Germany Nuclear Parts Smuggled to Iran
Iran appears to favor the "Made in Germany" brand in its controversial quest for a nuclear program. Customs officers are probing suspected illegal exports of specialized German equipment to Iran's nuclear reactor in Bushehr via Russia.
German prosecutors said on Monday they had uncovered a procurement network that has been illegally supplying equipment to Iran's nuclear industry via Russia. The state prosecutor's office in Potsdam near Berlin said customs officers had raided 41 firms across Germany, one of which was under suspicion of having knowingly delivered material to Iran in contravention of German export restrictions. No arrests have been made.
"Five or six firms delivered goods to Iran. We suspect that one of the companies knew where the equipment was headed," Potsdam prosecutor Benedikt Welfens told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "The other firms thought the equipment they were supplying was destined for Russia, for which no export restrictions apply."
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,408269,00.html
Iran appears to favor the "Made in Germany" brand in its controversial quest for a nuclear program. Customs officers are probing suspected illegal exports of specialized German equipment to Iran's nuclear reactor in Bushehr via Russia.
German prosecutors said on Monday they had uncovered a procurement network that has been illegally supplying equipment to Iran's nuclear industry via Russia. The state prosecutor's office in Potsdam near Berlin said customs officers had raided 41 firms across Germany, one of which was under suspicion of having knowingly delivered material to Iran in contravention of German export restrictions. No arrests have been made.
"Five or six firms delivered goods to Iran. We suspect that one of the companies knew where the equipment was headed," Potsdam prosecutor Benedikt Welfens told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "The other firms thought the equipment they were supplying was destined for Russia, for which no export restrictions apply."
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,408269,00.html