Danish police: "Iranian intelligence planned attack"

Danish police: "Iranian intelligence planned attack"


The Danish Security Service Manager Finn Borch Andersen comments on the incident on September 28th. Photo: Mikael Nilsson / DR
Danish police: "Iranian intelligence planned attack"
Published October 30, 2018
Danish police suspect that Iranian security service planned an attack in Denmark. A person has been arrested in Gothenburg, suspected of refugee espionage and preparation for murder.

At the end of September, the Danish police closed the Öresund Bridge and several other connections within the country. The reason was that the police suspect that Iranian security service plans to conduct an assault in Denmark against a person who has Iranian connections.

"I understand that many experienced the situation as frustrating and that we could not tell anything. But just then, it was all about protecting the person we monitored. Now we can tell you a little more, "said Finn Borch Andersen, director of the Danish Security Service (PET) at a press conference on Tuesday.

Concrete threats to a person
According to the Pet Chief, they have watched a person from the Iranian group ASMLA (Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, an independence movement from southwest Iran) since last spring after receiving information about concrete threats to the person.

There was a significant threat that is still ongoing and Danish security service has for some time worked with Swedish and Norwegian security services around the case.

"A foreign security service planning an attack in Denmark is a very unusual and serious situation," says Finn Borch Andersen.

A person is arrested
A person who is a Norwegian citizen with an Iranian background has also been arrested in Gothenburg on October 21, and is now arrested in Copenhagen suspected of refugee espionage and preparation for murder. It confirms Säpo for SVT News.

- At the request of the Danish Security Service, PET has arrested a person suspected of crimes committed in Denmark, says Karl Melin, Press Manager at Säpo.

"It is the result of intensive cooperation over time between security services in Norway, Denmark and Sweden," said Karl Melin.

The detained person denies crimes.

The Danish Security Service had been informed that a person had supervised a property belonging to the ASMLA group shortly before closing down Zealand.

"We assumed that the information indicated that an attack on Danish soil was going on," says Finn Borch Andersen, adding that the man arrested was suspected of having performed reconnaissance before the attack, but does not necessarily have to be the one who would carry out it.

Calling home ambassador

At a press conference on Tuesday evening, Denmark's Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen announced that he called home the country's ambassador from Iran's capital, Teheren.

"It is a very serious diplomatic step," says Anders Samuelsen.

The Foreign Minister describes the suspected plans of an attack as "completely unacceptable". The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also had a meeting with Iran's ambassador in Denmark on Tuesday.


The Öresund bridge was closed in the direction of Sweden. Photo: Mikael Nilsson
This has happened: The giant effort that closed Denmark
Published October 30, 2018
On September 28th, a large police station closed all roads in and out of Denmark. The Öresund bridge was also locked off.

On September 28, large parts of Denmark were detained for several hours.
Just before, the Danish security service had been informed that a property belonging to a person from the Iranian group ASMLA (Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz) was monitored.
The owner of the property has since been protected by Danish police after receiving information about concrete threats to the person.
Since September, another two people from ASMLA have also been living under personal protection.
According to DR, Iranian authorities believe that the group was behind an assault on a military parade on September 22 that cost at least 25 people's lives. The Danish, Dutch and British ambassadors were called for a meeting in Tehran where the Iranian authorities claim that members of the group are staying in the three countries.
At 14 o'clock on 28 September, the Öresund Bridge was closed in the direction of Sweden at the police's request. Even the Great Belt Bridge between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen was closed. Shortly afterwards, ferries departed from Denmark to Swedish Helsingborg and German Gedser and Puttgarten.
At half past four, the police announced that they searched for a black, Swedish-registered Volvo and three people in the area involved in serious crime. The public was advised not to contact them.
At 19 o'clock the police announced that they had found the Volvo car but did not tell anything more about the case.
At a promptly announced press conference in Copenhagen on October 29, the police reported that they acted on a suspected threat to the lives of several individuals. However, the car sought did not show any direct connection to the threats.
On October 21, a Norwegian person with an Iranian affiliation in Gothenburg was attended by SÄPO. The person is now arrested in isolation in Copenhagen and denies crimes.
During a press conference on October 30, the Danish Security Service (PET) reported about the incident and confirmed that Iranian intelligence service suspects an assault against a person living in Denmark.
The Danish Foreign Minister writes on his Facebook that the government will react and talk to European colleagues about further initiatives.
At a press conference, Denmark's Foreign Minister announces that the country's ambassador to Tehran is called home, and that Denmark wants the EU to impose additional sanctions against Iran. Iran's ambassador to Denmark is called a meeting with the Foreign Ministry.
Iran denies all accusations, and denies them as conspiracy theories.