Government Probes Claims British Universities Helped Iran Develop Suicide Drones
The government is investigating media reports that British universities have helped the Iranian regime develop suicide drones, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said.
The Jewish Chronicle (The JC) reported earlier this month that several British universities have worked with Iranian researchers on drone technologies that have potential military applications.
At Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Conservative MP David Davis cited the report and urged Sunak to “initiate an investigation into this and take action to stop the failure of our sanctions regime before it does any more harm to the national interest of the United Kingdom and our allies.”
The prime minister responded: “We take all allegations of breaches of export controls seriously, and my understanding is that officials in the Department for Business and Trade are currently now investigating the allegations made in the recent press article cited.
“We will not accept collaborations which compromise our national security, and that’s why we have made our systems more robust, including expanding the scope of the academic technology approval scheme to protect UK research from ever-changing global threats.”
Sanctioned Entities
Among thousands of scientific papers published since 2017, The JC identified “hundreds of projects” that involved collaborations between British researchers and institutions and Iranian universities that have been sanctioned over their involvement with the Iranian regime’s nuclear programme.
While most of the papers are on subjects about civil technologies, at least 16 studies involving 11 British universities had “potential Iranian military applications,” it said.
One of the papers that was highlighted investigated the effect of two-stroke engines using an electronic fuel injection system in drones.
It was published in 2019 by Ahmad Najjaran Kheirabadi, then a postgraduate researcher at the Imperial College London (ICL), and two scientists from Iran’s Shahrood University of Technology and Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
According to The JC, the drones that use that type of engine include the Iran-developed suicide drone HESA Shahed 136, which has been used by the Russian military in Ukraine.
The JC also said the study was “supported” by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.
Academics at the ICL also co-wrote another paper in 2019 on using laser technology to produce parts that have “a wide range of applications in the aerospace industry,” with researchers from Iran’s Sharif University of Technology, the UK’s University of Liverpool, and a number of universities in Europe, the United States, and Singapore.
The Sharif University of Technology is also on the UK’s sanctions list along with dozens of Iran’s aerospace manufacturers and organisations.
Another paper highlighted was written by Soheil Jafari, a lecturer at Cranfield University, which specialises in defence and security, and a Tehran-based researcher. Both authors previously worked at the Sharif University of Technology.
The research, published in 2021, examined fuzzy controller structures for aero engines and referred to potential military applications.
‘More Robust’ Systems
A government spokesperson said: “We take all credible allegations of breaches of export control seriously and we will not accept collaborations which compromise our national security.
“We are investigating the recent reports. In the meantime, we have made our systems more robust and expanded the Academic Technology Approval Scheme to protect UK research from ever-changing global threats, and refuse applications where we have concerns.”
In an email to The Epoch Times, a spokesperson for Cranfield University said, “In an increasingly complex global operating environment, Cranfield University takes a thorough and robust approach to international collaborations and the security of our research.”
“We review our security policies and processes on a continual basis to ensure that research activities fully comply with guidelines and legal obligations,” the person added.
Imperial College said, “We have comprehensive guidance for our academics to ensure that they are aware of and comply with the appropriate national security legislation and their responsibilities when working with international collaborators.”
Lily Zhou and PA Media contributed to this report.
