Iran increased efforts to obtain illicit nuclear missile technology - German intel

Tehran sought "products for the development and production of weapons of mass destruction and delivery technologies."

RALLYING AGAINST the Iran nuclear deal on Capitol Hill in Washington, 2015. (photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
RALLYING AGAINST the Iran nuclear deal on Capitol Hill in Washington, 2015.
(photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)

The cumulative efforts of German intelligence gathering led to the release on Tuesday of another damning indictment of the Iranian regime’s efforts to secure illicit technology for its nuclear program in the federal republic.

"The German domestic intelligence agencies were able to identify a significant increase in the indications of proliferation-related procurement attempts by Iran for its nuclear program," states the report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).

The intelligence agency added that “If there was a suspicion of possible violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the BfV passed on the relevant information to the responsible authorities."

German accusations

Iran’s clerical regime is cited 59 times in the 368-page document that addresses security threats faced by Germany in 2021. Western powers and Israel believe Iran’s regime is determined to build an atomic weapons device.

Fox News Digital first reported on the new German intelligence accusations leveled against Iran’s illegal activities within the territory of the federal republic.

 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting via video conference with people from East Azarbaijan in Tehran, Iran, February 17, 2022.  (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting via video conference with people from East Azarbaijan in Tehran, Iran, February 17, 2022. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

The German Customs Investigation Bureau (ZKA) launched an investigation against a German citizen of Iranian origin in Norderstedt on "suspicion of having violated the Foreign Trade Law in three commercial cases. He is said to have been involved in procuring laboratory equipment and spectrometers for Iran’s nuclear and missile programs." The German intelligence report said proliferation "activities of foreign powers also include the procurement of know-how and products for the development and production of weapons of mass destruction and delivery technologies." The delivery systems cited cover the launching of missiles.

A second intelligence report from the southwest state of Rhineland-Palatinate said there are nations that are “often unable to develop and manufacture their own products” for proliferation and seek “to obtain the necessary knowledge, products and goods illegally using secret service methods…procurement attempts have been observed for years, especially on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Germany’s sixteen states each produce an intelligence report on security threats. The intelligence services in the German states are similar to the Shin Bet.

The 'largest nuclear missile program in the Middle East'

The federal intelligence report noted that Iran’s clerical state is pursuing "one of the largest missile programs in the Middle East," the intelligence document highlights. "Iran is accused of supplying rocket and drone technology to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, among others, who in turn use them against the United Arab Emirates and its allies."

The report continued that "Iran’s ambitious missile program is not covered by the provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action… the procurement activities in Germany to this end [expanding the missile program] are consistently high – with an upward trend."


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The revelation of the Iranian’s alleged increase in illegal procurement activities in Germany was rapidly reported by news outlets in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. 

Germany along with the US, France, Britain, China and Russia are seeking to bring Iran's regime back into compliance with the JCPOA. The world powers offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for a short-term freeze on the development of its nuclear program.