Iran attempted political assassination in Denmark: PET
Iran attempted political assassination in Denmark: PET
PET head Finn Borch Andersen made the announcement at a press release explaining the agency’s extraordinary actions on September 28th, in which a massive manhuntled to the closure of a number of roads, bridges and ferry routes.
Andersen said that an attempt to assassinate a resident of Denmark was behind the large-scale police action.
“This is a case that entails an Iranian intelligence operation in Denmark, In our view, it was an Iranian intelligence agency’s plan to assassinate a person who lives in Denmark,” the PET head said.
In collaboration with the Norwegian and Swedish intelligence services, PET’s investigation into the assassination attempt led to the arrest of a Norwegian man thought to be involved in the plan.
READ ALSO: Danish police: Swedish car that set off manhunt not involved in unspecified ‘threat'
“A Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin was arrested on October 21st. The person in question is now in custody. He is charged with establishing an Iranian intelligence operation in Denmark as well as having taken part in the assassination attempt,” Andersen said.
The Norwegian man was arrested in Gothenburg, Sweden according to the Swedish intelligence service Säpo. The suspect has maintained his innocence and will be held in isolation until November 8th.
The Danish government reacted swiftly to the revelations, with Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen promising "further actions against Iran".
It is totally unacceptable that Iran or any other foreign state plans assassinations on Danish soil. Further actuions against Iran will be discussed in the EU," the PM tweeted.
Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen also summoned the ambassador of Iran, Morteza Moradian, to a meeting.
“As stated by the head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service earlier today, the assessment is that an Iranian intelligence agency has planned an assassination on Danish soil. This is completely unacceptable. In fact, the gravity of the matter is difficult to describe. That has been made crystal clear to the Iranian ambassador in Copenhagen today," Samuelsen said in a ministry statement.
He added that he would Denmark would be in close contact with several like-minded countries regarding the issue of an Iranian intelligence agency’s illegal activities in Europe”.
In a tweet, the foreign minister said the government would “react to Iran” and would work with European partners to take unspecified “additional steps”.
According to PET's Andersen, the target of the assassination plot is the leader of a Danish branch of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), a group that supports the establishment of a separate Arab state in Iran’s Khuzestan Province. The group is classified as a terrorist organization by the Iranian government.
Andersen said the individual has been under police protection since the spring after PET became aware of concrete threats against the person’s safety. Two other ASMLA members have also been given police protection. All three members of the group live in the Danish city of Ringsted.
An affiliated separatist group, the Patriotic Arab Democratic Movement in Ahwaz, claimed responsibility for a September attack on a military parade in Iran that killed at least 29 people, including children. Denmark's ambassador to Iran, Danny Annan, was called to a meeting with officials in Tehran after the attack, along with his British and Dutch counterparts. Iran has accused Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK of providing shelter to Iranian opposition groups.
Andersen said that the ASMLA members in Denmark may have violated Denmark's terror laws by celebrating the military parade attack.
"We are of course very aware that members of ASMLA may have violated the law by approving of the attack in Iran on September 22," Andersen said, adding that PET is investigating the members along in collaboration with local police.
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Iranian spy service suspected of assassination plot in Denmark: security chief | Reuters
Iranian spy service suspected of assassination plot in Denmark: security chief
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark said on Tuesday it suspected an Iranian government intelligence service had tried to carry out a plot to assassinate an Iranian Arab opposition figure on its soil.
Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen speaks during a news conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, October 30, 2018. Martin Sylvest/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
The alleged plot, which Denmark’s foreign minister said he believed the Iranian government was behind, prompted the Nordic country to call for fresh European Union-wide sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
A Norwegian citizen of Iranian background was arrested in Sweden on Oct. 21 in connection with the plot and extradited to neighboring Denmark, Swedish security police said.
The Norwegian has denied the charges and the Iranian government also denied any connection with the alleged plot.
The attack was meant to target the leader of the Danish branch of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), Danish intelligence chief Finn Borch Andersen said.
ASMLA seeks a separate state for ethnic Arabs in Iran’s oil-producing southwestern province of Khuzestan. Arabs are a minority in Iran, and some see themselves as under Persian occupation and want independence or autonomy.
“We are dealing with an Iranian intelligence agency planning an attack on Danish soil. Obviously, we can’t and won’t accept that,” Andersen told a news conference.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi dismissed the accusations. “This is a continuation of enemies’ plots to damage Iranian relations with Europe at this critical time,” Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.
