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Dubai Admits Nuclear Material Being Shipped Through Its Ports
(Telegraph-UK) Richard Spencer - Shipments of illegal nuclear and weapons-building material have been intercepted in Dubai and other ports in the United Arab Emirates, local authorities have admitted. As part of a drive to crack down on underground trade ties with Iran, in the last week authorities have staged raids on dozens of firms regarded as fronts for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Dubai, and frozen 41 Iran-linked bank accounts. Hamad al-Kaabi, ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said: "Security forces have interdicted scores of ships suspected of carrying illicit cargo and seized numerous sensitive shipments that could be used for the manufacture of weapons systems, including specialized aluminum sheets, titanium, high-speed computers and sophisticated machine tools." Dubai was founded largely on trade with Iran, and the UAE has been used as a staging post for arms shipments by Iran to armed groups it supports, such as Hamas and Hizbullah. "The UAE wants to show the West that it is an active partner in enforcing sanctions against Iran," said Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.