Latest news with #JewishTargets
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Danish national wanted in Germany arrested after allegedly spying on Jewish targets for Iran
A Danish national was arrested in Denmark on allegations of gathering information on Jewish locations and people in Berlin for Iranian intelligence and will be extradited to Germany, German and Danish authorities announced Tuesday. The man, identified only as Ali S. under German privacy law, was arrested Thursday in the Danish city of Aarhus, according to German prosecutors. He was directed by an Iranian intelligence service earlier this year to gather information on "Jewish localities and specific Jewish individuals" in Berlin, prosecutors said. The suspect is accused of spying on three locations in June, presumably in preparation for further intelligence activities, including possible terrorist attacks on Jewish targets, prosecutors said. Iranian Ambassador to Germany Majid Nili Ahmadabadi was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry 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," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said after visiting a Jewish synagogue in the Ukrainian city of Odesa during a visit to the country. The Iranian Embassy in Berlin denied the allegations as "unfounded and dangerous accusations" that it argued appeared to be an attempt to distract from recent 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," the embassy said in a statement. German security authorities stepped up protection for Jewish and Israeli sites in response to the 12-day war last month between Israel and Iran. During the conflict, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany was prepared for Iran to target Israeli or Jewish targets in the country. The suspect allegedly 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 believed to sometimes stay, according to Der Spiegel magazine. "The extended arms of Iranian terror must have no place in Germany," a statement from the German-Israeli Society said, calling on the European Union to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization. Schuster added that "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." Ali S. will be moved from Denmark to Germany, where he 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, according to Denmark's national security and intelligence service.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Berlin summons Iranian ambassador over arrest of alleged spy
BERLIN: Iran's ambassador to Germany was summoned by the foreign ministry on Tuesday after the arrest in Denmark of a man suspected of spying on Jewish targets in Berlin for Tehran. 'We will not tolerate any threat to Jewish life in Germany,' the ministry said in a post on X announcing the summoning. It added that the allegations needed to be 'thoroughly investigated.' The Danish suspect, identified only as Ali S., was arrested in the city of Aarhus by local police on Thursday, the German federal prosecutor's office said in a statement earlier on Tuesday. The man was 'strongly suspected of having worked for an intelligence service,' they said. Ali S. had in early 2025 'received an order from an Iranian intelligence service to collect information on Jewish localities and specific Jewish individuals in Berlin.' To this end, he allegedly scoped out three properties in June. The suspected reconnaissance work was 'presumably in preparation of further intelligence activities in Germany, possibly including terrorist attacks on Jewish targets,' the statement said. Speaking on a visit to Odesa in Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that, if confirmed, the incident 'would once again underline that Iran is a threat to Jews all over the world.' According to German weekly Der Spiegel, the suspect had taken photos of buildings including the seat of the German-Israeli Society in Berlin. Investigators believe Ali S. was working on behalf of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Der Spiegel reported. Germany has been on high alert for possible attacks against Jewish people since Palestinian militant group Hamas's assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza. In September, German police shot dead a young Austrian man known to have had ties to radical Islam as he was preparing to carry out an attack on the Israeli consulate in Munich. German authorities have also been on alert for potential Iranian espionage activity on their soil. A German-Iranian national was jailed in late 2023 over a plot to attack a synagogue in the western German city of Bochum in 2022. Authorities said the plot was planned with the help of 'Iranian state agencies.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Danish National Suspected of Spying for Iran on Jewish Targets in Berlin, Prosecutors Say
A Danish national has been arrested in Denmark on suspicion of spying for Iran with the aim of collecting information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin, German prosecutors said on Tuesday. They 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, Reuters reported. The Iranian embassy in Berlin rejected the allegations as "unfounded and dangerous accusations" that it said appeared to be 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. According to Der Spiegel magazine, the suspect took photos of houses. Those included 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 neighboring 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. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last month, during the air war between Iran and Israel, that Germany was prepared for Iran targeting Israeli or Jewish targets in the country, without going into detail. The German-Israeli Society called on the German government to summon Iran's ambassador and also 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.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Man accused of gathering information on Jews in Berlin for Iran arrested in Denmark, officials say
A man suspected of gathering information on Jewish locations and individuals in Berlin for Iranian intelligence, possibly with a view to carrying out attacks, has been arrested in Denmark, German prosecutors said Tuesday. The Danish national, identified only as Ali S. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested on Thursday in the Danish city of Aarhus, federal prosecutors said in a statement. The man was tasked by an Iranian intelligence service early this year with gathering information on 'Jewish localities and specific Jewish individuals' in Berlin, prosecutors said. They didn't elaborate. He spied on three properties in June, 'presumably in preparation of further intelligence activities in Germany, possibly including terrorist attacks on Jewish targets,' prosecutors said. The suspect is accused of working for an intelligence service of a foreign power. The information leading to his arrest came from Germany's domestic intelligence service, prosecutors said. The suspect will be brought before a judge in Germany to determine whether he is kept in custody pending formal charges after extradition from Denmark. It was not immediately clear when that will happen. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel and has a long history of tense relations with Tehran, though it has been one of the three leading European powers trying to engage Iran in diplomacy over its nuclear program. In October, Germany ordered the closure of all three Iranian Consulates in the country in response to the Iranian judiciary's announcement of the execution of Iranian German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd, who lived in the United States and was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces. That left the Islamic Republic with only its embassy in Berlin.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Danish national arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, German prosecutors say
BERLIN, July 1 (Reuters) - A Danish national has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, with the aim of collecting information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin, said German prosecutors on Tuesday. Prosecutors said the man, who they named as only Ali S under German privacy law, spied on three properties in June 2025 in preparation for further intelligence activities, including possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets. He is suspected to have received his orders from Iranian intelligence services in early 2025, prosecutors said. According to Der Spiegel magazine, the suspect took photos of houses, including the headquarters of the German-Israeli Society, and received his orders from the Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. Prosecutors in Germany carried out the arrest warrant with assistance from police officers in the Danish city of Aarhus last week, they said. After being transferred from Denmark, the suspect will be brought before an investigating judge of Germany's Federal Court of Justice, said prosecutors.
