TURKEY SEIZES IRAN-BOUND ITALIAN ALUMINIUM
Tehran (AKI) - Turkish authorities have seized two trucks transporting to Iran a haul of Italian-made "heavy aluminium", a substance which can be used in the nuclear weapons manufacturing process. The trucks were blocked at the Gurbulak border post beween Turkey and Iran last December, but Turkish authorities only announced the seizure this week, through foreign trade minister, Kursad Tuzman, who did not provide additional details.
According to governor of Turkey's Iran-bordering Agri region, Halil Ebrahim Akpinar, the trucks' two Iranian drivers were also arrested in the sting, which may have been carried out with information provided by the US Central Intelligence Agency, he said.
The drivers, identified as Mohammad Javad Jaafari and Mahin Falsafi, said they did not know the final destination of the material they were transporting.
The trucks were carrying 3,233 kilogrammes of the "heavy aluminium" alloy which according to experts from Turkey's Atomic Energy Agency (TAEI) can be used to manufacture machinery required for uranium enrichment, a process which can lead to the making of nuclear bombs.
According to Akpinar, the material was loaded onto the trucks in Miilan, Italy. The alloy was apparently manufactured at a factory based in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.
The trucks belong to a mainly Iranian owned Istanbul-based company, Step SA. The company's director, Milad Jaafari, has refused to talk to the media regarding the incident. Step SA acts as an intermediary for several Italian based industrial companies.
Iranian authorities who are involved in a dispute with the UN's nuclear watchdog over plans to enrich uranium have denied any knowledge of the operation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier this month referred Iran to the UN Security Council for failing to cooperating with it.
According to governor of Turkey's Iran-bordering Agri region, Halil Ebrahim Akpinar, the trucks' two Iranian drivers were also arrested in the sting, which may have been carried out with information provided by the US Central Intelligence Agency, he said.
The drivers, identified as Mohammad Javad Jaafari and Mahin Falsafi, said they did not know the final destination of the material they were transporting.
The trucks were carrying 3,233 kilogrammes of the "heavy aluminium" alloy which according to experts from Turkey's Atomic Energy Agency (TAEI) can be used to manufacture machinery required for uranium enrichment, a process which can lead to the making of nuclear bombs.
According to Akpinar, the material was loaded onto the trucks in Miilan, Italy. The alloy was apparently manufactured at a factory based in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.
The trucks belong to a mainly Iranian owned Istanbul-based company, Step SA. The company's director, Milad Jaafari, has refused to talk to the media regarding the incident. Step SA acts as an intermediary for several Italian based industrial companies.
Iranian authorities who are involved in a dispute with the UN's nuclear watchdog over plans to enrich uranium have denied any knowledge of the operation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier this month referred Iran to the UN Security Council for failing to cooperating with it.
posted by Marko at 2/16/2006 08:09:00 PM
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