A new intelligence report from Germany’s northernmost state Schleswig-Holstein disclosed detailed information on Tuesday about the secretive methods which the Islamic Republic of Iran uses to cover up its attempts to secure illicit technology for the world’s most deadly weapons.
“Proliferation-relevant countries such as Iran, North Korea and Syria, but also Pakistan, try to circumvent safety precautions and legal export regulations and to disguise illegal procurement activities. To do this, they turn to mostly conspiratorial means and methods,” wrote the intelligence agency.
The Iranian regime’s methods to obtain illicit weapons of mass destruction technology, according to the intelligence report, include “The creation of a neutral firm to deceive the buyer about the true nature of the sale through a state-controlled company; the establishment of illegal procurement networks which belong to the front companies and middlemen.”
The intelligence agency said Iran’s regime can also use “Detour deliveries over ‘third states’ in order not to identify the final buyer” and “the use and misuse of inexperienced freight deliverers and transporters.”
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According to the intelligence, the Islamic Republic can also “distribute the illegal procurement activities in many individual non-suspicious deliveries to avoid exposing the entire business.”
Tehran can “conceal the end user” and conceal the “individual, company or institution with which the goods ultimately remain,” wrote the intelligence agency.
Schleswig-Holstein, which borders Denmark, is a center of “many companies, but also universities, colleges and universities of applied sciences that have sensitive technical knowledge and know-how,” said the report.
The intelligence agency said that in 2020 it conducted 12 conversations with companies and academic institutions to “sensitize” them about “counter-proliferation” attempts.
Iran’s regime is cited 19 times in the 218-page intelligence report which covers security threats to the state’s democracy.
Within the context of illegal proliferation procurement, the report stated that “Products that can be used both civilly and militarily is of particular importance (so-called dual-use goods) as they are supposedly easier to obtain. States like Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Syria and Russia continue to strive to acquire such corresponding products, technologies and scientific know-how.”
The document stressed that “Proliferation is a serious threat to security in many regions of the world, including the Federal Republic of Germany and thus for the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The Federal Republic of Germany is one of the most important export nations in the world. The export of military as well as civilian goods (the export of so-called dual-use goods) are subject therefore to special control.” The report stated that merchandise such as software can used also be used for military purposes.