The EU is trying to save big powers’ 2015 deal with Iran that curbed its nuclear activity in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions after the United States withdrew from the pact and reimposed far-flung financial penalties on Tehran.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the planned attack “totally unacceptable” and said British Prime Minister Theresa May had voiced her support for Denmark during a meeting in Olso.
Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen told a press conference he believed the Iranian government was behind the attempted attack.
CALL FOR EU SANCTIONS
“In light of the latest development, Denmark will now push for a discussion in the EU on the need for further sanctions against Iran,” Samuelsen said. Denmark’s ambassador in Tehran had been recalled for consultations, Samuelsen added.
“We congratulate the government of Denmark on its arrest of an Iranian regime assassin,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet. “We call on our allies and partners to confront the full range of Iran’s threats to peace and security.”
Andersen said the arrested Norwegian citizen had denied charges in court of helping a foreign intelligence service plot an assassination in Denmark.
On Sept. 28, Danish police shut two major bridges to traffic and halted ferry services from Denmark to Sweden and Germany in a nationwide police operation to prevent a possible attack.
A few days earlier, the Norwegian suspect had been observed photographing and watching the Danish home of the ASMLA leader, police said.
In November 2017, Ahmad Mola Nissi, an Iranian exile who established ASMLA, was shot dead in the Netherlands. The Danish security service then bolstered police protection of the ASMLA leader in Denmark and two associates.
Iran oil: U.S. agrees several sanctions waivers
Last month, Iran summoned the envoys of the Netherlands, Denmark and Britain over a Sept. 22 shooting attack on a military parade in Khuzestan in which 25 people were killed.
Iran accused the three countries of harboring Iranian opposition groups.
Another Arab opposition group, the Ahwaz National Resistance, and the Islamic State militant group both claimed responsibility for the parade attack, though neither has provided conclusive evidence to back up their claim.
Last week, diplomatic and security sources said France had expelled an Iranian diplomat over a failed plot to carry out a bomb attack on a rally in the Paris area by an exiled Iranian opposition group.
Reporting by Emil Gjerding Nielson, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Teis Jensen with additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London, John Irish in Paris; Editing by Mark Heinrich
Iran attempted political assassination in Denmark: PET
PET head Finn Borch Andersen made the announcement at a press release explaining the agency’s extraordinary actions on September 28th, in which a massive manhuntled to the closure of a number of roads, bridges and ferry routes.
Andersen said that an attempt to assassinate a resident of Denmark was behind the large-scale police action.
“This is a case that entails an Iranian intelligence operation in Denmark, In our view, it was an Iranian intelligence agency’s plan to assassinate a person who lives in Denmark,” the PET head said.
In collaboration with the Norwegian and Swedish intelligence services, PET’s investigation into the assassination attempt led to the arrest of a Norwegian man thought to be involved in the plan.
READ ALSO: Danish police: Swedish car that set off manhunt not involved in unspecified ‘threat'
“A Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin was arrested on October 21st. The person in question is now in custody. He is charged with establishing an Iranian intelligence operation in Denmark as well as having taken part in the assassination attempt,” Andersen said.
The Norwegian man was arrested in Gothenburg, Sweden according to the Swedish intelligence service Säpo. The suspect has maintained his innocence and will be held in isolation until November 8th.
The Danish government reacted swiftly to the revelations, with Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen promising "further actions against Iran".
It is totally unacceptable that Iran or any other foreign state plans assassinations on Danish soil. Further actuions against Iran will be discussed in the EU," the PM tweeted.
Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen also summoned the ambassador of Iran, Morteza Moradian, to a meeting.
“As stated by the head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service earlier today, the assessment is that an Iranian intelligence agency has planned an assassination on Danish soil. This is completely unacceptable. In fact, the gravity of the matter is difficult to describe. That has been made crystal clear to the Iranian ambassador in Copenhagen today," Samuelsen said in a ministry statement.
He added that he would Denmark would be in close contact with several like-minded countries regarding the issue of an Iranian intelligence agency’s illegal activities in Europe”.
In a tweet, the foreign minister said the government would “react to Iran” and would work with European partners to take unspecified “additional steps”.
According to PET's Andersen, the target of the assassination plot is the leader of a Danish branch of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), a group that supports the establishment of a separate Arab state in Iran’s Khuzestan Province. The group is classified as a terrorist organization by the Iranian government.
