Phyrfight Intel

From: Newsday.com

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

February 9, 2005, 5:05 PM EST

VIENNA, Austria — Iran has contracted to buy hundreds of high-powered rifles from an Austrian firm, the company’s owner said Wednesday. The sale drew an indirect rebuke from the United States, but Austrian government ministries said no laws were broken.

Wolfgang Fuerlinger, head of Steyr Mannlicher GmbH, confirmed the deal between his company and Iranian authorities and said U.S. Embassy officials had expressed concerns the arms could make their way to Iraq for use against American troops.

He said he could not confirm Austrian media reports that part of the order — 800 long-range semiautomatic rifles that can penetrate thick metal, along with high-tech snipers’ scopes — was flown to Iran last month.

The United States has strict embargoes in place against Iran on sales of weapons or technology or materials that could be used to make weapons.

President Bush last year named Iran, along with prewar Iraq and North Korea, as a member of “the axis of evil,” for its alleged ties to terrorist groups and purported attempts to develop nuclear arms.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Bill Wandlund declined direct comment on the sale but said that in general, “the U.S. opposes all arms transfers to state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran.”

Police Maj. Rudolf Gollia, spokesman for the Austrian Interior Ministry, said his ministry, in consultation with the foreign ministry, approved the sales in November. He said Iran had provided written documentation that “the end destination of the weapons is Iran and that they would be used to fight drug-related criminality and to secure the borders of Iran.”

Fuehrlinger told The Associated Press that U.S. Embassy officials who recently contacted him expressed concern that at least some of the weapons could end up in Iraq for use by insurgents against American troops and their Iraqi allies.

He described the 12.7 x 99 mm “Steyr 50 HS” as a high-power weapon able to penetrate metal as thick as a man’s thumb.

The gun is about 4 feet long, weighs more than 20 pounds and counts as an anti-armor weapon among experts because of the high punch of its projectile, Fuehrlinger said.

He said that U.S. Embassy personnel asked him to stop such sales not only to Iran but to potential customers in other Middle East countries — something he said he was prepared to consider only if Washington in return lifts restrictions that prevent his company from selling certain high-tech weapons in the United States.

He said he refused requests from the three Embassy officials to discuss details of the sale with Iran. He described the conversation as “very friendly,” and said the officials said they would be in contact again soon.

Gollia said the interior and foreign ministries were currently discussing the sale of more such weapons from the same Austrian company to Iran, adding a decision was expected “within the next half year.”

He said he had no information on previous shipments from Steyr-Mannlicher, a world-renowned manufacturer of quality precision handguns and rifles.

The opposition Social Democratic party announced it would push for a parliamentary inquiry.

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