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Welp. Treasury added one of the Iranian drone industry guys I've been following to its SDN list. Probably should've dumped my notebook on that beforehand. Been following Yousef Aboutalebi for a while. You're gonna wanna hit mute because this could go long https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20211029
Treasury sanctioned the head of the IRGC drone unit who was responsible for the delta wing drone attack on the Mercer Street ship in the Gulf a few months ago. But they also hit my dude Yousef Aboutaleni, the CEO of Mado, the company that powered Iran's drones (they make engines)
Here's Yousef in happier times at the Damascus Air Show showing off Mado's collection of engines
So what kind of stuff do they make? Knockoffs. From their old website, here's the MDR-200. Google those specs and reverse image search the stock art and guess what you find.
You can go through the list of Mado engine products and see the same thing. They're clearly knocking off Western-model drone engines. The usual (but not exclusive) process was to take a western model number and a Mado model prefix of MD or MDR.
Take the MD 550 found on Iran's Ababil-3 drones. It's basically the Limbach 550, at least judging by its specs. One of the early questions I had: was Mado just a smuggling front or did they do actual copies? Because a little before Mado got going... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-germany-trial/germany-tries-iranians-charged-with-smuggling-drone-engines-as-jet-ski-parts-idUSKBN0ER1PH20140616
Don't take my word for it. Check the WikiLeaks declassified cables from 2006ish, about three years before Mado got rolling. https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08STATE50301_a.html
Also take Yousef's word for it when he's bragging about how Iran is now making engines that were previously only made in German, the US, and the UK https://www.isna.ir/news/8905-00191/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%83%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%8A-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%87%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%BE%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%B4%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A
Felt fairly confident that Mado wasn't just a front for smuggled engine tech but was actually making engines for Iran's military drones. One of his employees was kind enough to post this to LinkedIn and settle the question (since deleted, I think)
Ok, but how much was Mado doing this on their own? That's a good question because there's a China angle I was never able to quite nail down.
Hong Kong business records are great. In the early 2010s, two companies get registered in HK: Mado, in Yousef's name, and Kado, in the name of the dude who registered Mado's website.
And then shortly afterwards, Mado and Kado combine their equity in a mainland company, Yiwu Mado Trading Company.
And no, this is probably not just a business convenience thing. We know this thanks to Facebook. Our dude definitely spent some time in Beijing.
But here's where it gets interesting. You remember the format for Iran's drone engine company knocking off foreign engines—MD/MDR + original model number. Well when Mado got going, this company Beijing Micropilot started offering engines like that.
Keep in mind, those format designations do not exist *anywhere* else. And the engines Beijing Micropilot were all the same models Mado offered.
Remember that time Iranian delta wing drones and cruise missiles blew up an oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia? You'll never guess what markings the UN panel of experts found on the engines. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/%5BEN%5DLetter%20dated%2027%20January%202020%20from%20the%20Panel%20of%20Experts%20on%20Yemen%20addressed%20to%20the%20President%20of%20the%20Security%20Council%20-%20Final%20report%20of%20the%20Panel%20of%20Experts%20on%20Yemen%20%28S-2020-70%29.pdf
So: Iranian military UAV engine company sets up companies in Hong Kong and the mainland, CEO spends some time in Beijing. Chinese company offers eerily similar engines to the one Iranian company offers. One of them shows up in an attack on Saudi Arabia
And lest you doubt Mado is sourced up well in the IRGC, here's the head of the IRGC Aerospace Force talking up Mado engines on Iranian TV
Here's a 2014 TV spot celebrating the IRGC Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Org's "achievements" with Mado engine cameos
(Weird bit of trivia. Mado's HQ is in the Shokohiye industrial park north of Qom where one of the incidents involving suspected sabotage of a petrochemical plant took place back in May) https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/fire-explosion-at-petrochemical-plant-in-iran-666957
In conclusion, don't leave this stuff lying around in your notebook. Publish it before .gov scoops you.
Although in fairness procrastinating for seven years on this does seem excessive on my part
