Iranian state agency behind attempted Bochum synagogue attack, German court reveals
A German court sentenced a 36-year-old man of Iranian origin on Tuesday to two years and nine months in prison. He was convicted for planning a terrorist attack by attempting to set fire to a synagogue in November of last year and attempting to ignite a neighboring school. The sentence has not been legally validated yet, according to the Neues Ruhrwort service.
2:14 PM EST, December 20, 2023
The court stated that the defendant coordinated the arson attempt at the synagogue with an individual from Iran. He had also solicited a friend's assistance in carrying out the operation in Germany. Ultimately, however, he abandoned the plan and instead left Molotov cocktails near the school building. The court reasoned that due to the synagogue's proximity, the act could have induced fear and uncertainty among Jews residing in Germany, thus issuing a verdict in line with the prosecutor's anticipations.
The German Foreign Ministry has reacted to Iran's involvement by summoning the Iranian ambassador for a discussion, according to a report by "Bild." Concurrently, the German-Israeli Society (DIG) calls for the Iranian military to be included on the EU terrorist list.
The DIG has expressed on social media that an application for the inclusion of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations should be submitted immediately. As emphasized in their statement, they believe that "Iran is a terrorist state, and the Revolutionary Guard acts as an instrument for propagating this terror worldwide."
