Plot to smuggle nuke weapons materials to Iran unearthed

New York, Apr 7 (ANI): A sinister plot to smuggle nuclear weapons materials to Iran through unwitting New York banks has been unearthed by the Manhattan District Attorney's office.The Daily News reported that officials plan to unseal a 118-count indictment on Tuesday accusing a Chinese national of setting up a handful of fake companies to hide that he was selling millions of dollars in potential nuclear materials to Tehran. "This case will cut off a major source of supply to Iran and it shows how they are going ahead full steam to get a nuclear bomb. Long-range missiles they pretty much have already," a law enforcement source said. "We think it is one of the largest suppliers of weapons of mass destruction to Iran," the source added. Experts say Iran, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appears close to amassing enough nuclear material to make an atom bomb.

A United Nations embargo bans Iran from acquiring the high-tech metals needed to make a long-range nuclear weapon a reality. The indictment will outline the financial conspiracy behind 58 different transactions, including shipments of various banned materials from China to Iran between 2006 and late 2008. The recipient is believed to have been a subsidiary of the Iranian Defense Ministry.

The deals went through several New York banks, which cooperated when the alleged plot was uncovered. (ANI)