Germany: 3 charged over valve deliveries to Iran

German prosecutors say they’ve indicted three men for allegedly delivering valves to Iran for a company that was once responsible for building the country’s Arak heavy-water reactor.

Federal prosecutors say Tuesday that the three German citizens — identified only as Bernd L., Rene L. and Ralf C. in line with German privacy rules — were charged with violating export laws and attempting to violate weapons-control laws.

They say the men delivered 51 valves to Iran in two batches, in 2010 and 2011, part of a larger order worth some 1 million euros ($1.14 million). Two of them are accused of giving the wrong customer name to get around export controls.

Prosecutors say any deliveries to the actual customer, which wasn’t named, were banned at the time under sanctions.

— AP