Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in his address before a security conference in Bahrain announced the need for his country to establish �10-15� nuclear facilities to meet electricity demands, ignoring the demands of the White House, the United Nations and other Western nations, determined to forge ahead towards nuclear independence.

According to a report in Der Spiegel on Saturday, a shipment of compressors heading to Iran was intercepted, sent by the Siemens Company, valued at an estimated �16 million, and intended for use in Tehran�s nuclear program. The compressor shipment was sent out from Sweden and it was intercepted in Hamburg. German officials are contemplating a response to the blatant violation of international trade and economic sanctions against Iran.

The Der Spiegel report adds the compressors are part of a much larger shipment valued at �80 million.

The report adds a Siemens� spokesman denies the German company has violated sanctions placed on Iran.

(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)