Germany has summoned an Iranian diplomatic representative following a court case involving an alleged Iranian-backed plot against prominent Jewish figures, including Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Volker Beck, a former German parliamentarian and leading Jewish communal official.

The diplomatic confrontation follows the conviction and sentencing of two men connected to the alleged operation, which German authorities have linked to Iranian intelligence activity. The case has renewed concerns about Tehran’s use of operatives and criminal intermediaries to intimidate or attack Jewish and Israeli targets on European soil.

Schuster, who heads Germany’s principal Jewish representative organization, and Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, were among the individuals identified in reporting about the alleged plot.

The case is particularly significant because of the positions held by the intended targets. Schuster has been one of Germany’s most prominent voices against antisemitism, while Beck has been outspoken in his support for Israel and his criticism of the Iranian government.

On October 15, the Higher Regional Court in Hamburg sentenced the principal defendant, a 54-year-old Danish national identified as Ali S., to eight years and six months in prison for his role in preparing assassination and arson attacks.

His accomplice, 43-year-old Afghan national Tawab M., received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence.

According to German prosecutors, Ali S. received instructions in early 2025 from operatives associated with the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The assignment involved gathering intelligence on Schuster and Beck, monitoring their movements and identifying opportunities to carry out attacks.

Investigators also determined that the operation included surveillance of Jewish-owned grocery businesses in Berlin, with preparations for a possible arson attack against a kosher establishment.

The principal defendant subsequently recruited Tawab M., who was accused of helping arrange an attacker and obtain a weapon for an assault on Beck.

The two men were arrested in Denmark in 2025 and subsequently extradited to Germany to face prosecution.

In announcing its verdict, the Hamburg court said the evidence established that the principal defendant had been recruited by Iranian intelligence and incorporated into an operation intended to carry out state-sponsored terrorism in Germany.

Presiding Judge Petra Wende-Spors declared that Iran was attempting to export terrorism to Germany, conduct the court considered unacceptable.

The German Foreign Ministry responded on Monday, October 19, by summoning Iranian Ambassador Majid Nili Ahmadabadi to protest Tehran’s involvement in the operation.

In a public statement, the ministry said, “We will not tolerate attacks on Jewish life and those who defend it—anywhere, least of all in Germany.”

The diplomatic protest prompted a response from Tehran, which summoned Germany’s ambassador to Iran, Axel Wilhelm Dittmann, and rejected the allegations against the Iranian government as baseless.

Schuster welcomed the court’s verdict but warned that the case reflected a much broader danger.

“With the now proven commissioning of these two spies, the regime in Tehran has once again shown its true face. The masterminds are in Iran, and the danger they pose to our open society remains great as long as the mullahs’ regime exists,” Schuster said.

He described the case as “the tip of the iceberg.”

Beck, who was placed under heightened police protection after German security authorities learned of the plot, called for a stronger diplomatic response, including the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador and most of its diplomatic personnel.

According to Beck, he spent six weeks under the highest level of personal protection, during which even routine activities outside his home required police security.

The former Green Party lawmaker said Germany should leave only a minimal Iranian diplomatic presence sufficient to maintain the embassy building.

The convictions have intensified scrutiny of Iranian intelligence operations in Europe, particularly those directed against Jewish communities and individuals publicly associated with Israel.

German officials have repeatedly warned about threats to Jewish institutions, and the Hamburg proceedings provided a documented example of an operation that investigators say moved beyond threats to concrete preparations for violence.

The two defendants have the right to appeal their convictions. Further details of the court’s findings are expected to become available when the complete written judgment is released.

The case has also renewed calls among Jewish communal leaders for stronger measures against Iranian intelligence activity, as Germany confronts the prospect of foreign-directed attacks against Jewish individuals and institutions within its borders.