the development of this project to equip Iraqi supersonic fighter jets.]
--Roberto Godoy, "Saddam Passes Brazilian Missile Technology to Milosevic," Sao Paulo O Estado de Sao Paulo (Internet Version) in Portuguese, 30 April 1999.

April-May 1999
According to the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI), Iraq reinforces its missile concentration in the Jabal Sanam area on the Kuwaiti border by adding a number of modern SSMs with a 25-km-range.
--"SAIRI on Iraqi Reinforcements near Kuwait Border," Al-Sharq al-Awsat in Arabic, p. 4, in FBIS Document FTS19990506000830, 6 May 1999.

May 1999
Iraq resumes Al-Samoud flight testing, including firing a missile into the desert west of Baghdad. [Note: The Al-Samoud is a short-range, liquid fueled ballistic missile with a range less than 150km.]
--Steven Lee Myers, "Flight Tests Show Iraq Has Resumed a Missile Program," The New York Times, 1 July 2000, p. 1; "By 27 June 2000, Iraq conducted 7 more tests; David C. Isby, "Iraq continues tests of Al Samoud SSM," Jane's Missiles And Rockets, 1 August 2000, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

May 1999
A Russian air-defense adviser reportedly is wounded in Iraq during US attacks on Iraqi command and control and air-defense installations in the north.
--"Is Russia Helping Iraq?" Foreign Report, 8 July 1999.

4 May 1999
The Al-Rayah State Company opens its phenol molding production project that will provide raw materials for use in several local industries in Iraq. Military Industrialization Minister Abd-al-Tawwab Abdallah al-Mulla Huwaysh inaugurates the project.
--"Iraqi Economic Media Report: 3-9 May," FBIS Document FTS19990520000183, 25 May 1999.

17-19 May 1999
An Iraqi delegation composed of Iraqi Mining Ministry officers and managers of Iraqi companies visit Omsk in western Siberia. They go to Omsk's largest plants, including the Polyot air-space corporation, the Baranov motor works, and the Mikrokriogentekhnika chemical plant. The delegates also meet with Omskoblresursi enterprise spokesmen. The purpose of their visit is to investigate procurement of oil processing equipment manufactured in Omsk within the framework of the "Sibneftegas-2000" military industrial complex program. The delegation's visit to Omsk is expected to lead to several contracts being signed in the future.
--Aleksandr Korshunov, RIA (Moscow), 19 May 1999, in "Russia: Iraq Mining Ministry Officials End Omsk Visit," FBIS Document FTS19990519001937, 19 May 1999.

21 May 1999
Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad al-Sahhaf says, "Iraq is making preparations for testing a short range missile." He adds, "We have already begun to produce missiles of 150-km-range as well as two missile types named 'Samoud' and 'Ababil.'" He further says that Iraq is ready to test these missiles and that a group of experts have been dispatched to the test site where 150-km-range missiles are ready to be fired.
--"Window to the World of Arms," Tehran Saff in Persian, 21 May 1999, pp. 17-19, in "Tehran Daily on Arms Deals in Middle East," FBIS Document FTS19990708000673, 21 May 1999.

21 May 1999
Romanian authorities admit that a Romanian industrial plant signed an agreement with Iraq in 1995 for cooperation in the field of missile-equipped weapons.
--"Window to the World of Arms," Tehran Saff in Persian, 21 May 1999, pp. 17-19, in "Tehran Daily on Arms Deals in Middle East," FBIS Document FTS19990708000673, 21 May 1999.

24 May 1999
An Iraqi delegation led by Ahmad Murtada Ahmad and a Syrian delegation led by Transportation Minister Mufid Abdul Karim hold talks in Damascus. They discuss means of maintaining cooperation in the areas of land, sea, and railway transport between the two countries, including the monitoring of trucks and general transport means, as well as the maintenance of vehicles, tankers, and trucks.
--"Syrian-Iraqi Transport Talks in Damascus; Syria-Iraq, Economics," Arabic News.Com, 25 May 1999, <http://www.arabicnews.com/>.

25 May 1999
Foreign Report alleges that Saddam Hussein orders Iraqi representatives abroad to accelerate their purchases of equipment for use in making ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.
--Foreign Report (London) in English, 2 June 1999, in "Saddam Rearming, Bin-Ladin Contacts," FBIS Document FTS19990602001704, 2 June 1999.

