User:Hcberkowitz/Sandbox-British support for Iran during the Iran-Iraq war

The British Ministry of Defense (MOD) visited Tehran after the 1979 revolution and contracted a “memorandum of understanding” where the Iranians prepaid 7.5 million for ammunition. Trade relations were severed after the seizure of western hostages, however, the International Military Service (IMS) quietly kept in touch with military leaders through a local Iranian office and Ali Reza Nobari, former head of the Central Bank of Iran, reported that the British Ambassador stated that Britain was willing to sell military equipment to Iran despite the embargo.

Land warfare

Tanks and other armored fighting vehicles

Includes both new equipment, and repair and ammunition to old equipment

Infantry equipment

Includes rifles, handheld rocket launchers like the RPG, useful against both tanks and buildings. Trying to decide if shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles should go here or to Air Defense.

Artillery

Includes multiple rocket launchers, medium and heavy mortars, and other weapons mounted on, or towed by, vehicles

Precision guided munitions for land warfare

Primarily anti-tank guided missiles

Land mines

Main discussion of mines here; naval mines cross-reference to this.

Missile technology

Includes special items like Bull's "Supergun"

Air warfare

A company was prosecuted for sending tyres for spares for Iranian fighter aircraft. Both ICI and Royal Ordnance have confirmed explosives manufactured in Britain ended up with the Iranians; a Scottish company, Allivane, sent artillery fuses to Iran.

Naval warfare

BMARC also provides evidence of British arms going to Iran, in that case via Singapore. Weapons experts have confirmed that guns mounted on patrol boats, photographed in Iran. originated from BMARC. In 1986, Michael Heseltine said the Government knew Oerlikon had offered to send naval guns to Iran via Singapore. This was confirmed by two intelligence reports in 1988. BMARC applied for and obtained UK export licences to send similar guns and naval ammunition to Singapore. "There may be grounds for believing the final destination of naval cannon made by BMARC could well have been Iran," Mr Heseltine.

Details of these arrangements surfaced in March 1995, when the receivership official for Astra released corporate records that gave specifics of orders. The head of Astra said BMARC sent naval guns to Charter Industries of Singapore for onward shipment to Iran