A Danish national has been arrested in Denmark on allegations of gathering information on Jewish locations and people in Berlin for Iranian intelligence, with the suspect accused of spying on three locations in June in preparation for potential terrorist attacks on Jewish targets. The individual, identified as Ali S. under German privacy laws, will be extradited to Germany, where he will face further legal proceedings.
The suspect 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 accused is alleged to have taken photographs 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.
In response to the allegations, Iranian Ambassador to Germany Majid Nili Ahmadabadi was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul emphasized that if the suspicions were confirmed, it would be an ‘outrageous incident’ demonstrating Iran’s threat to Jews globally. The Iranian Embassy in Berlin denied the accusations, calling them ‘unfounded and dangerous accusations’ and claiming they aimed to divert attention from recent Israeli attacks on Iran.
German security authorities have intensified protection for Jewish and Israeli sites following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last month. During the conflict, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Germany was prepared for Iran to target Israeli or Jewish targets within the country. The German-Israeli Society has called on the European Union to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization, stating that ‘the extended arms of Iranian terror must have no place in Germany.’
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. The suspect was remanded in custody until July 23, pending extradition to Germany, according to Denmark’s national security and intelligence service. The case has sparked debate on the potential threat posed by Iran to Jewish communities and has heightened security measures in the region.