Iran nuclear crisis:Germany's Siemens denies Iranian nuclear sabotage claim

 

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes

German engineering company Siemens has denied allegations that it planted explosive devices inside nuclear equipment destined for Iran.

Siemens said it has "no business ties to the Iranian nuclear programme".
An Iranian MP said the devices had been discovered before they could explode.
Iran is under UN sanctions and the MP did not say where the equipment had come from. Tehran is engaged in a standoff with Western countries which suspect it is building a nuclear bomb.
The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed "serious concern" that Iran had continued to defy UN Security Council resolutions which demand the suspension of uranium enrichment and had failed to resolve questions about possible nuclear weapons development.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Iran is only six or seven months from having "90%" of what it needs to make a nuclear bomb.
He has urged the US to draw a "red line" which, if crossed, would lead to military intervention.
Iran has insisted that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes, and warned that it will retaliate if it comes under attack.
Mystery deepens Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of parliament's security committee, said on Saturday that the authorities believed the equipment "was supposed to explode after being put to work, in order to dismantle all our systems".
"But the wisdom of our experts thwarted the enemy conspiracy."

International sanctions against Iran

US

• Longstanding ban on all trade with Iran except for activities "intended to benefit the Iranian people"
• New sanctions against foreign firms dealing with Iran's oil sector and central bank

EU

• Restrictions on trade in equipment which could be used for uranium enrichment
• Asset freeze on individuals and organisations linked with nuclear programme
• Export ban on natural gas technology

UN

• Ban on sales of heavy weaponry and nuclear technology to Iran
• Iranian arms exports blocked, and asset freeze for key individuals and firms
• Cargo inspections to detect and stop Iran's acquisition of illicit materials

Mr Boroujerdi said the explosives were planted at a Siemens factory and the company had to take responsibility.

The Munich-based German firm denied the charge. It said it its nuclear division has had no business links with Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"Siemens rejects the allegations and stresses that we have no business ties to the Iranian nuclear program," spokesman Alexander Machowetz said.
The Iranian accusation raises some intriguing questions, says the BBC's Steve Evans in Berlin.
They include, he says:

• Has the Iranian MP simply got it wrong?
• Is Iran buying Siemens equipment through a third party?
• Is there something more underhand going on, with sabotaged equipment being sold with the secret approval of Western intelligence agencies?

In June 2010, a virus - the Stuxnet - was found to have infected computer systems at Iranian nuclear plants.
It, too, was connected to a Siemens product but the company denied all knowledge.
Unconfirmed reports linked the virus to a government agency, perhaps in the US or Israel.
The latest allegations deepen the mystery, says our Berlin correspondent.