Nokia-Siemens and the Mullahs

In June, it was revealed that in 2008 Nokia-Siemens Networks sold Iran technology the regime has since used to analyse and censor information on the internet. We now know that the Finnish-German telecommunications giant judged it unnecessary to seek an export licence from the German government. "No business with mullahs", exhorts Berlin daily Tageszeitung, reporting that politicians of all persuasions are calling for measures to be taken in the light of this affair. "It's not in Germany's interest to support the Iranian dictatorship", said one CDU (Chancellor Merkel's party) member of parliament. To legislate against this type of export seems tricky nevertheless, since Siemens made these deliveries in a legal grey zone. In the meantime, Siemens has been asked to consider a more "ethical" export policy. Although, as one Social Democrat politician concedes, "we can't ask this of any company."