27 May 1999
Jerry Bradecki, a board president of the Polish Ferrum SA steel work, says his company may sell pipes to Iraq for use in its petroleum industry.
--"Ferrum Steel Work Wants to Increase Exports, Win New Markets," PAP New Wire, 27 May 1999.

31 May 1999
Advanced telecommunications technology with a variety of battlefield and civilian applications is transferred from AT&T to Galaxy New Technology in China through the SC&M Brooks firm in St. Louis. This transfer is known as the Hua Mei project. It is suspected that the Chinese repackaged the same system and sold it to Iraq. [NOTE: According to Insight on the News, the fiber-optic technology sold to Galaxy New Technology is not a weapon itself, but is used to greatly enhance the command and control system linking the Chinese army, navy, and air force. According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, Iraq's air-defense system, code-named "Tiger-Song" by NATO commanders, is an advanced internet for SAM batteries using secure fiber-optic communications. One of the advantages of Tiger-Song is that it allows the Iraqi radar installations not associated with Iraqi missile batteries to lock in on US aircraft and transfer the information to the missile operators through the secure fiber-optic network.]
--Charles Smith, "A Sale to Red China We Will One Day Regret," Insight on the News, 31 May 1999.

1999
According to US Brigadier General David Deptula, Iraq modifies a BM-21 surface-to-surface multiple launch rocket system and converts it into an anti-aircraft system several months before November 1999.
--Vince Crawley, "Iraq is European Command's Longest Conflict since WWII," Defense Week, 22 November 1999, p. 12.

1 July-31 December 1999
The CIA believes that Iraq continues to work on its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program, which involves the conversion of L-29 jet trainer aircraft originally acquired from Eastern Europe. It is suspected that these modified and refurbished L-29s will be used as delivery vehicles for chemical or biological agents.
--"Report by CIA to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions, 1 July through 31 December 1999," Central Intelligence Agency, 31 December 1999.

June-July 1999
Iraqi sources indicate that several Russian experts arrive in Iraq under "an agreement providing for Russian supervision of the re-deployment and modernization of an Iraqi defense network."
--Al-Hayah (London) in Arabic, 14 August 1999, pp. 1, 6, in "Al-Hayah: Iraq Uses New Missiles, Warned of US Attack," FBIS Document FTS19990814000465, 14 August 1999.

8 July 1999
Foreign Report alleges that a team of Russian air-defense experts are stationed in Iraq and provide assistance to Iraq's air-defense network. The team supposedly aids the regular operations of Iraq's air-defense with equipment maintenance and installation as well as combat training and military doctrine. It allegedly supervises the restoration of the main missile and radar maintenance facility in Taji after a US attack damaged it in December 1998.
--"Is Russia Helping Iraq?" Foreign Report, 8 July 1999.

29 or 30 July 1999
At the inauguration ceremony for the Al-'Ubur state aluminum foundry, its director Major General Engineer Mustafa Abd al-Qadir Hasan says the new company is a strategic project for Iraq given the variety of founding techniques that will be employed.
--"First Iraqi Aluminum Foundry Inaugurated," Al-Thawrah (Baghdad) in Arabic, 30 July 1999, p. 3, in "Iraqi Economic Media Report: 30 Jul-4 Aug," FBIS Document FTS19990811000078, 11 August 1999.

August 1999
An Iraqi delegation visits Moscow to attend the annual International Air Show. The delegation finalizes a deal to buy satellite intelligence photographs from Russian firms. [NOTE: Iraq contracts with Russian satellite imagery specialization firm NPO Mashinostroyenia for approximately 200,000 pounds. The company agrees to provide Iraq with 220 high and medium resolution images of Iraq's immediate neighbors. The photographs will enable Saddam Hussein to target his missiles at neighbors.]
--Con Coughlin, "Iraq to Buy Satellite Intelligence Photos from Russia," The Sunday Telegraph (London) in English, 10 October 1999, in FBIS Document FTS19991010000448, 10 October 1999.

August 1999
According to Clinton administration sources, Iraq reconstructs some WMD-related buildings that the United States bombed, although there is no evidence regarding the resumption of its weapons production.
--Robert Burns, "Unseen by U.N. Inspectors, Has Iraq Advanced Weapons Programs?" Associated Press, 7 August 1999.

