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Dubai Is the "Hole in the Net" of Sanctions on Iran
[Telegraph-UK] Damien McElroy - Iran is evading UN sanctions by running a global network of merchants prepared to supply equipment that could be of military use. Dubai, the Gulf's largest port and Iran's crucial economic outlet, is central to this effort. A company indicted in America for allegedly exporting "dual-use" electronics to Iran remains open for business in Dubai. Meanwhile, people named in American courts for conspiring to deal in banned items are living normally in the city. Iran relies on Dubai in the manner that Communist China once depended on Hong Kong: as a free port for an isolated regime. A.Q. Khan, the Pakistani scientist who helped build his country's nuclear arsenal and covertly aided Iran and Libya as well, channeled banned components through Dubai. "The UN sanctions and the U.S. pressure to cut off the banks is hurting. But Iran's end runs, chiefly setting up shelf companies and so forth in Dubai, are a significant hole in the net," said Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on Iran's nuclear program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.