Iran and Germany

Carolyn Glick writes at Breitbart,

On April 9, Iran celebrated “Nuclear Day.” Regime officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, threatened the U.S., saying that if America abandons the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal, then Iran can restore uranium enrichment to weapons grade levels within two days.

These threats underscore the point, made repeatedly by nuclear watchdogs and nuclear deal opponents, that under the nuclear deal, Iran has expanded its nuclear capabilities.

With the May 12 deadline set by President Trump for the U.S. and its allies to improve the Iran deal, the U.S. and its European allies have less than a month to agree on new provisions that can make the deal worth retaining.

During his Senate confirmation hearing this week, Pompeo said that the Trump administration prefers to amend the deal in a manner that would satisfy U.S. requirements, but the U.S. will consider other actions if it cannot be adequately improved.

In his words, “I want to fix this deal; that’s the objective. In the event that we conclude we can’t fix this deal … then the president is going to be given the best advice, including by me. If there’s no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we do our level best to work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and a better deal.”

In his written testimony to the Senate, Pompeo noted that Iran’s illicit nuclear program is just one of many ways that Iran’s actions threaten America and its allies.

In his words, “We cannot let the nuclear file prevent us from acting against Iran’s cyber efforts or its attempts to provide missiles to the Houthis [in Yemen] to attack Saudi Arabia and Americans who travel there. Iran’s activities in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon threaten the very existence of Israel, and the global reach of Hezbollah threatens us right here in the homeland.”

Distressingly, one of the key parties blocking U.S. efforts to curb Iranian capabilities in all areas is one of America’s closest allies: Germany.

Although Germany is a member of NATO and is perceived as a loyal U.S. ally, in practice, Germany is one of Iran’s most powerful protectors and promoters.

For the past several weeks, administration officials have told reporters that Germany is selling Iran technology that Iran is using to help the Assad regime replenish its chemical weapons stocks.

Last week, the Jerusalem Post reported that the Germany’s Krempel Group provided components found on the Iranian rockets used by the Syrian regime in its chemical attack in Douma.

…As for the nuclear deal with Iran, according to administration officials involved in negotiations with the Europeans to amend the deal, Germany is the principle obstacle to substantive changes to the agreement.

According a report in the Washington Free Beacon, a U.S. official said that Germany refuses to agree to apply sanctions against Iran for its development of ballistic weapons.

…In part, Germany’s insistence on protecting Hezbollah and Iranian operations in Europe owes to its economic interests. In 2017, German trade with Iran rose 17 percent, from $3.2 billion to $4.3 billion. The vast majority of trade between Germany and Iran is German exports.

Read more here.