The German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) claim that Iran has made numerous attempts to acquire missiles and nuclear technology last year, violating the 2015 nuclear deal agreement.
According to the report cited by Sputnik, Iran used shell companies located in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to bypass 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the agreement to freeze Iran’s nuclear weapons program – restrictions.
The document lists Iran as being involved in proliferation or “spreading atomic, biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction.”
The federal team detailed that the middle eastern country had made 141 overall attempts, most of which were done before the JCPOA was established. The report did not say if any of the attempts were successful.
Contrarily, German officials told Fox News – which broke the BND report – that they were unaware of any violations by Iran.
“We have no indication of Iran violating its JCPOA commitments,” said an official, who chose to remain anonymous. “Quite on the contrary, the recent 2016 Report of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution states that there is no evidence of Iran violating the JCPOA.”
The official added that “Having said that, we remain worried by Iran’s missile program. The aforementioned report, as well as reports from regional intelligence authorities, shows that Germany is highly vigilant in this regard and will continue to [be vigilant]. However, this issue is outside the scope of the JCPOA and needs to be dealt with separately.”
The BND report further alleges that Tehran has spread “atomic, biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction,” and that they invited “guest academics” from North Korea, Pakistan and Sudan to participate in weapons and nuclear programs. Officials pointed to the possible use of “research exchanges at universities in the sector of biological and chemical procedures” by foreign intelligence services.
When asked if the illicit exports and the unlawful attempts had been reported to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), diplomats told Fox News: “We have no indication of Iran violating its JCPOA commitments. Quite on the contrary, the recent 2016 Report of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution states that there is no evidence of Iran violating the JCPOA.”
UNSC resolution 2231 recommends that all “activities with Iran for nuclear and non-nuclear civilian end use” sent to a technical UN working group on procurement.
The JCPOA agreement allows Iran to produce a small amount of low-enriched uranium that can be used for a nuclear energy, but not weapons.
Germany is a signatory to the agreement, which Chancellor Angela Merkel referred to as “an important success” for international diplomacy.
However, Merkel’s counterpart, U.S. President Donald Trump frequently threatens to declare Iran in violation. The latter is expected to address the issue of recertifying Iran’s compliance, done every three months, on Thursday.
On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared Iran compliant. Iran is required to disclose information about their nuclear program to inspectors from the IAEA.
German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel is concerned that a declaration of noncompliance from the United States will deter North Korea from giving thought to discontinuing its nuclear weapons program.
Gabriel told reporters on Monday that, while Germany was open to increasing pressure on Iran, “we do not want to see this agreement damaged,” before he added that, “Our big concern is with, regard to North Korea, that it is very unlikely the North Korean dictatorship is ready to agree to an international agreement to renounce the building of nuclear weapons if the only agreement in the world that has allowed such a renunciation is at the same time called into question.”
Via TeleSur
German Official Claims That Trump’s Iran Plans Driving EU Towards Russia And China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCdeRFZ_osc&feature=youtu.be
