NCRI – Intelligence online, a newsletter focused on intelligence matters reported on its Dec 12 issue that official French sources have confirmed that Iranian regime’s “Center for Innovation and Technology Cooperation” is using Austria as a hub for its sanctions-busting activities with Iranian diplomatic help. This body is affiliated to the office of the mullahs’ President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The revelation about this office and its sanctions-busting activities was originally made by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in October 2012.
According to the intelligence obtained by the PMOI from inside of Iran, the core of this center’s activities is to explore ways to skirt sanctions. The Director of the center is Hamid-Reza Amirinia and Director of its International Affairs is Ali Morteza Birang.
Based on the PMOI information, this center has activities to skirt sanctions in scores of countries including Italy, Germany, and Austria.
In June 2012 and after implementation of new sanctions, Amirinia made a one-week trip to Austria and had dozens of meetings and visits to different economic locations and commercial companies all of which were confidential. Two Iranians and two Austrians are among covert agents of Hamid-Reza Amirinia in Austria through whom he pursues his activities.
According to the Intelligence Online, a French source pointed out that until recently the activities of the center “were organized without the help of Iranian diplomacy,” in order to steer clear of the usual scrutiny that Iranian diplomats come under.
But the Center has begun working with the Iranian Foreign Ministry. According to the PMOI intelligence, the Iranian regime has established a department called “Department of Technical Cooperation” at the Foreign Ministry and it was decided that any agency involved in skirting sanctions abroad should introduce a liaison to this department for the purpose of making coordination. This representative would then work with the deputy of regime’s embassy in foreign countries to advance the objectives of that agency.
