Report: Iran purchased nuclear equipment from Taiwan
British Telegraph cites Western intelligence sources as saying Iran secretly imported 100 pressure transducers, which can be used in the creation of nuclear weapons. UN bodies urge companies to step up supervision
Iran continues with its efforts to develop its nuclear program. The British Telegraph reported on Friday that officials from the Islamic Republic held a series of meetings with companies based in Taiwan to purchase hundreds of pressure transducers, which can be used in the production of weapons-grade uranium.
Western intelligence officials say Iran has already managed to acquire 100 transducers from Taiwan, and they have secretly been shipped to Tehran. According to the report, the transducers were originally manufactured in Europe, and then sold to a company in Taiwan.
UN officials are now probing whether the European companies take the proper measures to check end-user certificates for their equipment.
According to reports, Iranian officials are now trying to negotiate further deliveries of the highly restricted equipment from Taiwan.
Iran is banned from buying the equipment on the open market by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the international body set up to reduce nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials that can be used for building nuclear weapons.
Earlier this year a Canadian of Iranian descent was arrested for trying to illegally ship a number of pressure transducers to Iran, which he had originally purchased in the US.
Despite Tehran's consistent denial of efforts to develop nuclear arms, the Islamic Republic recently announced it plans to build 10 more uranium enrichment plants.
