The German intelligence agency of the state of Hesse published a new document on countering the spread of weapons of mass destruction, singling out the Islamic Republic of Iran as one of two states seeking to obtain the ultimate form of powerful weapons.

The Jerusalem Post reviewed the late June document that states: “Weapons of mass destruction are a continued instrument of power politics that also, in regional and international crises situations, can shatter the entire stability of state structures. States like Iran and North Korea attempt, in the context of proliferation, to acquire and spread such weapons by, for example, disguising the transportation ways through third countries.”

The report said that the goal of the intelligence agencies of Iran and North Korea is “to circumvent control mechanisms in countries that are not especially subject to embargo restrictions.”

According to the Hesse report, proliferation is defined as “the production and spreading of weapons of mass destruction” and “the acquisition of compatible missile carrying systems and technology by states for which these weapons were not previously available.”

The intelligence agency explained that the “goal of counter-intelligence is to prevent” countries like Iran and North Korea, who seek weapons of mass destruction.

The report listed some types of illegal proliferation technology that countries want for the production of weapons of mass destruction. The examples include “equipment for the enrichment of uranium, nuclear reactors in connection with reprocessing plants, bioreactors, drying installation facilities, and the production process for precursor chemical products.”

As a general rule, the intelligence agency noted, countries do not obtain completed weapons of mass destruction, rather secure “individual components, equipment, technologies and their products.”

German regional domestic intelligence agencies like the Hesse organization are the rough equivalent of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

The state of Hesse has not yet published its intelligence report covering the year of 2017. Germany’s 16 states each publish intelligence reports covering threats to the constitutional, democratic system. The federal government publishes a nation-wide report that covers more broad terms, such as threats like radical Islam, weapons proliferation and right-wing and left-wing extremism.