U.S. discovers uranium being channeled from Ukraine to Iraq, Iran

LONDON — The United States is trying to block the flow of uranium from Ukraine to Iraq and Iran, a prominent Arab daily said.

The London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat daily reported on Wednesday that the United States is monitoring what the newspaper termed a channel of uranium and plutonium from Ukraine to Iraq and Iran. The flow of the nuclear material is said to be passing through Bulgaria and Turkey.

The newspaper said the United States was informed of the channel after the arrest by Bulgarian authorities of a Turkish national identified as Hani Yukazan. Yukazan was said to have been in possession of nuclear equipment when he was arrested on May 29, Middle East Newsline reported.

Later, the suspect was said to have provided details of the flow of uranium from Ukraine through Bulgaria and to Iraq.

A Bulgarian source told the newspaper that weapons grade material produced in Russia was found by custom authorities.

The United States and Bulgaria have been cooperating in stopping the flow of uranium, plutonium and other nuclear material from the former Soviet Union through eastern and central Europe. The newspaper said Washington has sent experts from top U.S. laboratories to examine the seized material in Bulgaria.

The flow of uranium through Bulgaria was a leading topic on the agenda of CIA director George Tenet during his visit to Sofia in August. The CIA has warned that Iraq, in the absence of United Nations inspectors, is believed to have resumed its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

For their part, Bulgarian officials have acknowledged that the country is being used as a route for the flow of uranium to Middle East countries.