Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has said security services are watching developments closely, describing the current threat as “abstract” — meaning there is no specific, confirmed plan of attack in Germany so far. Nonetheless, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, has warned that retaliatory operations after recent strikes on Iran could reach German soil.
The BfV singled out Jewish institutions such as schools and synagogues as potential targets, and also listed diplomatic personnel, military sites and members of the Iranian opposition living in Germany as at risk. According to the agency, dissidents have long been subject to surveillance, threats and even abductions by Iranian intelligence services abroad.
Felix Klein, the federal government’s antisemitism commissioner, warned that especially if a senior Iranian revolutionary figure were killed, Iran could try to use its networks in Germany to attack Jewish and Israeli institutions. Marc Henrichmann, chair of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee for the Secret Services (PKGr), said retaliatory strikes remain possible given Iran’s history of conducting operations overseas, but he also emphasized that existing security measures mean there is no reason to panic.
Lawmaker Omid Nouripour, who was born in Tehran and formerly led the Green Party, echoed concerns that Iranian services remain capable of striking in Europe, including Germany, and noted Tehran has made such threats in the past.
German authorities had already stepped up monitoring earlier in the year during mass protests in Iran, which left many dead and drew solidarity from people in Germany. The BfV has cautioned that transnational repression by Iranian services can take many forms, from targeted espionage, smear campaigns and intimidation to threats and violence.
Cyber operations appear increasingly prominent. A report published in early February documented espionage attempts in Germany, including a group that compromised electronic communications of Iranian exiles. Victims included human rights activists, journalists and lawyers.
Concerns about vulnerability were reinforced by the 2020 abduction of German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd, who was seized while traveling abroad and later reported to have died shortly before a planned execution. With the broader regional conflict escalating, German officials warn the danger could spread beyond people with direct links to Iran.
The BfV has sketched scenarios in which private emails and social media accounts of diaspora members are hacked to build profiles, map daily routines and expose private and professional networks. Given these developments, German authorities assess that the risk of Iranian intelligence activity targeting individuals and institutions in Germany is currently more likely to increase than to decline.
This article was originally written in German.
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