Iranian nuclear consultants visited Russian labs with dual-use tech in 2024 – FT
An Iranian delegation together with nuclear scientists with ties to a sanctioned army analysis unit travelled to Russia final 12 months to go to institutes producing dual-use applied sciences, the Monetary Instances reported on Tuesday.
The go to, in August 2024, was led by Ali Kalvand, a 43-year-old Iranian nuclear physicist, who arrived in Moscow on a diplomatic service passport together with 4 others, based on the report.
Whereas Kalvand stated they represented a personal consulting agency, Western officers instructed the newspaper the delegation included a army counter-intelligence officer and members linked to Iran’s Group of Defensive Innovation and Analysis (SPND), described by the US as “the direct successor group to Iran’s pre-2004 nuclear weapons program.”
Iran has lengthy denied looking for nuclear weapons, citing a non secular edict by Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei banning their use, and says its nuclear actions are fully peaceable. Khamenei stated final month that the West makes use of Tehran’s nuclear program as an excuse for confrontation.
Iran Worldwide reported final 12 months, citing three impartial sources in Iran, that the Islamic Republic was advancing its secret nuclear weapons program by restructuring the SPND.
In keeping with the Monetary Instances, the Iranian delegation met with Russian corporations that manufacture twin‑use parts, together with electron accelerators and klystrons — gear utilized in nuclear implosion simulations.
The delegation’s members additionally included consultants in neutron turbines – units with civilian and army purposes – and radiation testing, in addition to a former head of an organization sanctioned by Washington for appearing as a procurement entrance for SPND.
