UANI

Documents leaked in 2010 have provided the world with an inside look at the Iranian threat. These documents (including the Afghan War Logs, the Iraq War Logs, and the Embassy Cables) detail Iran’s nuclear ambitions, its acquisition of North Korean ballistic missiles, its support of terrorism abroad, and its meddling in the affairs of its neighbors. Most importantly, these leaked documents have shed light on a variety of world leaders’ fears of a nuclear-armed Iran. These fears show that it is of dire importance to prevent Iran from creating a nuclear weapon. UANI has created a compendium of the most important leaked findings and quotes.

Key Quotes from World Leaders

Account of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “If Iran developed nuclear weapons, we were facing two scenarios: nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, a regional war, or perhaps both.... If Iran were allowed to develop a nuclear weapon… the US and its allies would face ‘a different world’ in four to five years.” (2010-02-08)

“The danger of letting [Iran’s nuclear program] go on is greater than the danger of stopping it” - Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain (2009-11-04)

“Ahmadinejad is Hitler.” -  cable in which U.A.E. defense chief, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, is quoted as urging the U.S. not to appease Iran. (July 2009)

"He told you to cut off the head of the snake" - Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Adel al-Jubeir regarding Saudi King Abdullah bin Abd's “frequent exhortations to the U.S. to attack Iran and thus put an end to its nuclear weapons program.” (2008-04-20)

“‘Iraq was unnecessary…Iran is necessary.’ [American officials] ‘must be willing to go all the way if need be’” – Saad Hariri, Lebanese Prime Minister (August 2006)

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak paraphrased as saying: “Failure to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran would result in a nuclear arms race in the region as Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia look to acquire nuclear weapons.” (2009-06-02)

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed in conversation with Secretary of State Clinton, paraphrased as saying: “[The] UAE feels threatened by Iran today, even though Iran does not yet have a nuclear capability. [He] asserted that the UAE is even more worried about Iranian intentions than is Israel.” (2009-04-09)

“Tehran ‘wants to restore the Persian empire.’”- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh explaining why it is in the “interest of all of nations” to work with the United States “to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.” (June 2006)

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed paraphrased as saying: “A nuclear-armed Iran would destabilize the Gulf region and possibly allow terrorist access to WMD.” (2005-05-16)

Terrorism and Regional Destabilization

Documents in the 2010 Afghan War Logs leak note substantial Iranian support for insurgents in Afghanistan including:

• Harboring Taliban leaders and rewarding them for killing Afghan soldiers and government officials
• Clandestinely delivering cash to insurgents
• Training Taliban and Hezb-e-Islami (HIG) insurgents
• Providing insurgents with weapons, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and suicide vehicle-born improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs) (Available through The Guardian)

Documents in the 2010 Iraq War Logs leak note substantial Iranian support for insurgents in Iraq including:

• Providing Iraqi insurgents with rockets, bombs, and explosively formed penetrators (EFPs)
• Training Iraqi insurgents to be snipers and use explosives
• Training insurgents who planned to kidnap American soldiers in Iraq
• Training a Shiite militia commander in Iran under the auspices of Hezbollah (Available through The New York Times)

On Iranian interference in Afghanistan: “[A] top Hamid Karzai aide recently revealed to have received sacks of cash from the Iranian government told a senior US diplomat that all sorts of Afghan officials were on Tehran's payroll, including some people nominated for cabinet positions. Omar Daudzai ‘also asserted that in addition to financing Afghan religious leaders, Iran had provided salary support for some [Afghan government] deputy ministers and other officials, including ‘one or two even in the [presidential] palace.’” (2010-02-03)
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“Iranian government officials routinely encourage Parliament to support anti-Coalition policies and to raise anti-American talking points during debates….. According to several contacts, Iran's top policy goals in Parliament are: increasing criticism of civilian casualty incidents caused by Coalition forces, encouraging the Afghan Parliament to ‘legalize’ foreign forces, advocating rights for Shia (including a separate judicial system), promoting ‘Persian culture,’ and limiting Western support to Afghan media. These subjects often dominate parliamentary debates, even when not on the official agenda.” (2009-03-03)

