Germany summons Iran consul over 2022 synagogue arson plot

Germany's Foreign Ministry summoned Iran's charge d'affaires on Tuesday after a court found that Iranian state agencies were involved in the planning of the attempted arson attack on a synagogue last year.

"We will not tolerate any foreign-controlled violence in Germany," the ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court had earlier convicted a German-Iranian national for conspiring an attack on a synagogue in Germany in November 2022 and had sentenced him to prison for two years and nine months.

The accused was identified as Babak J. who had planned an attack on a synagogue in the western city of Bochum but instead threw his incendiary device at a school. The school building had minor damage but no one was injured.

What did the court say?

The court said the accused had chosen to attack the school because he found the synagogue secured too well.

The Foreign Ministry said it would carefully study the judgment to determine the "consequences and next steps, including at EU-level."

As the court delivered its verdict in the case, it said the attack had been planned with the help of "Iranian state agencies."

The court also suspected that the case of an arson attack and shots fired at a rabbi's house in Essen last year was also linked to the planned arson attack in Bochum.

In recent years, Germany has witnessed a rise in antisemitism. The situation has become more alarming since the Israel-Hamas war began.

mfi/fb (dpa, AFP)

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