Toronto, Apr. 18 : An Iranian-Canadian has been charged with trying to export technology that could have helped Tehran get the nuclear bomb it so desperately seeks.

Mahmoud Yadegari, a 35-year-old Torontonian, appeared bewildered Friday during a bail hearing.

As he listened to proceedings through a Farsi interpreter, he stood accused of buying devices destined to help centrifuges spin out highly enriched uranium, the material needed to make nuclear weapons.

Police, who seized the 10 devices - high-end gas-pressure gauges, essentially, worth about 1,100 dollar apiece - say the suspect broke United Nations Security Council regulations by planning to export the sensitive technology to Iran.

Mahmoud Yadegari is in custody awaiting a bail hearing over breaking Canadian export-control laws.

The prospect of Iran getting the bomb is now ranked as a top-tier global security threat. (ANI)