Germany summons Iranian envoy over last year's alleged plot to attack synagogue

BERLIN

Germany on Tuesday summoned an Iranian envoy over an alleged plot to attack a synagogue in the country.

The German Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Iranian Embassy’s charge d'affaires was summoned over the arson plot.

“According to the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court’s ruling today, the planned attack on a synagogue in November 2022 in Bochum was linked to an Iranian state agency,” the ministry said.

"We will not tolerate any foreign-controlled violence in Germany. In order to draw consequences and take further steps, also at the EU level (against Iran), we will now wait for the court's detailed reasons for the verdict.”

Earlier in the day, the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court has sentenced a German-Iranian man to two years and nine months in prison for attempted arson.

The court determined that the plot was linked to the Iranian state agencies.

The 36-year-old suspect threw a Molotov cocktail at a school beside the synagogue, which resulted in only minor damage. The prosecutors said he could not throw it to the neighboring school, as the building appeared so well secured.