German intel denies Iran nuclear report
benny weinthal, jerusalem post correspondent in BERLIN , THE JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 15, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443818905&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

BERLIN - Iran has the ability to build and test a nuclear weapon within six
months, the Stern newsweekly's online edition on Wednesday quoted an
unidentified agent at Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND) as
saying.

"If they wanted to, they could detonate an atomic bomb in a half a year's
time," a BND official said, according to the report. Agency experts told the
magazine Iran could test a device underground, as North Korea has done.

While federal court decisions in January and May involving illegal
German-Iranian trade with respect to Teheran's nuclear weapons program cited
BND expert opinions saying the Islamic republic has an active nuclear
weapons program, the Stern article highlighted the accelerated pace of
Iran's efforts to become a nuclear power.

"No one would have believed it a few years ago," a BND expert told the
magazine.

But there appears to be conflicting reports from BND officials. A BND
spokesman told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that "we are not talking
about months, but years."

He said a six-month threshold is a "shortened" period that does not
correspond with the BND's assessment of Teheran's atomic bomb program. The
spokesman added that Iran could reach nuclear weapons capability within a
"four-to-seven-year" period.

Asked if the BND is cooperating with Israeli intelligence, the spokesman
declined to comment. According to observers, Germany's longstanding business
and political relations with the Islamic republic provide intelligence
gathering opportunities.

However, the Stern report said mid-level German firms are supplying Iran
with technology and components to build ballistic missiles, and that Iran is
intensively building missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads.
According to the newsweekly, German companies are working with Said Mohammad
Hosseinian, who is coordinating Iran's efforts to acquire components that it
cannot purchase legally.

The federal republic conducted roughly EURO 4 billion in commerce with Iran
in 2008, and is its largest European Union trade partner. Germany has faced
criticism for its lax export control system, and its refusal to crack down
on the flourishing trade relationship with Iran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a June 5 report that Iran's
stockpile of low-enriched uranium had jumped 33 percent since a report by
the UN agency on February 19, which had showed a 20% increase over the
previous quarter. Iran had also installed 31% more centrifuges for enriching
uranium, bringing the total to 7,221.

Bloomberg contributed to this report.