Spying on Jews in Berlin on Iran's behalf? Arrest

The Danish national is suspected of having acted on behalf of an Iranian secret service, as the highest German prosecution authority announced.

At the beginning of the year, the accused was given the task of collecting information about Jewish locations and certain Jewish people in Berlin, according to the statement. To this end, he spied on three properties in June. "This presumably served to prepare further secret service operations in Germany, possibly including attacks against Jewish targets," said the federal prosecutor's office in the south-western German city of Karlsruhe.

Transfer to Germany planned

Danish officials arrested the man last Thursday in Aarhus, the Scandinavian country's second-largest city, the authorities added. He is now to be transferred to Germany and brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, who will decide on his pre-trial detention. The Federal Criminal Police Office is conducting the police investigation.

According to the "Spiegel", an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards is said to have given orders to prepare possible attacks in Berlin. The arrested man has Afghan roots. According to the report, he is said to have taken photos of buildings, including the headquarters of the German-Israeli Society.

Jewish institutions in Germany recently more strongly protected

Israel attacked Iran on June 13 and bombed targets across the country. The government cited the threat posed by Iran's controversial nuclear program as justification - Israel fears that the Islamic Republic could build a nuclear bomb. Iran denies this and responded with missile and drone attacks. A ceasefire is now in place.

In Germany, the federal and state interior ministries stepped up measures to protect Israeli and Jewish facilities after the start of the Israeli attack.