An Iranian Emad ballistic missile. Photo: Wikipedia.

Iran has increased its efforts to obtain materials used for nuclear weapons since it signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with world powers on July 14 last year, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency warned last week, Israel’s i24 News reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the annual findings released by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) revealed that Tehran has been attempting to acquire illicit materials in Germany, “especially goods that can be used in the field of nuclear technology.”

The BfV also pointed to “a further increase in the already considerable procurement efforts in connection with Iran’s ambitious missile technology program which could, among other things, potentially serve to deliver nuclear weapons.

“Against this backdrop it is safe to expect that Iran will continue its sensitive procurement activities in Germany using clandestine methods to achieve its objectives.”

Responding angrily to these revelations – as her country is not only a signatory to the JCPOA, but is also where the Islamic Republic has been trying to purchase the illegal material – German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Bundestag on Thursday that this is “in clear violation of the UN Security Council resolutions” relating to the nuclear deal, the German news outlet Bild reported.

Though throughout the negotiations leading up to the signing of the JCPOA, Iran maintained that its pursuit of nuclear power was solely “for peaceful purposes”  — and the deal stipulated that the Islamic Republic would refrain from developing nuclear weapons for the next 15 years — statements emerging from top officials in Tehran have indicated otherwise.

Last Friday, as The Algemeiner reported, Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami warned that should the “Zionists” not learn from their past mistakes, “Today, more than 100,000 missiles are ready to fly from Lebanon… [and] tens of thousands of destructive long-range missiles” are already in the region positioned to wipe Israel off the map. “If the Zionists make a wrong move, all the occupied territories will come under attack from dedicated fighters, and God willing, the territories will be liberated.”

Salami made these statements during International Quds Day celebrations across Iran, as Iranians carried placards and chanted slogans such as, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” while burning American and Israeli flags.

Last month, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari announced: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue moving on the orbit of its strategic policies … and the agreement made on the special nuclear issue [i.e. the JCPOA] doesn’t affect the Islamic Republic of Iran’s macro policies.” In response, two US-based Iranian-born experts told The Algemeiner that Iran was emboldened, not weakened, by the nuclear deal.