The Iran nuclear program's Arak heavy-water reactor. Photo: Nanking2012/Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The U.S. informed a United Nations committee last month that Iran has been illicitly seeking to acquire components for its heavy-water reactor at Arak, Foreign Policy magazine reported Monday.

According to the report, a U.S. delegation told the U.N. Security Council panel of experts monitoring sanctions on Iran that Iranian agents have in recent months been upping their efforts to obtain equipment for the IR-40 research reactor. The U.S. has not publicly commented on the allegation.

The U.S. and Israel suspect that the Arak heavy-water reactor is designed to develop a nuclear weapon via a plutonium path, parallel to Iran’s effort to develop a nuclear weapon via a uranium path.