Iranian scientists linked to the country’s defense establishment are marketing radiation-detection instruments that they say contain UK-made components from a supplier based in south London borough of Croydon, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
The report said a Tehran-based nuclear diagnostics firm, Imen Gostar Raman Kish, advertised that several of its radiation-safety devices use Geiger-Müller radiation-detection tubes produced by Centronic Ltd, a company that supplies the UK Ministry of Defense and was acquired last year by French defense-electronics group Exosens.
According to the report, Imen Gostar is run by senior figures tied to Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The United States has sanctioned SPND, describing it as the successor to Iran’s pre-2004 nuclear weapons effort, while Tehran says its nuclear program is purely peaceful.
The Financial Times said corporate filings show Imen Gostar is chaired by Mohammad Reza Zare' Zaghalchi (Zoghalchi), an SPND official sanctioned by the US Treasury in October for procurement work it said had “direct applications to nuclear-weapons development.”
It added that the company’s vice-chair is Ali Fouladvand, SPND’s head of research, who is also under US sanctions.
Some of Imen Gostar’s equipment is promoted for export in brochures issued by the Mindex Center, Iran’s defense ministry export agency, which also markets Shahed drones, Ghadir submarines, and several ballistic missiles.
Centronic told the outlet it had no record of any transaction or commercial relationship with Iranian entities.
The company said it applies strict export-control procedures, systematically evaluates customers for re-export risks, and would investigate how its components may have ended up in Iranian devices.
Financial Times said it found no evidence that Centronic or any other Western manufacturer knowingly exported items to Iran or to sanctioned Iranian military or nuclear-linked companies.
The FT said it was unclear how the UK-made parts were obtained, noting that Iranian entities have a record of using intermediaries and front companies to source Western dual-use items amid sanctions.
It said the discovery fits a wider pattern of alleged SPND-linked procurement networks in Europe and Asia and follows earlier FT reporting on covert scientific outreach to Russia for technologies US officials say could have nuclear-weapons-related applications.
An investigation by Iran International earlier this year documented a Vienna-based hub tied to SPND-linked front firms purchasing neutronics-related and other sensitive components with potential applications in nuclear weapons design.
Washington has sanctioned more than 30 SPND scientists and multiple affiliated entities, saying the organization oversees “dual-use research and development activities applicable to nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems.”
In 2024, Iran’s parliament formally recognized SPND under Iranian law, placed it under the authority of the Supreme Leader and exempted its budget from parliamentary oversight.
Grossi told reporters in Manila that the agency’s aim was to “restore continuity of knowledge” and reestablish full verification inside Iran. His comments followed last week’s decision by the UN watchdog’s 35-member Board of Governors calling on Tehran to inform it “without delay” about the status of its enriched uranium stock and sites hit in June strikes.
The board’s resolution, backed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, deepened tensions with Tehran, which condemned the vote as “illegal and unjustified.” Iran said the move nullified a September inspection accord reached in Cairo with Grossi through Egyptian mediation.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the time the Western powers had “killed” the Cairo accord and accused them of seeking escalation rather than diplomacy. Iran insists its cooperation with the IAEA remains within the limits of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but says access to bombed facilities cannot resume until safety and legal issues are addressed.
Iran weighs NPT withdrawal
Iranian lawmakers have said Tehran is considering suspending or withdrawing from the NPT in response to the censure. Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the option was “on the table” and under expert review.
He said a final decision would be coordinated between parliament and the Supreme National Security Council. Another lawmaker said a draft bill had been prepared to boost what he called Iran’s “nuclear and sanctions-related deterrence.”
Heydari had led Iran’s Army Ground Forces for more than seven years before being replaced on November 22 by Brigadier General Ali Jahanshahi, as part of a wider reshuffle across Iran’s military following the June war.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters is the unified combatant command under the Armed Forces General Staff, responsible for operational design and coordination across the army and the Revolutionary Guards.
The deputy post was previously held by Major General Hossein Hassani Sa'di, according to Iranian news agency ISNA, while Major General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi currently commands the headquarters.
In a post in Arabic on X, Larijani offered condolences for the deaths, describing those killed as having “reached their wish.”
He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “continues his adventurism to the point that everyone reaches the conclusion that there is no path left except direct confrontation with Israel.”
Hezbollah said the strike on Sunday killed Tabtabai, the group’s top military official, and wounded 28 others.
Israel’s military said it targeted Tabtabai in Beirut’s southern suburbs, calling him a senior official overseeing Hezbollah’s military readiness, in one of the most significant escalations since a US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024.
Iran has condemned the attack as a violation of the ceasefire and a “war crime,” and Hezbollah has said it crossed a “red line,” adding that its leadership would decide how to respond.
The United States designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization and sanctioned Tabtabai in 2016, describing him as a key commander within the group.
