PARIS, July 28: Iran has been using front companies to import a type of steel that can be used for the casing of a nuclear bomb and for machines that can enrich uranium to weapons-grade, an exile group alleged on Thursday. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said the country was seeking to produce its own maraging steel and skirt international export controls by importing it.

The group, which seeks to oust Iran’s clerical rulers, has given accurate information in the past on some of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and the UN’s nuclear watchdog said it would study its latest charges. Iran says its nuclear programme will be used only to generate electricity. But Washington and European countries fear Tehran could use its nuclear plants to produce bombs.

“The regime is using maraging steel to build the casing and containers for missiles as well as external rotors of missile engines,” Mohammad Mohaddessin of the NCRI told a news conference in Paris. Maraging steel, a high-strength alloy harder than normal steel, is a controlled substance with both civilian and military uses.

The NCRI is the political wing of the People’s Mujahideen, an armed guerilla movement listed as a terrorist group by the United States. Mohaddessin said Iran used front firms to import maraging steel.—Reuters