An Iranian spy who was likely planning attacks on Jewish people in Germany has been arrested after a lengthy multi-national intelligence operation.
German Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel announced last week that Afghan-Danish national Ali S., 53, had been arrested under strong suspicion of “having worked for a secret service of a foreign power.”
The arrest warrant was issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland on June 26, in collaboration with officers of Politiets Efterretningstjeneste (PET) in Denmark. He was subsequently extradited from Denmark to Germany.
Ali S. is charged with spying on Jewish locations and Jewish people in Berlin in order to collect information for Iranian intelligence services. This included spying on three targets in June 2025, “presumably to prepare further intelligence operations in Germany, possibly leading to attacks against Jewish targets.”
Danish intelligence officers intercepted online messages between him and a Quds Force officer and alerted German authorities. Germany then began surveillance of Ali S., including bugging his house in Aarhus.
Bild – citing investigative sources – reported that Ali S. photographed at least 10 sites in Germany in 2025, including the German Israeli Society, an Israeli restaurant in Berlin-Schöneberg, a kosher supermarket near Kurfürstendamm, and the office of the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany Josef Schuster.
Ali S. then flew with his family from Germany to Turkey in June 2025 under the guise of a family visit. According to Bild, Turkish spy agency MIT and the Mossad took over surveillance, noting that Ali S. drove 1,500 km. to the Iranian border, where he then entered the country. He then traveled to meet a Quds Force officer in Tehran to pass on the photos and videos.
According to Bild, he left Iran using forged documents, as his Danish passport was not stamped.
When he returned from Iran to Denmark, the recording devices in his house captured him telling his family he had handed the intel to his handler in Tehran.
Secret Service agent activity
While investigations by the ARD-Hauptstadtstudio and SWR broadcast networks suggested Ali S. was planning an attack, authorities are said to not have sufficient evidence to order a terrorism trial. Regardless, “secret service agent activity” can still carry up to 10 years in prison.
German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said that “if this suspicion is confirmed, we will be dealing with an outrageous operation.”
Josef Schuster said, “The arrest of a suspected spy of the Iranian terror regime, who is said to have specifically scouted out Jewish and Israeli institutions in Germany, is a clear alarm signal.”
While he thanked the authorities for their commitment and the successful arrest, he said it was “not reassuring.”
“The spy had a clear mission – and it probably came directly from Tehran.”
He urged the German government to not only be vigilant but also take action against Iran.
“The arm of the mullahs’ terror reaches as far as Germany and Europe,” Schuster said. “This successful defense must be a final signal to all those who still downplay the mullah regime’s hatred and fantasies of annihilation against Israel and Jews around the world.”
Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society (DIG), said the extended arms of Iranian terror must have no place in Germany.
“They are not legally allowed to go about their business here.”
He called on Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to immediately summon the Iranian ambassador and call on him to cease all hostilities of Iran on German soil.
“It must be made clear to the ambassador that otherwise he will be sent back to Tehran.”
He said the fact that Iran is preparing and planning attacks on Jewish representatives and pro-Israel activists “shows the terrorist character of this regime.”
“Iran is apparently trying to attack the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the DIG directly and directly. We will not be intimidated and thank the German security authorities for their vigilance, which guarantees our freedom.”