Iran sent a delegation to Russia a year ago to strengthen nuclear cooperation - FT

Last August, an Iranian delegation, during its secret visit to Russia, visited a number of strategic facilities related to "dual-use" nuclear technologies. This is reported by UNN with reference to the Financial Times.

Details

Last year, a plane from Iran arrived at a Moscow airport. Among the passengers was 43-year-old Iranian nuclear scientist Ali Kalvand, accompanied by four employees who, he said, were from his consulting firm DamavandTec, based in a small office in Tehran. However, this was a disguise.

The Iranians flew to the Russian Federation with diplomatic passports, some of which had consecutive numbers and were issued on the same day, just a few weeks before the trip. According to Western officials, one of the delegation members was an Iranian nuclear scientist who works at the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND).

This secret military research unit was called by the US government "a direct successor to Iran's nuclear weapons program that existed until 2004." Another member of the delegation was a former head of a company that is subject to US sanctions because it was a front for SPND purchases. The last in the group, according to Western officials, was an officer of Iranian military counterintelligence.

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As a result of the investigation, it became known that the Iranian delegation visited Russian scientific institutes related to dual-use technologies. In particular, the production of components for civilian use that have potential significance for nuclear weapons research.

According to FT, a letter sent by DamavandTec to a Russian supplier last May, in which Kalvand expressed interest in purchasing several isotopes, including tritium.

This material is used in civilian projects. However, it can also be used to increase the power of nuclear warheads. The circulation of tritium is carefully controlled under international non-proliferation rules.

The visit of the delegation from Iran to Russia took place at a time when Western governments noticed suspicious activities of Iranian scientists, including attempts to purchase nuclear technologies from abroad.

Western intelligence agencies believe that Iran previously had a secret nuclear weapons program, separate from nuclear fuel production, which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stopped in 2003.

Addition

Iran expressed its readiness for indirect negotiations with the United States on a new nuclear deal. Tehran expects the lifting of American sanctions in exchange for dialogue.