German court tries two men over alleged Iran-backed anti-Jewish plots

Two men went on trial in Germany on Friday accused of planning attacks on prominent pro-Israel public figures and spying on Jews on behalf of Iranian secret services.

Danish national Ali S. is charged with espionage, attempted murder, attempted arson and sabotage, while his alleged Afghan accomplice, Tawab M., is accused of attempted murder.

Ali S. allegedly spied on the head of the German-Israeli Society, the former Greens MP Volker Beck, as part of plans to assassinate him, according to prosecutors.

He is also accused of spying on the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, as well as two Jewish grocers in Berlin as part of plans to carry out arson attacks.

Prosecutors say Ali S. in early 2025 took orders from the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition.

Volker Beck was in the public gallery at the opening of the trial, accompanied by police protection, Marayke Frantzen, a spokeswoman for the court in Hamburg, told AFP.

Both defendants exercised their right to remain silent after the indictment was read out, Frantzen said.

When the charges were announced in May, Beck called on Berlin to expel the Iranian ambassador as well as consular officials.

"Jewish life and a commitment to the Jewish and democratic state are repeatedly threatened with murder and attacked by the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran on German soil," he said.

In July 2025, the foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Germany to protest following Ali. S's arrest in Denmark.

When the two men were charged last month the Iranian embassy in Berlin released a statement rejecting what it called "unfounded allegations made at the behest of Iran's enemies".