Iran has tried 75 times in the last five years to buy materials that could be used for making a nuclear weapon, it has been reported, as Teheran vowed "never" to give up the pursuit of nuclear power.Diplomatic sources told the New York Times that the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, an off-shoot of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, had refused repeated Iranian requests to buy "dual-use" products - useful for peaceful or military ends. The group, which aims to control and monitor the trade of nuclear-related materials, keeps its records secret. But a leaked list of items sought by Iran included key ingredients such as nickel powder, compressors, furnaces, steel flanges and fittings and electron microscopes.
The 75 refusals were from only seven of the 45 member states, suggesting that Iran had made many more efforts to buy sensitive goods.
The West fears the Islamic regime, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has threatened Israel with annihilation, is secretly developing a nuclear weapon, which Teheran routinely denies. To do so, Iran would have to acquire components and expertise from illicit sources.