...they would have remained undetected if their boxes hadn't been so darned big

..because that what it is. HP sells to a reseller - they shouldn't really care what reseller does with the stuff. Iran can always buy some "hardly used" stuff from places like Russia or China.

All that export sanctions are moot - can be easily overridden in most cases anyway.

Can Iran afford the cost of replacement ink cartridges?

Superb plan to overwhelm the Iranian infrastructure - obviously the HP mouse on pallet, memory in oversize boxes were consignments bound for the foreign devils but accidentally sent to native consumers.

<<<... ..because that what it is. HP sells to a reseller - they shouldn't really care what reseller does with the stuff. Iran can always buy some "hardly used" stuff from places like Russia or China. ...>>>

HP should care because it has to - the law is written in such a way that any company selling through a channel distributor, reseller or similar has to inquire about the end destination of these products.

Technically, Best Buy is in breach of these laws for not asking those questions.

Quite frankly, I hope they throw the book at HP - what's the point of having laws if they are not acted upon?

[Paris, because she knows a lot about the destination of ends]

Printers ... hahaha. They get caught for *printers* when so much high-tech, military-grade equipment is happily sold to Iran and other countries under bans by so-called friendly 3rd world countries. I used to work for a high-tech company in the satellite telecoms business in an Asian country usually considered as a close ally of the western world. I once found out that our two biggest international customers were ... Burma and Iran !

All the sat equipment was bought from US and European companies then resold to the customers in these countries with a *huge* margin.

Anon, just in case.

Well as for waging war without just cause, the USA is like the 3rd Reich, found guilty 62 years ago.

Apparently the Americans think they are above the international laws of the United Nations.

You're one of those people who compares pirates and emperors, ain't you? The difference is this: Germany took on the entire industrialized world(except for Italy and Japan) and lost horribly. The US, though in a state of declining power(not likely to stop any time soon, unless Comrade Obama does some rather drastic things, like embargoing China), can still kick just about anybody's ass and hasn't attacked anybody of consequence.

The lesson? Be the biggest and the meanest and attack places nobody cares about. If the US conquered the entire Middle East, the biggest fuss would be over the possible loss of oil(let's face it: nobody cares about the region for any other reason[unless you count terrorism, which a conquest would stop anybody else form caring about, since the conqueror would draw all that ire upon itself]).

I get a 3 month customs enquiry wait for buying server RAM from ebay in the US to be shipped to England (on a machine I bought in the UK legitimately) - I'm waiting for the CIA or FBI to come knocking the door down...

Paris, cos even she ain't that stupid (..well.............I hope........)