German federal prosecutors filed charges on Thursday against a man accused of spying on Jews and friends of Israel in Germany on behalf of Iran, for the purpose of planning murder and arson attacks.
Those targeted included Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, according to a statement issued by the Karlsruhe-based authority.
It accuses the Danish national of Afghan origin of conducting intelligence agent activities. An alleged accomplice has also been charged, who is said to have promised to support him in the possible preparation of an attack.
Authorities at the Higher Regional Court in Hamburg must now decide whether to admit the charges against the two men and, if so, when a trial will take place.
Arrest in Denmark
Danish police officers arrested the then-53-year-old key suspect on June 26 last year in Aarhus, Denmark's second-largest city. A few weeks later he was transferred to Germany and brought before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.
He has been held in pre-trial detention in Germany since then.
At the start of 2025, the suspected spy is said to have received the order to gather information about Schuster and Beck.
"He was also to spy on two Jewish food traders in Berlin," the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said. In early 2025, the Dane is alleged to have carried out instructions to scout various locations in Berlin.
Beck demands consequences
The order is said to have been issued by the al-Quds Force - the overseas unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - according to earlier information. Their tasks include covert intelligence operations abroad.
Beck insisted that consequences must be taken: "Jewish life, and commitment to the Jewish and democratic state, are being threatened and attacked with murder by the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran on German soil - again and again," he said.
The German-Israeli Society is calling on Berlin to expel the Iranian ambassador. Further Iranian diplomats should also be declared personae non grata and asked to leave Germany.
Preparations for arson attacks
The first tip-off about the suspected spy came from a friendly foreign intelligence service, according to Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
He said after last year's arrest that Germany had cooperated with several foreign services in the matter. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to dpa that the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad was involved.
The arrested person was suspected of having made preparations for arson attacks, Dobrindt said at the time. He is alleged to have attempted to recruit people to carry out these attacks, among other things. The German Foreign Office summoned the Iranian ambassador following the arrest.
Iran speaks of "campaign" to distract from war
Iran firmly rejected the allegations at the time. The Iranian embassy in Berlin spoke of "unfounded and dangerous claims," the government-aligned ISNA news agency reported. The allegations were part of a campaign to distract from Israel's war against Iran at the time, it said.
Israel attacked Iran on June 13, 2025, bombing targets across the country. The government cited the threat posed by Iran's disputed nuclear programme as justification. Iran denies allegations that it is attempting to build a nuclear weapon, and responded at the time with missile and drone attacks. The US subsequently bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.
War broke out again in February; a ceasefire is now in effect.
Further arrest in November
In November, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office had the man, now charged as the co-defendant, arrested in Denmark.
The Afghan national is alleged to have promised the Danish defendant that he would procure a weapon for an unknown third party and persuade that person to carry out a murder attack on Beck, the prosecutor's office said.
He too has been held in pre-trial detention since his extradition to Germany.
The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) sharpened its criticism of Europe's handling of Iran's leadership. "Now at the latest, nobody can speak of isolated cases any longer," said CER Secretary General Gady Gronich.
"The Iranian regime is waging a systematic campaign of terror against Jews, against Israel and against democratic societies - including in the heart of Europe and on German soil."
All structures tasked with providing finance, cover and influence in Europe must be exposed and dismantled without compromise, the CER demanded. The German-Israeli Society made similar demands.
"A red line has been crossed," if targeted murder plots against leading figures of Jewish life are now coming to light, Gronich argued.
"Democratic states must finally understand: Iranian terror is not just directed against Jews or Israel. It is directed against the freedom of Europe itself."
