Danish national wanted in Germany arrested after allegedly spying on Jewish targets for Iran
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.
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