Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Benjamin Weinthal is an internationally-recognized journalist who serves as FDD's eyes and ears on the ground in  Central Europe. He is based in Berlin and is  an indispensable member of the Iran Energy Project team, with a knack for uncovering the relationships between European energy companies and Iran.

Benjamin Weinthal is an internationally-recognized journalist who serves as FDD's eyes and ears on the ground in  Central Europe. He is based in Berlin and is  an indispensable member of the Iran Energy Project team, with a knack for uncovering the relationships between European energy companies and Iran.

Benjamin's investigative reporting has contributed greatly to the West's understanding of the Iranian energy sector. In November 2007, Benjamin broke a story revealing $5.7 billion in business transactions between Germany and Iran, establishing Germany as Iran's most important trading partner in the EU.  In 2008, energy and engineering giant Siemens reduced its trade with Iran following a Wall Street Journal op-ed that Benjamin wrote.  A January 2010 article by Benjamin reported on the pro-Iranian trade practices of the German-Emirati Joint Council for Industry and Commerce, which advised companies how to go through the United Arab Emirates to avoid sanctions.

Benjamin reports on European-Iranian relations and Europe-based anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism for The Wall Street Journal Europe, Slate, The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, National Review Online, the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post and the German daily Der Tagesspiegel.