Intelligence from two German states has concluded that Iran has been making efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Post reports that the German states of Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s intelligence have each issued reports spanning hundreds of pages on the threat of nuclear proliferation, particularly Iran. The Bavarian report stated that Iran is attempting “to expand its conventional arsenal of weapons with weapons of mass destruction,” which would include “atomic, biological, chemical weapons.” Iran has attempted to hide their actions through an illicit end-around of “German export controls,” according to the Post.
Similarly, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern report concluded that Iran, along with Pakistan, Syria and North Korea, are among the countries that are using their intelligence agencies to engage “in unlawful procurement activities in the field of proliferation, using globally oriented, conspiratorial business and commercial structures.”
The aforementioned intelligence reports come as President Donald Trump’s visiting the United Kingdom, where he is expected to seek help from the British government in putting pressure on Iran. The Trump administration currently sees Iran as the chief threat in the Middle East; in May 2018, Trump announced that the United States would be leaving the Iran nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions on Iran.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Switzerland on June 2 that the U.S. would be open to a dialogue with Iran without any pre-conditions, but Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told ABC’s Martha Raddatz that Iran would only engage in a dialogue with Trump if he showed them “respect.”
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