Germany is concerned of spies active on its soil

Germany is concerned of spies active on its soil

German intelligence placing special focus on the Iranian regime’s activities

Analysis by PMOI/MEK

Sept. 3, 2018 - The Iranian regime is one of the main countries cited by German counterintelligence officials in their annual report issued by the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), the domestic intelligence entity of the Federal Republic of Germany. This recent report sheds light on the efforts of counterintelligence units targeting Tehran’s espionage campaign in Germany and operations seeking to influence specific spheres.

The German language report, 359 pages in total along with a 47-page English synopsis, digs into the various modus operandi used by the Iranian regime, Russia, China and other countries, along with identifying specific espionage operations.

The BfV underscores the threats posed by cyber attacks on Germany’s critical infrastructure. The BfV, in coordination with the National Cyber Defense Center, is increasing the level of cooperation domestically and internationally, while focusing on escalating its cyber defenses and going one step further by thwarting attacks.

While China and Russia are always posing threats to Germany as states carrying out cyber attacks against German interests, the Iranian regime is not far behind and posing its own variety of threats. These countries “clearly show the attempt to strategically spy on politics and federal administration.”

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence & Security (MOIS) is primarily focusing on Iranian exiles, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force is actively engaged in spying on pro-Jewish or Israeli entities. A Pakistani national was sentenced to prison in March 2017 for espionage activities on behalf of the Iranian regime, for launching targeting packages on a number of Quds Force objectives.

German authorities arrested a Vienna-based Iranian regime diplomat after he provided the ordinance to a Belgian-Iranian couple to fulfill their Tehran-appointed mission of bombing the Iranian opposition rally held on June 30^th in Paris.

Having arrested the couple, Brussels seeks the extradition of the Iranian regime diplomat from Germany to have him face trial in their courts.

France, hosting the Iranian opposition rally, has restricted its diplomats from any unnecessary visits to Iran. These developments have severely troubled Tehran’s relations with a number of European capitals.