4 in Germany Accused of Sending Iran Nuclear Parts

Men accused of breaking embargo
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 15, 2012 12:14 PM CDT
4 in Germany Accused of Sending Iran Nuclear Parts
A Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011 file photo, shows Iran's heavy water nuclear facilities near the central city of Arak 150 miles southwest of Tehran.   (AP Photo/ISNA,Hamid Foroutan, File)

Iran may have been getting some help with its nuclear reactor plans from four guys in Germany. The men have been arrested and are accused of breaking the embargo prohibiting Germans from trading nuclear-related items with Iran. They allegedly supplied Iran with millions of euros worth of specialty valves for a reactor, and prosecutors say they knew how the parts would be put to use.

The men are known only as Rudolf M, Kianzad Ka, Gholamali Ka, and Hamid Kh, per Germany's privacy laws; three are Iranian-German dual nationals and one is a German national. There is also a fifth suspect, the BBC reports. Ninety customs officials and prosecutors were involved in searches of their homes and businesses; the men allegedly used front companies in order to hide the deals. (More Iran nuclear weapons program stories.)

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