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Iran uses its academic partnership with UK to develop arms

Iran uses its academic partnership with UK to develop arms
posted onAugust 3, 2023
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Tehran is using partnerships between universities in Iran and the UK to develop their arms industry, an Iranian government document has reportedly shown.

The document, discovered by Kasra Aarabi who heads the Iran Programme at the Tony Blair Institute, allows Iran's military access to sensitive research conducted by Iranian universities and their international partners that could be used to expand its military capabilities.

The document, which was issued by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, also gives the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), amongst other security services, powers to obtain the research, prompting Aarabi to state that research between the UK and Iranian universities is "being utilised by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and will end up in their hands."

One of the most critical revelations by The Jewish Chronicle indicates that a UK-based academic at Imperial College London published a study that focused on upgrading the engines of drones – including those of the Shahed-136 drones Russia is using in its war against Ukraine.