Nine arrest warrants have been issued for suspected arms trafficking to Iran in defiance of the international embargo, Milan police said Wednesday.
A statement from Italy's border police said both Italians and Iranians were among the suspects but did not identify them further.
Police said the suspects were accused in the illegal export of arms and armament systems. They did not describe the arms.
Milan-based anti-terrorism prosecutor Armando Spataro is expected to give more details at a news conference Wednesday.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the US and Europe said they share UN fears that Teheran may be secretly working on developing nuclear missiles, expressing support for new sanctions if Teheran continues to defy Security Council demands.
Their comments reflected the change in tone of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under new director-general Yukiya Amano in its assessment of Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Amano, in a recent report prepared for this week's board meeting, expressed the possibility that Iran may be working on making a nuclear warhead, with the IAEA suggesting for the first time that Teheran had either resumed such work or never stopped it three years ago, as thought by US intelligence agencies.
Iran denies any interest in developing nuclear arms. But the report said Iran's resistance to agency attempts to investigate for signs of a nuclear cover-up "give rise to concerns about possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program."
An unusually strongly worded statement delivered by Spain on behalf of
the EU to the IAEA's 35-nation board criticized Teheran on a wide range
of issues linked to concerns that its nuclear program may be a front
for clandestine efforts to make atomic warheads.
"The EU shares the agency's concerns about the possible existence in
Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the
development of a nuclear payload for a missile," according to the
statement.
Beyond making the same point, US chief delegate Glyn Davies said the
IAEA is justified in being concerned that Teheran — accused of
repeatedly concealing suspicious nuclear activities or revealing them
only to pre-empt being found out — "about the possible construction in
secret of other new nuclear facilities in Iran."
Wednesday's EU statement also expressed support for new UN Security
Council "action" if Iran continues its nuclear defiance — diplomatic
language for a fourth set of UN. sanctions. Davies, too, said the
international community has "no choice but to pursue further, deeper
sanctions to hold Iran accountable" if it persists in shrugging off
Security Council demands.