While the Biden administration desperately strives to cut a nuclear deal with Iran, the Tehran government continues to acquire advanced weapons technology. “Despite loose economic sanctions placed on Tehran by the West, the Iranian government has not stopped atomic bomb research and development,” Liberty Nation reported.
The Swedish government, a new NATO member-in-waiting, recently released some disturbing information. As Iran pretended to be interested in substantive talks to resurrect the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), ratified originally by former President Barack Obama, the Middle East power has covertly attempted to steal Swedish nuclear secrets. “Sweden’s Security Service disclosed in its 2020 intelligence report that the Islamic Republic of Iran seeks Swedish technology for its nuclear weapons program,” The Jerusalem Post asserted. The breaking news article revealed Iran had engaged in industrial espionage to acquire the latest high-tech products that can fabricate components of atomic weapons.
Iran Is Gravest Threat to Sweden
The Stockholm government considers Iran “one of the three countries that poses the gravest security threat to Sweden and Swedish interests,” Fox News reported. The other two, as one might expect, are Russia and China. Iran being caught red-handed trying to steal nuclear technology clearly indicates the Tehran clerics’ continuing pursuit of a deadly arsenal has not slowed.
Some experts believe Iran is very close to a working nuclear weapon. The Tehran government is just “weeks away from dashing to a bomb. We need to take action, or Iran will be a nuclear-armed power forever,” Professor Matthew Kroenig of Georgetown University told Fox. He compared Iran to North Korea, which was able to develop an atomic weapon in a short time.
The Trump administration withdrew from the flawed JCPOA because the agreement did not prevent the Iranians from acquiring nuclear-capable missiles. Nor did the Obama deal stop Iran from becoming the world’s largest exporter of terrorism. The latest efforts by the Iranian theocracy to purloin nuclear technology seems to vindicate Trump’s view of the JCPOA.
Iran Threatens Germany, Too
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei (Photo by Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Sweden is not alone in identifying Iran as an espionage threat. “In 2021, the domestic intelligence agencies identified a significant increase in the evidence of Iranian attempts to acquire proliferation-sensitive material for Iran’s nuclear program,” observed the German government’s 2021 Report on the Protection of the Constitution. This 368-page analysis of threats to the German homeland, domestic and international, made clear that Iran’s nefarious efforts focus on threatening its “declared enemies,” the United States and Israel.
Tehran’s spying is just the most recent activity that jeopardizes the West and Israel. Because the JCPOA did not limit the development and manufacturing of medium- and longer-range missiles, Iran has been busy building a formidable arsenal. The Biden national security team has done little to curtail Iran’s hostile behavior. From Tehran’s vantage point, the more the United States demonstrates an enthusiasm to solidify a nuclear agreement, the worse the Iranian clerical leadership believes it can behave. This question hangs over the negotiating table: What Iranian transgressions will the United States overlook to get a deal?
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliation.
