Danish national suspected of spying for Iran on Jewish targets in Berlin, prosecutors say

A Danish national has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran with the aim of collecting information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin, German prosecutors said on Tuesday.

They said the man, who they named as only Ali S under German privacy law, spied on three properties in June 2025 in preparation for further intelligence activities, including possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets.

He is suspected to have received his orders from Iranian intelligence services in early 2025, prosecutors said.

According to Der Spiegel magazine, the suspect took photos of houses, including the headquarters of the German-Israeli Society, and received his orders from the Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

Prosecutors in Germany carried out the arrest warrant with assistance from police officers in the Danish city of Aarhus last week, they said.

After being transferred from neighbouring Denmark, the suspect will be brought before an investigating judge of Germany's Federal Court of Justice, said prosecutors.

The Iranian embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last month, during the air war between Iran and Israel, that Germany was prepared for Iran targeting Israeli or Jewish targets in the country, without going into detail.

(Reuters)