Germany foils Iranian plot to attack Jews
Jens Rommel, the federal prosecutor, said police had arrested 'Ali S', a Danish citizen of Afghan origin, on suspicion of carrying out surveillance of potential targets.
Ali S is accused of taking photographs of buildings, including the German-Israeli Society and a house linked to Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
According to Der Spiegel, the German magazine, Ali S was recruited by the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite Iranian military unit formerly led by Qassim Soleimani and now by Esmail Ghaani.
Soleimani was assassinated by the United States in 2020. Ghaani is understood be alive, despite reports that he was killed last month during the Iran-Israel missile exchanges.
The Quds Force reports directly to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.
Mr Schuster said he was shocked by the news of an apparent attempt on his life.
'The arrest of a suspected spy for the Iranian terror regime, who is said to have spied on Jewish and Israeli facilities in Germany, is a clear alarm signal,' he said.
'This successful interception must be a final signal, to all those who underestimate the hatred and destruction fantasies held by the Mullah regime towards Israel and Jews across the world.'
Volker Beck, the president of the German-Israeli Society, said he wished to thank the German security services for their vigilance.
He added: 'That Iran prepares and plans these attacks on Jewish representatives and pro-Israel activists is a clear sign of the terrorist nature of this regime.'
The arrest came after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire last week, ending a 12-day conflict that killed an estimated 1,000 Iranians and at least 29 Israelis.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, launched a salvo of airstrikes on key Iranian military facilities and its nuclear programme, which Israel regards as an existential threat.
The conflict ended when Donald Trump, the US president, struck three Iranian nuclear facilities on the ninth day of the war and secured a ceasefire.
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