German court sentences two for plotting to kill leader of Jewish community for Iran

FRANKFURT, Germany — A German court on Thursday handed two men prison sentences of up to 8-1/2 years for planning to kill the leader of a Jewish organization in Germany, saying one man had been steered by Iran’s intelligence service. One man, previously identified as Danish national Ali S., was sentenced to eight years and six months for preparing an assassination and aggravated arson, judges ruled. “The court is convinced that the defendant, S., was recruited by the Iranian secret service and integrated into it to carry out state-sponsored terrorist activities in Germany under Iran’s direction,” the court in the northern city of Hamburg said in a statement.

The Iranian Embassy in Germany did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Another man, previously named as Afghan national Tawab M., was sentenced to four years and six months for his role in the plot. The verdicts, which can be appealed, come as a war with Iran launched by the United States and Israel in February has spilled over into an escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis. German federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against the two men in May.

The court said that in early 2025, S. was tasked with gathering information on the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, and the Chairman of the German-Israeli Society, Volker Beck. He was also instructed to spy on two Jewish grocers in Berlin, they added.