Czech Republic Prevents 'Nuclear-Applicable Deal' for Iran

UN experts and Western sources have stated that the Czech Republic has blocked a deal for Iran aimed at transferring a large shipment of sensitive technology that could potentially be used at uranium enrichment facilities. Reuters, which published this report on May 12, indicates that this incident may reflect Western concerns about trusting Tehran to remain faithful to a nuclear agreement. An agreement that Iranian officials and six powerful countries are currently negotiating to reach a final document that is supposed to provide a way to monitor and halt parts of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. Reuters reports having seen part of a document presented in the latest report of the panel of experts of the Iran sanctions committee at the UN Security Council. This panel states that Iran attempted to purchase compressors made by an American company in the Czech Republic in January, which have dual-use applications - both in nuclear and non-nuclear equipment. Olli Heinonen, a former inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated that these compressors could be used for extracting enriched uranium from cascades at facilities and are particularly useful for high enrichment, such as 20% enrichment. The value of this contract is reported to be $61 million. Iran halted its 20% enrichment based on the Geneva agreement. An official from the Czech government and a Western diplomat familiar with the matter have confirmed that Iran attempted to purchase this shipment, and Czech officials prevented it. It is unclear whether an intermediary played a role in this failed transaction. At the same time, there has been no indication that the American company, Howden CKD, acted improperly regarding this deal. Officials from this company in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, have not provided an explanation on this matter. The panel of experts of the special committee of the Security Council stated in part of its report that 'the supplier and transport company in this transaction provided false documents to conceal the origin, route, and destination of the shipment, aiming to circumvent export and sanctions controls.' No further explanation has been provided. Iranian officials have also not yet reacted to the published report.