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http://intelligence-summit.blogspot.com/2006/03/report-german-firms-involved-in.html

Thursday, March 23, 2006

"Report: German Firms Involved in Illegal Arms Exports to Iran"

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Even as tensions simmer between Iran and the West over Teheran's nuclear program, security sources in Germany say around 100 dummy firms are illegally exporting arms to the Islamic country.

Speaking to German public broadcaster ARD on Monday, security experts confirmed that as many as up to 100 dummy firms in Germany are involved in illegally exporting components for missiles and aircraft to Iran.

Johannes Schmalzl, president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the state of Baden-Württemberg, told the program "Report Mainz" that the situation wasn't entirely new. "We've been devoting time to the topic since 2002," he said. "And we've concluded that an estimated 100 dummy firms in Germany are involved in it."

Schmalzl added that the authorities could hardly keep up with the scale of illegal exports to Iran. "When I say, 100 dummy firms, you can imagine that when we discover one and the federal prosecutor opens a case against them, we're happy and pat ourselves on the back. But 99 others are still in business," Schmalzl said.

Shopping for illegal arms

The television program reported that most of the exports were designed to refine and perfect Iran's missile program, which is widely considered a key part of Teheran's ambitions to establish itself as a serious nuclear and military power. Many say it would pose a direct threat to Israel.

According to the station, for years Iran has been sending agents on shopping trips to Europe and to Germany in order to improve the reach and precision of their missiles.

Most of the Iranian spies disguised the arms exports through a maze of trade firms and distributions points both within Iran and abroad. According to German authorities, such networks served to mislead authorities and facilitate the illegal exports."