U.S. Device Seen at Supected Iran Atomic Site (CT's Canberra Industries)

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VIENNA (Reuters) - A radiation monitoring device spotted in Iran at a razed site where Washington suspects Iran conducted covert atomic bomb-related research was itself made in the United States and sold directly to Tehran, sources said.

A Western diplomat and an independent nuclear expert who follow the Vienna-based U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told Reuters the radiation detection device -- called a ``whole body counter'' -- was identified as having been made by the Connecticut-based firm Canberra Industries, Inc.

The disclosure could prove embarrassing to Washington which has accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program and has called on countries to crack down on exports of even seemingly innocent machinery that could be used in weapons programs.

Tehran says it only wants nuclear power for electricity.

``There is no doubt that the whole-body counter came from Canberra Industries and under a legal export,'' said the nuclear science expert, who has analyzed satellite images of the site taken by the U.S. firm DigitalGlobe's Quickbird satellite.

more............

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-nuclear-iran-device.html

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