Early August 1999
Iraqi air-defense commander Staff General Shahin Yashin announces the operation of a new missile system recently obtained by Baghdad. He says that the Iraqi air defenses are now ready to face US and British aircrafts.
--"Al-Hayah: Iraq Uses New Missiles, Warned of US Attack," Al-Hayah (London) in Arabic, 14 August 1999, pp. 1, 6, in FBIS Document FTS19990814000465, 14 August 1999.

4 August 1999
Iraq intensifies its efforts to acquire an updated air-defense system that will counter US and British fighter aircraft, as well as repair the extensive damage they have inflicted on Iraq's existing anti-aircraft network.
--Michael Evans, "Iraq Intent on Buying Air Defence System," The Times (London), 4 August 1999.

13 August 1999
Iraqi air defense fires missiles at a US aircraft on its mission to bomb anti-aircraft batteries and a communications center in the northern Iraq no-fly zone.
--"Al-Hayah: Iraq Uses New Missiles, Warned of US Attack," Al-Hayah (London) in Arabic, 14 August 1999, pp. 1, 6, in FBIS Document FTS19990814000465, 14 August 1999.

17 August 1999
Iraq tracks US planes and fires missiles using radar. Iraq usually fires ballistic missiles without radar guidance.
--Kenneth Bacon, "DOD Daily Briefing," Department of Defense via Federal News Service, 19 August 1999.

1999
Saddam Hussein holds a series of meetings with air-defense and military industrialization officials "to secure a new, effective air-defense system," especially since the daily raids by US aircraft on the no-fly zones in the north and south "have decommissioned" most of the anti-aircraft missile batteries. Brigadier General 'Imad Muhammad 'Ali, an Iraqi military intelligence official, supervises the import of equipment for Iraqi air defenses from different sources, likely including France. Major General Hamid Salih 'Atiyah, an official in the special department for Iraqi Army purchases, visits Pakistan, India, China, and South Africa to conclude deals on weapons, which they claim are "not covered under Security Council resolutions."
--"Al-Hayah: Iraq Uses New Missiles, Warned of US Attack," Al-Hayah (London) in Arabic, 14 August 1999, pp. 1, 6, in FBIS Document FTS19990814000465, 14 August 1999.

September 1999
The Iraqi Vice Minister of Military Industry and Ja'afer Dhiya' Ja'afer, an advisor to President Saddam Hussein, meet with the head of the German Industrialist Union, as well as representatives from a number of weapons and spare parts companies in Abu Dhabi. The German delegation says the meeting concerns contracts for goods and medicines that fall within the constraints of the UN's Oil for Food program. However, sources close to the Iraqi Military Industrialization Ministry say the meeting produces an agreement for the German company Vaughn to equip Iraq with spare parts for 250 broken vehicles that will be delivered through a bogus Iraqi firm named Al Rashid Company. Major General Walid Muhammad al Shaykhail, the director of foreign relations in Iraqi Intelligence, runs the Al Rashid Company's operations in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The spare parts will provide the Iraqi military with the capability to move radar equipment and missile launchers at an average of 10 trucks per battery.
--"German Companies Provide the Regime with Weapon Transport Trucks and Spare Parts," Al-Mutamar, 6 November 2000, p. 2, <http://209.50.252.70/AlMutamar/AlMutamar.htm/>.

September 1999-November 2000
The Iraqi air-defense command receives a shipment of spare parts for missile transport and command vehicles from Germany.
--"German Companies Provide the Regime with Weapon Transport Trucks and Spare Parts," Al-Mutamar, 6 November 2000, p. 2, <http://209.50.252.70/AlMutamar/AlMutamar.htm/>.

September 1999
According to Iraqi opposition sources, a number of officials from the Iraqi military industrial establishment accompany Russian experts in artillery round production on a visit of the Al Qa-Qa factories in Baghdad. They are allegedly part of a secret operation that includes the transport of 17 sealed plastic crates weighing 50kg from the factories to a secret location belonging to the military industrial establishment in the suburbs of Baghdad. Special armed groups accompany the shipments, the contents of which are unknown.
--"New Round of Dismissals of High-Ranking Officers," Al-Mutamar, 4 December 2000, Issue 232, p. 2, <http://209.50.252.70/AlMutamar/AlMutamar.htm/>.

