Iranian scientists made at least two covert visits to Russia in 2024, including one in November, where, according to Financial Times, they tried to obtain secret technologies potentially suitable for the development of elements of Tehran's nuclear program. This was reported by UNN.
Details
The delegations included researchers from Shahid Beheshti University, Islamic Azad University, and Malek Ashtar University of Technology – the latter is under US and EU sanctions due to its role in military-nuclear projects.
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In Russia, the Iranians met with representatives of the company "Laser Systems", which works on both civilian and secret defense technologies and is also under Washington's sanctions.
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According to Jim Lamson, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and a former CIA analyst, the Iranian side sought to obtain laser technologies and expertise "that could help them verify nuclear weapon designs without conducting tests."
Recall
It was previously reported that Iran might have sent its scientists to Russia to gain knowledge and technologies related to nuclear developments.