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

By AFP and Reuters. Published On 19 Oct 202619 Oct 2026.

Key points

• The German Foreign Ministry remarked 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 continued.
• The Dane, partially identified as Ali Hassan S, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years.
• Berlin's allegations stem from a court case involving two men, a Danish national and an Afghan national.
• At the time they were charged, the Iranian embassy in Berlin published a statement rejecting what it called "unfounded allegations made at the behest of Iran's enemies".

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Germany's ambassador after a court in Hamburg discovered two men guilty of plotting to kill two leaders of Jewish organisations at Tehran's behest, accusing Berlin of leveling "baseless political allegations".

For context, 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.

"Levelling security-related accusations against Iran has long been a tactic employed by the Zionist regime and certain Western nations, " Iran's Foreign Ministry remarked in an official note 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 continued.

Berlin's allegations stem from a court case involving two men, a Danish national and an Afghan national. This person 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.

For context, the German Foreign Ministry remarked on X that the Iranian ambassador had been summoned, adding Tehran would not be allowed to "threaten our free society".

"We do not tolerate attacks on Jewish life and on those who defend it anywhere, and certainly not in Germany."

For context, 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.

Iran's intelligence service steered the two men, the court remarked. The pair were arrested in Denmark last year and extradited.

In sentencing the men, the judge remarked they were guilty of "terrorist activities orchestrated by Iran".

Taken together, the developments around tehran rejects any role in plot to kill leaders of German Jewish point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.