September 1999
A White House report to Congress notes that Iraq carries out activities at sites known to be capable of producing long-range ballistic missiles. The report adds that there is also concern about Iraq's "long-established" covert procurement activities that may include dual-use items with weapons applications.
--Bill Gertz, "Saddam Secretly Making Weapons," The Washington Times, 2 September 1999, p. 2.

September 1999
Saddam Hussein orders that 100 million dinars be allocated to establish a faculty of sciences in Dhi Qar that will be affiliated with Al-Basrah University.
--"Iraqi Economic Media Report: 10-20 September," 24 September 1999, in FBIS Document FTS19990924000924, 24 September 1999.

September 1999
Iraq receives a CD-ROM containing satellite intelligence photographs from Russia to use for targeting its missiles at neighboring countries. This transaction is based on a deal made in August. [Note: See August 1999.]
--Con Coughlin, "Iraq to Buy Satellite Intelligence Photos from Russia," The Sunday Telegraph (London) in English, 10 October 1999, in FBIS Document FTS19991010000448, 10 October 1999.

September 1999
Iraq allegedly hides at least seven complete missile systems and major components. Iraq also allegedly possesses "single-use liquid missile propellant and indigenous missile production" programs that are hidden from inspectors.
--Matthew Campbell, "West Fears Saddam is on Brink of Building Nuclear Missile," The Sunday Times (London), 5 September 1999; Bill Gertz, "Saddam Secretly Making Weapons," The Washington Times, 2 September 1999.

September 1999
The US National Intelligence Council believes that Iraq would possibly threaten the United States with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) in the next 15 years. The Council also believes that Iraq could test a North Korean-type ICBM, which could deliver a several-hundred-kilogram payload to the United States, in the last half of the next decade depending on the level of foreign assistance. However, most intelligence analysts believe that if it began development immediately, Iraq could test an ICBM capable of delivering a lighter payload to the United States in a few years, basing the ICBM on its failed satellite launch vehicle (SLV) or the Taepo Dong-1.
--"Foreign Missile Developments and the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States through 2015," National Intelligence Council, 1 September 1999.

27 September 1999
US intelligence believes that the increasing costs of maintaining and upgrading older SA-2s, SA-3s, and SA-6s will motivate Iraq to upgrade to the far more capable group of Russian SAMs that includes the SA-10s or SA-12 (S-300 family).
--Robert Wall, "Russia's Premier SAMs Seen Proliferating Soon," Aviation Week and Space Technology, 27 September 1999, p. 36.

3-9 October 1999
Russian Fuel and Energy Minister Victor Kalyuzhny encourages Russian companies to ignore trade sanctions and engage in business relations with Iraq.
--Con Coughlin, The Sunday Telegraph (London), 10 October 1999, p. 34, in "Iraq to Buy Satellite Intelligence Photos from Russia," FBIS Document FTS19991010000448, 10 October 1999.

11 October 1999
Saddam Hussein executes the head of the Iraqi intelligence, Rafa Daham al-Tikriti (Saddam's second cousin). Al-Tikriti is accused of leaking Saddam's secret military deals with Russia. The deals include the supply of Russian satellite intelligence photographs to Iraq, as well as spare parts for the Iraqi Air Force and anti-aircraft missile systems. Iraqi intelligence officials are closely involved in arranging the multi-million-pound arms deals.
--Con Coughlin, Sunday Telegraph (London), 17 October 1999, in "Iraq Execution Blamed on Feud over Succession," FBIS Document FTS19991017000743, 17 October 1999.

October 1999
The Russian Prosecutor General's office conducts an investigation at the Russian Space Agency, the Academy of Sciences, the Economics Ministry, and the Atomic Energy Ministry regarding the alleged involvement of former foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov in nuclear arms cooperation with Iraq.
--"Russian Prosecutor Gives Primakov Nuclear All Clear," Moscow Interfax in English, 14 October 1999.

25 October 1999
According to a US military source, US jets patrolling the no-fly zone over northern Iraq bombed a SAMs storage facility south of Mosul.
--"US Jets Attack Iraqi Missile Depot," Associated Press (Online), 25 October 1999.

