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HP Accused of Illegal Exportation To Iran

AdamWeeden writes "According to research done by the Boston Globe, HP has been secretly using a third-party company to sell printers to Iran. This is illegal under a ban instituted in 1995 by then US President Bill Clinton. The third-party company, Redington Gulf, operates out of Dubai and previously stated on their web site that the company began in 1997 with 'a team of five people and the HP supplies as our first product, we started operations as the distributor for Iran,' though now the site has been changed to remove the mention of Iran. Has HP unknowingly been supplying Iran with technology or have they been trying to secretly get by the US government's export restrictions?"

11 of 287 comments (clear)

  1. HPSetup SSID by Gizzmonic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nice to hear that another country has its entire WLAN infastructure polluted by "Hpsetup" SSIDs!

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    1. Re:HPSetup SSID by flyingsquid · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is a really serious matter. Iran already has highly advanced technology allowing them to photoshop pictures of missiles. Now, thanks to HP, they have the technology needed to print pictures of those photoshopped missiles. Next, they could be photoshopping and then printing pictures of tanks, ships, aircraft... where will it all end?

  2. eh hum.... by djupedal · · Score: 4, Funny

    >"Has HP unknowingly been supplying Iran with technology or have they been trying to secretly get by the U.S. governement's export restrictions?"

    Yes.

    Oh, and Timmy...please use a modern browser w/spell checking, thanks.

  3. Unknowingly? by geobeck · · Score: 5, Funny

    Has HP unknowingly been supplying Iran with technology

    Only if you put big finger-quotes around "unknowingly".

    On the other hand, maybe this is a secret government plot to bankrupt Iran by selling them cheap printers, then gouging them on cartridges.

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    1. Re:Unknowingly? by D+Ninja · · Score: 4, Funny

      they stress to each employee not to work with certain companies (and Iran is on the list)

      Ah, yes. The great company of Iran.

  4. Ixnay on the interpay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    shhhhhh.... it is a CIA ploy to bankrupt Iran via HP printer ink refills... would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for that meddling /.

  5. Re:ummm ... printers? by AndrewHowe · · Score: 4, Funny

    Weapons of Mass Instruction?

  6. Re:ummm ... printers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why devalue the paper?

  7. Re:Oh dear god by couchslug · · Score: 4, Funny

    "We gave Muslims top secret printer technology."

    We also gave them HP printer drivers. That's like requiring them to throw shoes at themselves if they want to print.

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  8. Ooooh by Greyfox · · Score: 4, Funny

    That explains why those guys are so pissed off at the West. It really didn't add up for a while. I mean our policies of colonialism and arrogance might be a bit irksome, but it's no reason to want to kill us. But those poor bastards have had to talk to use HP hardware and talk to HP tech support. Yeah... now I understand where they're coming from. Perhaps now that HP's been busted and will no doubt be forced to stop, our relations with Iran will improve...

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  9. PC LOAD LTR by conspirator57 · · Score: 5, Funny

    PC load letter! FSCK!

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