https://sputnikglobe.com/20210929/norwegian-professor-under-investigation-for-allegedly-violating-nuclear-sanctions-on-iran---reports-1089532323.html
Norwegian Professor Under Investigation For Allegedly Violating Nuclear Sanctions on Iran - Reports
Norwegian Professor Under Investigation For Allegedly Violating Nuclear Sanctions on Iran - Reports
Sputnik International
Norwegian Professor Under Investigation For Allegedly Violating Nuclear Sanctions on Iran
2021-09-29T23:48+0000
2021-09-29T23:48+0000
2021-09-29T23:48+0000
europe
norway
professor
anti-iranian sanctions
iranian nuclear program
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A German-Iranian from Norway was charged with violating sanctions imposed on Iran by inviting four Iranian researchers to a laboratory of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, AP reported on Wednesday.Norwegian authorities claimed that the foreign guests may have acquired information, which was claimed to be useful for Iran's nuclear program.The name of the professor hasn’t been revealed, nor have the names of the Iranian scientists that stayed at NTNU for different periods from February 2018 to 2019. There is also no information about their specialty and area of scientific interest.Investigators reportedly believe that sensitive data was leaked when one of the guests from the Islamic Republic provided software that was later installed on the university’s computer system. The former was said to allow the Iranian scientist to get access to data even though he wasn’t affiliated with the institution.According to him, the professor was charged with violating Iran sanctions, export control regulations and Norway’s data breach legislation. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison.The academic worker, who has reportedly left Norway, denies the accusations. According to his lawyer Brynjulf Risnes, the professor is ready to return and stand trial.The head of the engineering cybernetics department at NTNU told the university newspaper that the professor and foreign researchers “used a special lab, called the nano-mechanical lab, relatively intensively over a short period.”The lab is equipped for a wide range of procedures, including advanced analyses of the properties of various metal alloys, such as their strength and hardness.Sanctions on Iran include UN authorized restrictions, issued between 2006 and 2012, and initiatives undertaken by the US and the European Union. As Norway isn’t part of the European bloc, it does not participate in the regulation of the Iranian nuclear program, but complies with UN resolutions.Iran has repeatedly stated it has no intention to acquire nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear program is designed for peaceful purposes. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Reza Najafi said, speaking at the United Nations Tuesday, that countries must reduce their nuclear arsenals as “achieving global nuclear disarmament and eliminating the threat of nuclear weapons is a legal, political and moral responsibility for all states, and the nuclear-weapon states, in particular.”
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ntnu, norwegian professor, violating of iran nuclear sanctions
ntnu, norwegian professor, violating of iran nuclear sanctions
Norwegian Professor Under Investigation For Allegedly Violating Nuclear Sanctions on Iran - Reports
Norway, which is not a member of the European Union, has supported the EU's restrictive measures on Iran's nuclear program.
A German-Iranian from Norway was charged with violating sanctions imposed on Iran by inviting four Iranian researchers to a laboratory of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, AP reported on Wednesday.
Norwegian authorities claimed that the foreign guests may have acquired information, which was claimed to be useful for Iran's nuclear program.
The name of the professor hasn’t been revealed, nor have the names of the Iranian scientists that stayed at NTNU for different periods from February 2018 to 2019. There is also no information about their specialty and area of scientific interest.
Investigators reportedly believe that sensitive data was leaked when one of the guests from the Islamic Republic provided software that was later installed on the university’s computer system. The former was said to allow the Iranian scientist to get access to data even though he wasn’t affiliated with the institution.
“The serious thing here is that people from Iran had access to knowledge, and this is knowledge that could be useful to Iran’s nuclear program. We do not say that it is, but it is the potential danger here that is serious,” prosecutor Frederik Ranke reportedly told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
According to him, the professor was charged with violating Iran sanctions, export control regulations and Norway’s data breach legislation. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
The academic worker, who has reportedly left Norway, denies the accusations. According to his lawyer Brynjulf Risnes, the professor is ready to return and stand trial.
“There is nothing in the information they have received and the projects they have worked on that enables them to contribute to the nuclear industry in any way,” Risnes reportedly told NRK.
The head of the engineering cybernetics department at NTNU told the university newspaper that the professor and foreign researchers “used a special lab, called the nano-mechanical lab, relatively intensively over a short period.”
The lab is equipped for a wide range of procedures, including advanced analyses of the properties of various metal alloys, such as their strength and hardness.
Sanctions on Iran include UN authorized restrictions, issued between 2006 and 2012, and initiatives undertaken by the US and the European Union. As Norway isn’t part of the European bloc, it does not participate in
the regulation of the Iranian nuclear program, but complies with UN resolutions.
Iran has repeatedly stated it has no intention to acquire nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear program is designed for peaceful purposes. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister
Reza Najafi said, speaking at the United Nations Tuesday, that countries must reduce their nuclear arsenals as “achieving global nuclear disarmament and eliminating the threat of nuclear weapons is a legal, political and moral responsibility for all states, and the nuclear-weapon states, in particular.”
