According to knowledgeable Russian sources, Iranian middlemen associated with Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons program are in the
advanced stages of negotiations with commercial companies in Russia
to purchase deuterium gas. The negotiations are reported to be in the final stages before the signing of the contract with a Russian company. The sources note that Iran has attempted to produce deuterium-tritium gas on its own inside Iran - with the help of Russian scientists - but has so far been unable to do so, and due to pressures by the Iranian leadership to accelerate the weapons production program, decided to try to purchase this substance abroad.