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German material discovered in Iranian-made Syrian chemical weapons

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A German company legally sold to Iran dual-use technology, which it appears Syrian forces used to carry out a chemical attack on its own people.

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

German intelligence reports released last year made clear that Iran attempted over 30 times to obtain illicit nuclear and missile goods from Germany during 2016. Now it seems that the German federal authorities approved a local license to sell Iranian businesses militarily applicable equipment that was used in a Syrian chemical rocket attack that injured 21 people, including children.

According to a report Monday in the German newspaper Bild, the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control allowed the Krempel Group to sell electronic press boards (an insulating material) to Iranian companies. After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched two poisonous gas attacks last year, photos of the rocket debris displayed the Krempel company’s logo.

These findings were revealed by the human rights group, Syrians for Truth and Justice, Bild and the online investigative website Bellingcat.

These products are dual-use technology, meaning that they can be used for civilian as well as military purposes. A spokesman for Krempel told Bild that the company was “shocked… that its Pressspan PSP-3040 apparently was used in motors that were applied to weapons of war.”

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While it remains unclear whether the sale violated UN regulations or American sanctions, Germany’s commitment to addressing the threat Iran poses to the West may now come under serious doubt.

Germany is currently Iran’s largest EU trade partner. In 2017, its exports to the regime in Tehran increased 19%, amounting to well over €2 billion in export volume.

With that being said, two weeks ago Der Spiegel magazine reported that Germany was lobbying among European allies to agree to new sanctions against Iran in an attempt to prevent US President Donald Trump from walking away from the nuclear deal he has called “fatally flawed.”