Germany and Iran Exchange Summons Over Assassination Plots
Germany and Iran summoned each other's ambassadors after a Hamburg court convicted two men of plotting assassinations against pro-Israel figures on behalf of Iranian intelligence.
The German Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to Berlin on Monday following the conviction of two men for plotting assassinations against pro-Israel figures. The targets included Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society. A Hamburg court sentenced a Danish national, Ali Hassan S., to eight and a half years and an Afghan national, Tawab M., to four and a half years, finding that the men conducted terrorist activities orchestrated by Iran.
Prosecutors stated that Ali Hassan S. worked for Iranian intelligence and received orders from the Quds Force, the foreign operations unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to scout targets for assassinations and arson attacks. The German government condemned the malicious attempts and stated that Tehran would not be allowed to threaten German society.
In retaliation, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of Germany and the European Union in Tehran. Alireza Yousefi, director of the ministry's West Europe Department, summoned German Ambassador Axel Dittmann and EU representative Aidan Cronin to protest what Iran termed baseless accusations. Iranian officials characterized the judicial findings as a tactic to cover Berlin's support for U.S. and Israeli aggression, while the Iranian embassy in Berlin rejected the allegations as unfounded.
