Employees of the Research Institute for Protective Technologies, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection (WIS) inspect a dummy sample which is contaminated with a substance similar to the chemical weapon Sarin.. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Berlin – Iran’s proliferation activities span eight German states and involve a range of activities to advance its chemical and biological warfare capabilities, as well as its nuclear and missile programs.

The vast scale of the Islamic Republic’s network to obtain nuclear and missile technology goes beyond what was disclosed in recent German intelligence reports released on Thursday.

The Jerusalem Post has examined intelligence data and reports from the 16 German states, which included new information on Iranian chemical and biological weapons programs. Half of Germany’s state governments reported in their 2015 intelligence documents attempts by Tehran to secure nuclear-related goods.

The state of Saarland wrote in its 2015 intelligence report released last month that “so-called danger states, for example, Iran and North Korea, make efforts to obtain technology for atomic, biological or chemical weapons.” Iran also seeks “missile delivery systems as well as goods and know-how for proliferation.”

According to the intelligence report from Rhineland-Palatinate state, which was also released in June, Iran was one of the foreign countries that targeted “German companies” in the state whose equipment could be “implemented for atomic, biological and chemical weapons in a war.”

“Special attention was paid in the report’s time period to proliferation relevant activities of Iran, Pakistan and North Korea,” the document stated.

The weapons of mass destruction could be used by Iran to pursue “political goals,” it added.

“These goods could, for example, be applied to the development of state nuclear and missile delivery programs,” the Rhineland-Palatinate intelligence agency wrote. Because of contacts between the Rhineland-Palatinate’s Agency for the Protection of the Constitution (comparable to Shin Bet) and local companies, “illegal exports and the reputational damage” for the businesses could be prevented, the agency wrote. It is unclear how many attempts the Islamic Republic made to illegally secure technology and goods in Rhineland-Palatinate.

More here.