Iran obtained from China a substantial amount of a metal that has many civilian uses but can also be used in an atomic bomb, an Iranian exile group said on Thursday.The National Council of the Resistance of Iran (NCRI)—which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US State Department, but has provided accurate information on secret Iranian nuclear activities—said Iran obtained beryllium from China in 2004.Beryllium has many innocent uses such as in spark plugs and X-ray equipment, but it can also be combined with polonium-210—a substance Iran is known to have worked with—to initiate the chain reaction in a nuclear bomb. It is under internationally agreed export controls. —Reuters
