FT: Iranian defenсe-linked scientists made second secret trip to Russia

Iranian scientists tied to the country’s defenсe establishment made a second covert visit to Russia last year as part of what the United States says is an effort to acquire dual-use technologies with potential nuclear weapons applications. 

The previously undisclosed trip took place between November 7 and 11, 2024, and involved physicists and engineers travelling on consecutively numbered diplomatic passports, according to Financial Times.

According to the FT, the group met Russian institutes connected to military research. The report is based on documents the newspaper obtained and corroborated through corporate filings, sanctions records, leaked travel data and other correspondence.

The exchanges are described as part of a broader pattern of contact between Russian military-linked research centers and Iran’s Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), a Defence Ministry body long sanctioned by Washington for alleged work on nuclear weapons design.

Jim Lamson, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and a former CIA analyst, told the FT the evidence showed that Iran’s defence-affiliated scientists were “seeking laser technology and expertise that could help them validate a nuclear weapon design without conducting a nuclear explosive test.”

Tehran insists its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, while Moscow has publicly opposed Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.

During the trip, the delegation met Laser Systems, a Russian company under US sanctions that develops equipment for both civilian and classified military use.

The November mission followed another round of meetings revealed in August, which showed that a Vienna-linked procurement network involving DamavandTec – using diplomatic passports issued by Iran’s foreign ministry – had facilitated introductions between Iranian nuclear scientists and Russian firms with defense and intelligence ties.

Academic and institutional records reviewed by the FT indicated that the travellers were not DamavandTec employees but researchers from Shahid Beheshti University, Islamic Azad University of Kashan and Malek Ashtar University of Technology, the latter under US and EU sanctions for its role in nuclear-related activity.

According to the newspaper, the visit was framed in invitations as an opportunity for technological collaboration, though it remains unclear whether any technology transfer took place.

The revelations add to years of Western allegations that SPND operates covert procurement networks across Europe and Asia to source dual-use equipment. A 2025 investigation by Iran International documented a Vienna-based hub tied to SPND-linked front companies purchasing neutronics-related and other sensitive components with potential applications in nuclear weapons design.

Washington has sanctioned more than 30 SPND scientists and multiple affiliated entities, saying the organisation oversees “dual-use research and development activities applicable to nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems.”

In 2024, Iran’s parliament formally recognised SPND under Iranian law, placed it under the authority of the Supreme Leader and exempted its budget from parliamentary oversight.

By Sabina Mammadli