Iran desperately trying to buy weapons of mass destruction in chilling escalation of row with the US, Germany claims
GERMAN spooks say Iran is furiously trying to expand its arsenal with weapons of mass destruction amid fears the United States is preparing to attack. The explosive claim was made in an intelligence report, which says Iranians have been trying to buy technology that could be used in chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. The intelligence […]
GERMAN spooks say Iran is furiously trying to expand its arsenal with weapons of mass destruction amid fears the United States is preparing to attack.
The explosive claim was made in an intelligence report, which says Iranians have been trying to buy technology that could be used in chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
The intelligence report by the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s equivalent of M15, refers to the Islamic Republic as a “risk country” which is “making efforts to expand its conventional arsenal of weapons with weapons of mass destruction”.
Along with North Korea and Pakistan, it says Iran was attempting to obtain contracts from technologically advanced factories.
It refers to German customs officers intercepting a beam welding machine, which can be used for making mobile missile launch units.
The device had been sourced through a Malaysian company, but was destined for Iran.
The US ambassador to Germany told Fox News: “We know the Iranian regime is on the hunt for money to fund their malign activities and so it is imperative that the US and our European allies work together to deny this regime the capital they seek.
“They will use secretive schemes and dark money, we must be vigilant.”
They will use secretive schemes and dark money, we must be vigilant
US ambassador to Germany
In recent weeks, tensions have soared as the US beefed up its military presence in the Gulf in response to a still-unexplained threat from Iran.
The US also has accused Iran of being behind a string of incidents, including alleged sabotage of oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and a rocket that landed near the US Embassy in Baghdad, while Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have launched a string of drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
Iran in turn has announced it is quadrupling its production capacity of low-enriched uranium, making it likely the country will soon exceed stockpile limits set by the nuclear accord.
Iran also gave Europe a July 7 deadline to set new terms for a nuclear deal or it will enrich uranium at higher levels, closer to weapons grade.
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In May 2018, Trump pulled the US out of a deal which eased sanctions on Iran in return for it agreeing to end its nuclear weapons programme.
Recent satellite imagery appears to back the claim the claim Iran may be developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting Europe at a secret base.
US-based weapons researchers made the discovery by watching an Iranian TV show about the regime’s former nuke scientist Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam.
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