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Iranian terror cell that allegedly targeted Jews arrested in Europe

Tawab M. was apprehended in Denmark on suspicion of promising to procure weapons for an attack against targets in Berlin.

Pro-Palestinian Rally in Berlin, Germany
A pro-Palestinian rally in Berlin, Nov. 4, 2023. Credit: Streets of Berlin via Wikimedia Commons.

An Afghan national was arrested in Denmark on Wednesday on suspicion of taking part in an Iranian plot to attack Jewish targets in Germany, the Associated Press reported.

The suspect, identified only as Tawab M. due to German privacy laws, allegedly promised a Danish national, Ali S., that he would obtain weapons for a trio to carry out an attack in Berlin.

Ali S., who was arrested in May, is suspected of gathering information on Jewish sites and individuals in the German capital for Iranian intelligence, the report said.

The identity of the third suspect was not disclosed.

A German federal prosecutor said that Tawab M. was arrested on suspicion of “having agreed to incite another person to commit a homicide,” the report read.

Tawab M. is expected to be extradited to Germany and be brought before a judge, AP added.

On Oct. 1, Federal Police arrested three men in Berlin suspected of preparing a violent attack against Jewish or Israeli targets in Germany on behalf of Hamas, prosecutors said.

Two of the suspects were reported to be German citizens, while the third was born in Lebanon. Their names are Abd al J., Wail P.M. and Ahmad A.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on behalf of the Mossad, “the arrest of the cell members was made possible thanks to close cooperation between the Mossad for Intelligence and Special Operations and German security and intelligence forces.”

Germany maintains tight security around synagogues and Jewish institutions. Unlike France, Britain and several other nations, Berlin declined to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.

Moreover, it closed three Iranian consulates in the country in wake of Tehran’s judiciary’s announcement of the execution of Iranian German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd, who was abducted in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces, according to AP.

Iran still has an embassy in Berlin.

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