Bush today:
Some of the most powerful IEDs we’re seeing in Iraq today includes components that came from Iran. Our Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, told the Congress, "Tehran has been responsible for at least some of the increasing lethality of anti-coalition attacks by providing Shia militia with the capability to build improvised explosive devises" in Iraq. Coalition forces have seized IEDs and components that were clearly produced in Iran. Such actions — along with Iran’s support for terrorism and its pursuit of nuclear weapons — are increasingly isolating Iran, and America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats.
IEDs used in Iraq are usually from old military equipment: artillery shells, tank mines and general explosives. Some time ago the Brits made some hassle about shaped charge IEDs supposed to have been made in Iran and this is what Bush is referring to.
But shaped charge technology is more than 100 years old. Such charges have been used since WWI and in any conflict since. Any civil or military demolition professional knows how to make these without much documentation. Others will have to surf the web.
For some more refined version, Amazon has some books to sell, that do explain how to do it. Fundamentals of Shaped Charges and Evaluation of Improvised Shaped Charges are good starters. Some US Army research lab reports, like A Shaped Charge with Dual Confinement can also be purchased online.
To make the explosives yourself, start here. But compared to the chemicals, the tools one needs to make the actual "shape" from copper or other metals are even less sophisticated. As these pictures of such devices show, these things are made in a car repair shops rather than in Iranian ammunition factories.
This issue it is just another talking point of the rising propaganda campaign to justify war on Iran. Unfortunately, we will hear much more of these in coming weeks.
How long until the bombs drop?