[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8609-S8610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 48--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS 
 REGARDING THE PROLIFERATION OF MISSILE TECHNOLOGY FROM RUSSIA TO IRAN

  Mr. KYL (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Allard, Mr. 
Ashcroft, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Burns, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
Johnson, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. Specter) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.

                            S. Con. Res. 48

       Whereas there is substantial evidence missile technology 
     and technical advice have been provided from Russia to Iran, 
     in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime;
       Whereas these violations include providing assistance to 
     Iran in developing ballistic missiles, including the transfer 
     of wind tunnel and rocket engine testing equipment;
       Whereas these technologies give Iran the capability to 
     deploy a missile of sufficient range to threaten United 
     States military installations in the Middle East and Persian 
     Gulf, as well as the territory of Israel, and our North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization ally Turkey; and
       Whereas President Clinton has raised with Russian President 
     Boris Yeltsin United States concerns about these activities 
     and the Russian response has to date been inadequate: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the President should demand that the Government of 
     Russia take concrete actions to stop governmental and 
     nongovernmental entities in the Russian Federation from 
     providing missile technology and technical advice to Iran, in 
     violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime;
       (2) if the Russian response is inadequate, the United 
     States should impose sanctions on the responsible Russian 
     entities in accordance with Executive Order 12938 on the 
     Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and reassess 
     cooperative activities with Russia;
       (3) the threshold under current law allowing for the waiver 
     of the prohibition on the release of foreign assistance to 
     Russia should be raised; and
       (4) our European allies should be encouraged to take steps 
     in accordance with their own laws to stop such proliferation.

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a Concurrent 
Resolution which expresses the sense of the Congress that Russia should 
refrain from providing additional missile assistance to Iran, and calls 
for the imposition of sanctions should Russia fail to stop.
  A broad, bipartisan consensus exists among leaders in the Congress 
and the administration that the proliferation of weapons of mass 
destruction [WMD] and ballistic missiles used to deliver them is one of 
the key national security challenges facing the United States today. In 
fact, in 1994, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12938 declaring 
that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means of 
delivering them constitutes ``an unusual and extraordinary threat to 
the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United 
States,'' and that he had therefore decided to ``declare a national 
emergency to deal with that threat.'' The President reaffirmed this 
Executive Order in 1995 and 1996.
  The Concurrent Resolution that I have submitted today has bipartisan, 
bicameral support. Over the past few weeks I have enjoyed working with 
Representative Jane Harman, the principal sponsor of the resolution in 
the House of Representatives, and I am pleased to announce that 
Senators Feinstein, D'Amato, Inhofe, Allard, and Burns are original 
cosponsors of the legislation.
  This resolution is important because Iran's ballistic missile 
program--in concert with its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons 
programs--poses a grave threat to the United States and our allies in 
the region.
  Iran is a state-sponsor of terrorism led by a regime which is hostile 
to the United States.
  Its chemical and biological weapons programs, which began in the 
early 1980's, are now capable of producing a wide variety of highly 
lethal chemical and biological agents, and Tehran has an aggressive 
program to develop nuclear weapons.
  In addition, Iran currently possesses Scud-B and Scud-C ballistic 
missiles, and with Russian assistance, is working to develop longer-
range missiles.
  Russia has stated that it recognizes the danger posed by Iran's 
missile program. At the Helsinki summit in March 1997, President 
Yeltsin reaffirmed that it was not Moscow's policy to assist Iran's 
missile program, since such missiles could be used to threaten Russia 
in the future. In addition, Russia is a member of the Missile 
Technology Control Regime [MTCR], which regulates the sale of missile 
technology to non-member nations, and has signed a bilateral agreement 
with the United States pledging not to conclude additional arms 
contracts with Iran.
  Despite Russia's assurances and bilateral and international 
commitments, recent press articles indicate Russian entities have 
engaged in missile cooperation with Iran. On February 12, 1997, the Los 
Angeles Times reported that Russia had recently transferred SS-4 
missile technology to Iran. The transfer reportedly involved detailed 
instructions on how to build the missile and some unspecified 
components. This transfer is of particular concern since the SS-4 has a 
range of 2,000 km--more than three times greater than any missile 
currently in Iran's arsenal.
  In addition to the transfer of SS-4 technology, Russia appears to be 
selling Iran a wide variety of other equipment and material useful in 
the design and manufacture of ballistic missiles. According to a 
Washington Times article published on May 22, 1997, Russian entities 
signed numerous missile-related contracts with Iran's Defense 
Industries Organization in 1996. The contracts reportedly included 
deals worth over $100,000 for projects such as the construction of a 
wind tunnel for missile design, manufacture of missile models, and the 
sale of missile design software. Construction of the wind tunnel alone 
is expected to cost several million dollars.
  These press reports are corroborated by an unclassified report to 
Congress, prepared by the CIA and coordinated throughout the 
Intelligence Community, that was released in June. The report titled, 
``The Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction 
and Advanced Conventional Munitions,'' states that, ``Russia supplied a 
variety of ballistic missile-related goods to foreign countries [in 
1996], especially Iran.'' The report also noted that Russia and China 
continued to be the primary suppliers of missile technology and were 
``key to any future efforts to stem the flow of dual-use goods and 
modern weapons to countries of concern.''
  This Concurrent Resolution expresses the sense of the Congress that 
the President should demand that the Russian government take concrete 
actions to stop governmental and nongovernmental entities from 
providing missile assistance to Iran. If Russia fails to respond to 
United States concerns, the Resolution calls on the President to impose 
sanctions on the responsible Russian entities in accordance with 
existing United States law. This resolution is a reasonable response to 
an important problem.
  I am pleased that Russian President Yeltsin has clearly stated that 
it is not Russia's policy to assist Iran's missile

[[Page S8610]]

program. But unfortunately, there continue to be discrepancies between 
Russian words and deeds. The time has come for Russia's leaders to halt 
this dangerous missile cooperation with a dangerous regime in Tehran. I 
urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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