Germany and Iran.

From Der Spiegel: "German technology has made it into an Iranian nuclear power plant despite an export ban. Prosecutors are investigating the case and the German Foreign Ministry is concerned about the damage to Germany's credibility."

Yet, Der Spiegel reports that the US is using "rough-handed methods" trying to get Germany to impose harsher sanctions on Iran. Why would the US use such methods? Again, from Der Spiegel: "... the US government is no longer content with United Nations economic sanctions on Tehran -- Washington wants more. And so, US President George W. Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have directed [US Under Secretary of the Treasury Stuart] Levey to form a worldwide economic coalition of the willing to increase the pressure on Iran. Despite their best efforts, American officials are irked that German companies are still doing business worth billions with Tehran. In particular, Washington has little understanding for the export guarantees Berlin still offers firms, effectively helping the mullah regime to buy new ships and power plant technologies."

And why would the Germans not seemingly care about propping up the Iranian government? Also from Der Spiegel: "In an interview with an online magazine [Udo Steinbach, director of the German Institute of Middle East Studies in Hamburg] said Europe should not feel threatened by Iran. "Europe," he said, "would certainly be the last target Iran would think of if it did in fact pursue aggressive intentions. Iran as a nuclear power," he continued, would only be a threat to "its neighbors, such as a secular Turkey and, of course, Israel."

[Germany] [Der Spiegel] [Iran] [nuclear power] [export control] [Israel]