Andersen said the individual has been under police protection since the spring after PET became aware of concrete threats against the person’s safety. Two other ASMLA members have also been given police protection. All three members of the group live in the Danish city of Ringsted.
An affiliated separatist group, the Patriotic Arab Democratic Movement in Ahwaz, claimed responsibility for a September attack on a military parade in Iran that killed at least 29 people, including children. Denmark's ambassador to Iran, Danny Annan, was called to a meeting with officials in Tehran after the attack, along with his British and Dutch counterparts. Iran has accused Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK of providing shelter to Iranian opposition groups.
Andersen said that the ASMLA members in Denmark may have violated Denmark's terror laws by celebrating the military parade attack.
"We are of course very aware that members of ASMLA may have violated the law by approving of the attack in Iran on September 22," Andersen said, adding that PET is investigating the members along in collaboration with local police.
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Iranian spy service suspected of assassination plot in Denmark: security chief | Reuters
Iranian spy service suspected of assassination plot in Denmark: security chief
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark said on Tuesday it suspected an Iranian government intelligence service had tried to carry out a plot to assassinate an Iranian Arab opposition figure on its soil.
Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen speaks during a news conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, October 30, 2018. Martin Sylvest/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS
The alleged plot, which Denmark’s foreign minister said he believed the Iranian government was behind, prompted the Nordic country to call for fresh European Union-wide sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
A Norwegian citizen of Iranian background was arrested in Sweden on Oct. 21 in connection with the plot and extradited to neighboring Denmark, Swedish security police said.
The Norwegian has denied the charges and the Iranian government also denied any connection with the alleged plot.
The attack was meant to target the leader of the Danish branch of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), Danish intelligence chief Finn Borch Andersen said.
ASMLA seeks a separate state for ethnic Arabs in Iran’s oil-producing southwestern province of Khuzestan. Arabs are a minority in Iran, and some see themselves as under Persian occupation and want independence or autonomy.
“We are dealing with an Iranian intelligence agency planning an attack on Danish soil. Obviously, we can’t and won’t accept that,” Andersen told a news conference.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi dismissed the accusations. “This is a continuation of enemies’ plots to damage Iranian relations with Europe at this critical time,” Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.
The EU is trying to save big powers’ 2015 deal with Iran that curbed its nuclear activity in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions after the United States withdrew from the pact and reimposed far-flung financial penalties on Tehran.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the planned attack “totally unacceptable” and said British Prime Minister Theresa May had voiced her support for Denmark during a meeting in Olso.
Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen told a press conference he believed the Iranian government was behind the attempted attack.
CALL FOR EU SANCTIONS
“In light of the latest development, Denmark will now push for a discussion in the EU on the need for further sanctions against Iran,” Samuelsen said. Denmark’s ambassador in Tehran had been recalled for consultations, Samuelsen added.
“We congratulate the government of Denmark on its arrest of an Iranian regime assassin,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet. “We call on our allies and partners to confront the full range of Iran’s threats to peace and security.”
Andersen said the arrested Norwegian citizen had denied charges in court of helping a foreign intelligence service plot an assassination in Denmark.
On Sept. 28, Danish police shut two major bridges to traffic and halted ferry services from Denmark to Sweden and Germany in a nationwide police operation to prevent a possible attack.
A few days earlier, the Norwegian suspect had been observed photographing and watching the Danish home of the ASMLA leader, police said.
In November 2017, Ahmad Mola Nissi, an Iranian exile who established ASMLA, was shot dead in the Netherlands. The Danish security service then bolstered police protection of the ASMLA leader in Denmark and two associates.
Iran oil: U.S. agrees several sanctions waivers
Last month, Iran summoned the envoys of the Netherlands, Denmark and Britain over a Sept. 22 shooting attack on a military parade in Khuzestan in which 25 people were killed.
Iran accused the three countries of harboring Iranian opposition groups.
Another Arab opposition group, the Ahwaz National Resistance, and the Islamic State militant group both claimed responsibility for the parade attack, though neither has provided conclusive evidence to back up their claim.
Last week, diplomatic and security sources said France had expelled an Iranian diplomat over a failed plot to carry out a bomb attack on a rally in the Paris area by an exiled Iranian opposition group.
Reporting by Emil Gjerding Nielson, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Teis Jensen with additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London, John Irish in Paris; Editing by Mark Heinrich
