Germany says forces in Iran trying to torpedo nuclear deal
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Responding on Friday to German intelligence agency reports that Iran has been trying to acquire nuclear technology in Germany, Berlin said that certain forces in Iran may be trying to undermine its nuclear deal with the West.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), said in its annual report that Iranian efforts to illegally procure technology, especially in the nuclear area, had continued at a "high level" in 2015. A separate report from the intelligence agency in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia this week said it had registered 141 attempts to acquire technology for proliferation purposes last year and that two-thirds of these attempts were linked to Iran.
Asked about the reports on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said that "There are forces within Iran for which the policies of the country's president and foreign minister are a thorn in the eye," and that "They may be trying, one way or another, to undermine or torpedo the nuclear deal and the normalisation of relations between us and Iran. We are watching this closely." Despite the alleged attempts, Schaefer said Germany had a "great deal of faith" in President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and had the impression that Tehran was doing its best to stick to the deal.