November 1999
The Pentagon's senior intelligence officer says that Iraq has begun to rebuild military installations that the United States and Britain destroyed last December.
--Steven Lee Myers, "U.S. Thinks Iraq Is Rebuilding Ruined Military Installations," The New York Times, 18 November 1999, p. A6, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

November 1999
Defense Intelligence Agency Director Vice Admiral Thomas Wilson says that Iraqi efforts related to its missile-test programs have been unsuccessful since the end of Desert Fox.
--John Donnelly, "Verbatim: Once Around the World with the DIA Chief," Defense Weekly, 22 November 1999.

24 November-28 November 1999
An Iraqi delegation led by Agriculture Minister Abd al-Illah Hamid Muhammad Salih arrives in Minsk for a working visit. The aim of the visit is to discuss trade and economic cooperation commensurate with UN Security Council resolutions. The visit includes meetings at the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences, and the Belarusian Agriculture and Technical University. During visits to a number of industrial companies, including the Minsk Tractor Works and the Minsk Automobile Works, discussions include the possible shipment of Belarusian tractors and vehicles to Iraq.
--Belapan (Minsk) in Belarusian, 24 November 1999, "Iraqi Delegation in Belarus to Discuss Cooperation," in FBIS Document FTS19991124001453, 24 November 1999.

24 November 1999
Iraqi security personnel discover a truck mounted with four timed rockets located near a Mojahedin-e Khalq camp to the north of Baghdad. One of the rockets explodes at the site, but experts are able to defuse the other three rockets.
--Baghdad Iraq Television Network in Arabic, 25 November 1999, in "Rockets near Mojahedin-e Khalq Base Defused," FBIS Document FTS19991125001116, 25 November 1999.

1999
The Serbian Trepca battery plant in Bujanovac exports "batteries" to Iraq.
--Belgrade Tanjug in English, 3 December 1999, in "Bujanovac Plant Official Says KFOR Hindering Business," FBIS Document FTS19991203000465, 3 December 1999.

December 1999
Tajikistan authorities arrest three Iraqis and one Uzbek in Tajikistan for attempting to smuggle approximately 170 tons of aluminum from the country. Policemen in the Tursunzade district staged this operation that led to the confiscation of seven KamAZ truckloads of aluminum.
--Valery Zhukov, "Four Arrested in Tajikistan for Trying to Smuggle out Metal," TASS, 17 December 1999.

17 December 1999
The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1284, which orders that the United Nations Monitoring Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) replace UNSCOM in Iraq.
--United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, "UNMOVIC: Basic Facts," <http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/>.

18 December 1999
Iraq formally rejects the new arms inspection plan that the UN Security Council adopted on 17 December 1999.
--Barbara Crossette, "Iraq Rejects U.N. Decision to Create New Arms Inspection Plan," The New York Times, 19 December 1999, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/>.

18 December 1999
Iraqi first Deputy Foreign Minister Nuri Al-Wayyis makes an official visit to Ukraine to meet with the Supreme Council chairman and the foreign minister at the Ministry of Industrial Policy. They discuss strengthening their trade and economic relations.
--Nuri al-Wayyis and Yuliya Mostovaya, Zerkalo Nedeli (Kiev) in Russian, 18 December 1999, p. 3, in "Iraqi Official Interviewed on Economic Ties to Ukraine," FBIS Document CEP19991222000057, 18 December 1999.

December 1999
The Iraqi State Mechanical Industries Company calls on industrialists in the Iraqi private sector to manufacture some parts for the Al-Nida tractor. [NOTE: Iraq attempted to modify flatbed trailers suitable for the construction of indigenous mobile missile launchers.]
--Al-Qadisiyah in Arabic, 26 December 1999, p. 4, in "Iraqi Economic Media Report: 16-31 Dec 99," FBIS Document FTS20000107000667, 7 January 2000.

26 December 1999
According to Branislav Milanovic, the Chairman of the Board of Managers of the Yugoslavian Gosa Holding Corporation in Smedervska Palanka, the company initiates negotiations with Iraq regarding the renewal of its exports to Iraq. [NOTE: Gosa produces industrial equipment and vehicles. The company has agreed to produce equipment for fodder plant, silos and large cranes for Russia, as well as silos for Romania. Gosa also exports metallurgy equipment to Russia on a continual basis.]
--Belgrade Tanjug in English, 26 December 1999, in "Gosa's Director Outlines Factory's Role in Reconstruction," FBIS Document FTS19991226000316, 26 December 1999.

	Updated August 2005