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Germany arrests Danish national suspected of spying on Jewish targets for Iran
A Danish national has been arrested in Denmark on suspicion of spying for Iran by collecting information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin, and will be extradited to Germany, German and Danish authorities said on Tuesday.
German prosecutors said the man, who they named as only Ali S under German privacy law, spied on three properties in June in preparation for further intelligence activities, including possibly attacks on Jewish targets.
He is suspected of having received his orders from Iranian intelligence services in early 2025, prosecutors said.
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Germany's foreign ministry said the Iranian ambassador had been summoned on Tuesday.
'If this suspicion were confirmed, it would be an outrageous incident that would once again demonstrate that Iran is a threat to Jews all over the world,' said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, speaking after visiting a Jewish synagogue in the southern city of Odesa during a visit to Ukraine.
The Iranian embassy in Berlin rejected the allegations as 'unfounded and dangerous accusations' that it said appeared designed to distract from Israeli attacks on Iran.
'Previous discussions with relevant German authorities have already highlighted that certain third parties are attempting to divert public perceptions from the actual events through artificial staging,' it said in a statement.
The foreign ministry in Tehran did not respond to a call for comment.
According to Der Spiegel magazine, the suspect took photos of buildings including the headquarters of the German-Israeli Society and a building where the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, was said to occasionally stay.
After being transferred from neighbouring Denmark, the suspect will be brought before an investigating judge of Germany's Federal Court of Justice, prosecutors said.
The suspect was remanded in custody until July 23, pending extradition to Germany, Denmark's PET national security and intelligence service said in a statement.
During last month's 12-day war between Iran and Israel, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany was prepared for Iran targeting Israeli or Jewish targets in the country, without going into detail.
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The German-Israeli Society called on the European Union to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.
'The extended arms of Iranian terror must have no place in Germany,' it said in a statement.
Schuster called it a 'clear alarm signal' in an emailed statement.
'The German government should not only remain vigilant but also take active political action against the Iranian regime —there can be no other consequence for this allegedly planned terrorist attack,' he said.
The Danish justice ministry and foreign ministry both referred enquiries to the Danish intelligence service.
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