Seized highly corrosion-resistant valves in a
Seized highly corrosion-resistant valves in aReuters

Spanish police arrested two people and seized equipment made by a Spanish company that was to be illegally shipped to Iran for use in its nuclear program, the Spanish Interior Ministry said Friday.

Police officers stopped a trailer truck at a highway tollbooth in the northern town of Durango on Wednesday.

Following an investigation, police arrested the two individuals and seized the cargo, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The vehicle contained 44 valves made of a nickel and chromium alloy that, due to their "high resistance to corrosion, make them particularly apt for use in the nuclear industry," according to the ministry.

Police also seized mounting accessories, export documents to Iran, bank statements and computer information, it said, as quoted by CNN.

The ministry identified the Spanish company as Fluval, which was founded in the 1970s and is located in the northern town of Amurrio, according to reports.

"The company, registered in the Basque Country, used false companies in the United Arab Emirates for the deliveries, channeling cash through banks in other countries," the ministry statement said in the statement.

The business reportedly has commercial links with Iranian firms that are listed by the European Union as having connections with the regime’s nuclear program, the ministry said, adding that the two detained men were employees at the firm.

The European Union and the United States have banned the sale of such materials to Iran, as they continue to implement sanctions against the regime in an effort to avert a nuclear crisis in the Middle East. 

Yet, as Tehran continues to proclaim its intentions of completely obliterating the Jewish state, it maintains that its atomic program is strictly for civilian energy purposes.

Reports of the seizure emerged as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a group of visiting U.S. Senators on Friday that if re-elected, he would make stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons his top priority.