LONDON Ñ Germany is said to have halted attempts to export nuclear
weapons components to Iran.
The German weekly Focus reported on Monday that customs authorities
blocked the export of 44 detonators to Iran. The detonators were said to
have been required for the assembly of nuclear weapons.
Focus said the export was arranged in November 2002 by two Iranian
brothers. The detonators were manufactured by the German company Behlke.
The detonators were then purchased by two German intermediaries,
identified as Eva-Marie H. and Harald H. Focus said the intermediaries
reported that the detonators were meant for a German customer.
Instead, Focus asserted that the Iranian brothers planned to bring the
detonators to Iran. The magazine quoted an internal German Foreign Ministry
document that reported the export attempt.
"If the delivery had been successful, Germany's foreign relations would
have been threatened, even more so if they were used in Iran," the document
said.