LONDON — Germany has confirmed that Iran and Syria have obtained
advanced Geman technology for their missile programs, according to a published report.
A German government alert said Iran and Syria have acquired advanced
components and technology from German companies. The alert said the two
Middle East states have used Germany to enhance the range and accuracy of
their missiles.
Russia has served as the liasion for the
delivery of German technology to Iran and Syria, the German magazine Focus reported Monday. Russian government institutions transferred the missile technology to
production facilities in Damascus and Teheran, the report said.
"Leading-edge [German] technology sold in a completely legal fashion to
Russian enterprises and research institutes has been transmitted immediately
to Iranian and Syrian workshops manufacturing missiles," Focus said.
Berlin has sent warnings to scores of German firms that Iran and Syria
were operating through front groups to obtain technology and material for
medium- and intermediate-range missiles. The alert cited Iran's Shihab-3 and
Syria's Scud D programs.
The government alert was said to have cited 15 Russian companies and
research entities. They included the missile factory in Samara and Moscow's
State Technical University, long linked to Iran's Shihab-3 program.
Iran acquired German-origin measuring instruments and propulsion and
guidance systems for the Shihab-3, Focus said. The missile, designed to
deliver a nuclear warhead, was said to have a range of 2,000 kilometers and
could strike southern Europe.
For its part, Damascus has used German technology to modernize Syria's
Scud-based missile arsenal. Damascus has based most of its missile program
on North Korean and Chinese technology and assistance. The programs have
included the Scud C and D missiles, with ranges of 550 and 700 kilometers,
respectively.
This was the second disclosure of German assistance to the Shihab-3
program in 2005. In April, three German executives were arrested for
supplying Iran with missile-launch technology.