On Iranian interference in Iraq: “An economically dependent and politically subservient Iraq would foster greater strategic depth for Tehran. Iranian president Ahmadinejad has referred to Iraq in recent press statements as ‘a Shia base’ confronting the broader menace perpetrated by those opposed to Iraq's identity and stability… Iran is actively lobbying and recruiting Iraqis of various political stripes and affiliations, including Sunnis, in the run-up to the election to ensure a united Shia-led coalition government. Given the likelihood of a Shia-led victory in the election, Iran appears more concerned about the strength of a united Shia bloc in the post-election phase of government formation.” (2009-11-13)
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“Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told US diplomats that Iran and Syria were providing weapons to insurgent groups within Iraq: “Iran and Syria have both been providing weapons -- including "Strela" (SA-7B) shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles -- to insurgent groups within Iraq… Five members of the Sadrist- affiliated Promise Day Brigade (also linked to the Iranian al Quds force) were captured recently attempting to smuggle such missiles in the false floor of a Toyota Land Cruise.” (2009-09-27)
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“Iranian influence in Iraq remains pervasive, as Tehran manipulates a range of levers to mold Iraq's political, religious, social, and economic landscape…. Iranian efforts are driven by a clear determination to see a sectarian, Shia-dominated government that is weak, disenfranchised from its Arab neighbors, detached from the U.S. security apparatus and strategically dependent on Iran…. While significantly weaker than the Saudis and others on media, the Iranians fund political parties and key individuals (as other neighboring countries do), according to a range of well-informed Iraqi contacts.” (2009-09-24)
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“Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Quds Force (IRGC-QF) officers are active in Iraq, conducting traditional espionage and supporting violent extremists as well as supporting both legitimate and malign Iranian economic and cultural outreach.” (2009-04-24)
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“U.S. diplomats concluded in late 2008 that the government of Armenia had supplied Iran with rockets and machine guns later used to kill American troops in Iraq, according to State Department cables disclosed by WikiLeaks. John D. Negroponte, deputy secretary of state at the time, wrote a December 2008 letter to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan expressing ‘deep concerns about Armenia's transfer of arms to Iran which resulted in the death and injury of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.’ The cable, based on U.S. intelligence, includes the text of a classified letter labeled ‘secret’ from Mr. Negroponte. It says ‘in 2007 some of these weapons were recovered from two Shia militant attacks in which a U.S. soldier was killed and six others were injured in Iraq.’” (December 2008)
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“In late 2007 the US under-secretary of defence [sic] for policy, Eric Edelman, told Karzai that ‘Iranian meddling is getting increasingly lethal.’ The warning came amid reports of the Taliban being provided with training camps inside Iran, explosively formed projectile weapons, and shoulder-held surface-to-air missiles capable of shooting down Nato planes.” (2007-11-10)
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“[O]n January 17, 2006, a group of militants in Iraq was able to buy 50 neuroparalytical projectiles from munitions smugglers. The missiles…can cause neuroparalytic conditions similar to those caused by the venom in snake bites. The identity of the group that bought the 82mm missiles in Ash Shamiyah, central Iraq, was not recorded by intelligence officers. However, the document states: ‘The ammunition came from Iran, via Al Basrah.’” (2006-01-17)
 
On Iranian support of Hezbollah: “The IRC [Iranian Red Crescent] again facilitated the entry of Qods force officers to Lebanon during the Israel-Hezbollah war in summer 2006…. IRC shipments of medical supplies served also to facilitate weapons shipments….IRC had seen missiles in the planes destined for Lebanon when delivering medical supplies to the plane. The plane was allegedly ‘half full’ prior to the arrival of any medical supplies.” (2008-10-23)
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“[Lebanese] Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh decried the establishment of a complete fiber optics network by Hizballah throughout Lebanon…. He cited the Iranian Fund for the Reconstruction of Lebanon as the source of the funding. This same group has been rebuilding roads and bridges since the July 2006 war with Israel, and has been accused before of installing telecommunications lines in parallel with new roads…. Hamadeh highlights the system as a strategic victory for Iran, since it creates an important Iranian outpost in Lebanon, bypassing Syria. He sees the value for the Iranians as strategic, rather than technical or economic.” (2008-04-16)

On Iranian meddling in Yemen: Kuwaiti Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff LTG Ahmed Khalid Al Sabah also “mentioned Kuwaiti understanding that Iran was supporting Shi'a in the Gulf and extremists in Yemen.” (2009-08-02)

On Iranian meddling in Latin America: “Information on the presence, intentions, plans and activities of terrorist groups, facilitators, and support networks - including, but not limited to, Hizballah, Hamas, al-Gama'at al-Islamiya, al-Qa'ida, jihadist media organizations, Iranian state agents or surrogates - in Paraguay, in particular in the Tri-Border Area (TBA).” (2008-03-24)


Iranian Nuclear and Missile Programs

On ballistic missiles: Iran reportedly obtained 19 BM-25 ballistic missiles from North Korea. The missiles have a range of 2,000 miles (the maximum range of Iran’s known missiles is currently 1,200 miles) and are capable of reaching Western Europe to the west and Moscow to the east. The missiles are based on the Russian R-27 variant, used to carry nuclear warheads on Russian submarines during the Cold War. (2010-02-04)

On the Iranian secret facility in Qom: “[IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts] was still trying to understand ... why Iran would build [Qom], scaled as it was for 3,000 centrifuges in contrast to the much larger Natanz facility.” (2009-12-02)


Corporate Smuggling and Malfeasance

Machine tool acquisition: An Iranian proliferator attempted to acquire computer numerically controlled machine tools from the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai-Kia in October 2009. An Iranian missile-related entity had also attempted to procure Hyundai-Kia machine tools through the Turkish company Ak Makina. (2009-12-03)

Namibian uranium mine: The U.S. expressed concern that Iran could obtain uranium from the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia in which it owns a 15 percent stake. (2009-02-26)

Chinese dual-use and military exports: U.S. diplomats “feared that Chinese companies were selling materials to Iran that could be used to build nuclear missiles and other weapons of mass destruction. Chinese-made guns, as well as rocket-propelled grenades and surface-to-air missiles containing Chinese-made components, have all been used against Coalition forces or civilian targets in Iraq, the US claims, while other weapons have been obtained by militants in Afghanistan.” (2008-06-13)

British exports to Iran: “America put enormous pressure on the British government to block deals for aircraft and ships that it feared would be used to transport nuclear materials. One of the companies causing most concern was the London-based Balli Group… The Boeing 747-400 aircraft, owned by a US subsidiary of the Balli Group, were undergoing maintenance in South Korea, but the US had ‘strong reason to believe’ they were bound for Mahan Air.” (February 2008)

Automobiles and Iran’s missile program: Israeli intelligence revealed through open sources that “vehicles made by Mercedes, Fiat, Toyota and Honda are being used by Iranian regime elements associated with the Iranian missile program, including the IRGC and IRGC-Qods Force. Additionally, “two large car manufacturers, Renault and Peugeot, are manufacturing cars in Iran.” (2007-12-13)

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Additional Resources:

New York Times, “Map: Fears of a Nuclear Iran,” November 28, 2010.
New York Times database of US embassy cables related to Iran
The Guardian database of US embassy cables related to Iran