Iranian agents in court: murder plot against Volker Beck sealed with a handshake
Two alleged Iranian agents are on trial in Hamburg – they are accused of planning attacks on Jewish institutions and prominent supporters of Israel.
Terror trial in Hamburg: planned attacks on Beck and Schuster
Proceedings began on Friday at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg against two alleged agents of the Iranian mullah regime. They are accused of planning assassination attempts on Jewish institutions and prominent supporters of Israel in Germany. BILD reports.
One of the potential victims was Volker Beck (65), former Green Party politician and president of the German-Israeli Society. Beck appeared at the start of proceedings under the protection of security personnel. "Without the information from Mossad, I would have been dead for nine months," he told BILD after the first day of hearings. The indictment and surveillance records had shocked him: "How concrete the attack plans against me already were," Beck said.
The main defendant is Ali Sarwari (54), a Danish citizen with Afghan roots, who lived with his wife and daughter in Brabrand near Aarhus until his arrest. His co-defendant Tawab Mohsini (42), also originally from Afghanistan, lived approximately 20 kilometres away in Trige. The Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses Sarwari of having acted as an agent for Iranian intelligence services between 13 February and 25 June 2025.
In addition to the planned murder of Beck, Sarwari is said to have prepared an assassination attempt on Josef Schuster (72), president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. According to the indictment, the two defendants sealed the murder plan against Beck with a handshake in a McDonald's in Denmark. A pistol with a silencer was intended for the crime.
At the same time, a woman from Somalia is alleged to have been recruited in Berlin to spill petrol and set fire in a Jewish business. The defendants are said to have promised her 4,000 euros for this, according to the indictment.
During the planning phase, Sarwari is said to have maintained close contact with the Al-Quds Brigades – the foreign unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which is classified as terrorist. Between 7 and 12 February 2025, he is said to have coordinated with two officers of this unit.
Co-defendant Mohsini is said to have agreed to support the murder plans and had already been involved in weapons procurement for some time. Federal Prosecutor Schäffer stated in the proceedings: "You were aware of state-sponsored terrorist activities."
Source: BILD