U.S. Federal Prosecutor Accuses Yakuza Leader of Attempting to Sell Uranium and Plutonium to the Islamic Republic

The U.S. federal prosecutor has accused 60-year-old Takeshi Abisawa, said to be a leader of Yakuza crime syndicates in Japan, of attempting to sell uranium and plutonium to the Islamic Republic. Prosecutors state that this Japanese man, currently imprisoned in Brooklyn, New York, intended to assist the Islamic Republic in its path to building an atomic bomb by selling these rare nuclear particles. The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Abisawa and his associates showed small samples of nuclear materials for sale to an undercover agent from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who posed as 'a drug and arms trafficker linked to an Iranian commander.' According to this announcement, the small samples of nuclear materials were seized by police and Thai government officials and then handed over to American inspectors, with a laboratory in the U.S. confirming that these samples contained uranium and plutonium suitable for weapon production. Matthew G. Alden, the U.S. federal prosecutor, stated on Wednesday, February 21, alongside the announcement of charges against Takeshi Abisawa, that the U.S. Department of Justice will pursue anyone seeking to smuggle such materials and equipment that threaten U.S. national security and global stability. Takeshi Abisawa was also accused of drug and arms trafficking in the spring of 2022, and if found guilty in the trial regarding his new charges, he may face life imprisonment in the U.S. Rafael Grossi, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated on Monday, February 19, that despite United Nations pressures, the Islamic Republic continues to enrich uranium at levels far exceeding commercial needs. Grossi told Reuters that while the pace of uranium enrichment by the Islamic Republic has slightly decreased compared to late last year, the Iranian government still enriches about seven kilograms of uranium at 60% purity each month. The 60% enrichment level of uranium is close to the threshold necessary for producing nuclear weapons, and there is no need for such highly enriched uranium for commercial purposes. The Iranian government denies seeking to produce nuclear weapons, but no government has ever enriched uranium to such levels without intending to produce nuclear weapons. Iranian officials have repeatedly emphasized, citing Ali Khamenei's statements, that they are not seeking to build nuclear weapons, but in recent months, Iranian officials have increasingly been questioned by journalists and government presenters about the timeline for producing nuclear weapons. Grossi criticized the Iranian government's 'worrisome rhetoric' and its continued high-level enrichment, warning that the Islamic Republic is 'not completely transparent' about its nuclear program. Efforts to normalize nuclear bomb production; Ali Akbar Salehi: 'We have all the thresholds of nuclear science and technology.' The Institute for Science and International Security: The Iranian government could build a nuclear bomb in a week. Nuclear scientists: 'The Doomsday Clock' is closer to midnight than ever.