Austrians sold 800 sniper rifles to Iran; U.S. protests

Associated Press:

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. ...

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. ...