KIEV -- Two Iranian nationals allegedly attempted to smuggle Kh-31 anti-shipping missile components out of Ukraine.
Citing a spokesperson for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), The Daily Beast reported that earlier this year, SBU agents arrested two Iranian nationals who were attempting to smuggle components for the Kh-31 missile, likely to Iran. The Iranian nationals were arrested with missile components as well as technical documentation pertaining to the systems.
Photos of the arrest, obtained by The Daily Beast, appeared to show missile components in the back of a vehicle. Experts quoted by the publication suggested that the photos likely do depict the Kh-31 but cautioned that "the pictures are incomplete."
The arrests occurred in early January. The transfer, had it occurred, would have been in breach of an international arms embargo currently in force on Iran through the next few years. One of the officials involved in the incident was named Abdi Biyan and served as a military attache to the Iranian embassy in Kiev.
The Daily Beast noted that Vasyl Hrytsak, who heads the SBU, described the arrests to American officials during a visit to Washington.
Iranian officials did not comment on the allegations.
The Kh-31, or an Iranian-designed derivative, would have bolstered the Iranian position in the Persian Gulf, in particular, where the IRGC seeks to counter the presence of American warships, in particular, as well as those of rival GCC countries.
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