Tehran rejects any role in plot to kill leaders of German Jewish groups

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkMajid Nili Ahmadabadi, Iran's Ambassador to Germany, gives an interview to AFP at the Iranian embassy in Berlin on March 19, 2026 [John MacDougall/AFP]By AFP and ReutersPublished On 19 Oct 202619 Oct 2026Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Germany’s ambassador after a court in Hamburg found two men guilty of plotting to kill two leaders of Jewish organisations at Tehran’s behest, accusing Berlin of leveling “baseless political allegations”.The decision to summon envoy Axel Dittmann came after Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador, Majid Nili Ahmadabadi, on Monday over allegations that Tehran was behind the plot to assassinate the two pro-Israel public figures.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran expels two Germany diplomats in tit-for-tat movelist 2 of 3Man arrested for ‘spying’ for Iran before possible attacks in Germanylist 3 of 3Germany arrests three men suspected of targeting Jewish institutionsend of list“Levelling security-related accusations against Iran has long been a tactic employed by the Zionist regime and certain Western nations,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement broadcast by official news agency IRNA.“Attempting to provide a judicial face to baseless political claims not only fails to lend any credibility to such allegations but also undermines the standing of the German judiciary itself,” the statement added.Hamburg convictionBerlin’s allegations stem from a court case involving two men, a Danish national and an Afghan national, who were convicted in a Hamburg court on Thursday for planning to target the president of Germany’s main group representing the Jewish community and the head of the German-Israeli society.The German Foreign Ministry said on X that the Iranian ambassador had been summoned, adding Tehran would not be allowed to “threaten our free society”.“The malicious assassination attempts against Josef Schuster and Volker Beck will have legal consequences,” it added.“We do not tolerate attacks on Jewish life and on those who defend it anywhere, and certainly not in Germany.”The Dane, partially identified as Ali Hassan S, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years.The Afghan, who was recruited as his accomplice, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years.The court said that one of the men had been steered by Iran’s intelligence service.The pair were arrested in Denmark last year and extradited.In sentencing the men, the judge said they were guilty of “terrorist activities orchestrated by Iran”.At the time they were charged, the Iranian embassy in Berlin released a statement rejecting what it called “unfounded allegations made at the behest of Iran’s enemies”.