Investigation finds Iran using Austrian shell companies to procure sensitive nuclear technology

At the network’s Iranian end, companies operating under the Isatis brand serve as the domestic procurement hub.

By Jewish Breaking News

A covert Iranian procurement network is bypassing international sanctions by using Vienna-based companies to purchase sensitive nuclear technology.

According to a new investigative report by Iran International, Iranian operatives have built a sophisticated supply chain stretching from Tehran to Austria, acquiring dual-use and military-grade equipment for Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known as SPND.

Procurement activities focus heavily on neutronics—a highly specialized discipline vital to controlling nuclear chain reactions and, in military applications, producing neutrons for weapons design.

Tehran passed legislation in 2024 that granted SPND official recognition under Iranian law and placed it directly under the Supreme Leader’s authority.

The agency has faced Western sanctions for years over its role in potential weapons of mass destruction proliferation, with more than 30 of its scientists under U.S. sanctions along with multiple front companies.

International Atomic Energy Agency officials have repeatedly censured SPND’s work, while U.S. sanctions specifically cite the organization’s role in “dual-use research and development activities applicable to nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems.”

But the investigation shows how Iranian operatives continue to find ways around these restrictions.

At the network’s Iranian end, companies operating under the Isatis brand serve as the domestic procurement hub.

While Isatis presents itself online as a legitimate holding company with subsidiaries in steel, cement, and industrial equipment, the investigation uncovered troubling links with SPND in portfolios not listed in official Iranian business registrations.

Meanwhile, Austrian commercial records show the network’s European hub operates from Vienna, where Mohammad-Amin Kharazmi manages Better Way GmbH from a residential address in the city’s Margareten district.

What makes this connection significant is that Kharazmi is the son of Isatis co-founder Saeed Kharazmi, creating a family link spanning both sides of the operation.

Better Way was registered in 2018 but maintains an unusually low profile for an international trading company.

It lists no website or contact details, claiming online retail as its business while reporting assets of roughly €420,000 at the end of 2023.

Isatis openly identifies Better Way as its European partner on its website.