Tehran’s ultra-conservative newspaper compatriots Published photographs of thirteen Western politicians “wanted” for the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as published a statement claiming that politicians must pay the ultimate price. Among the politicians was German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU).
Apart from Merz, it also included US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In the images, they are all wearing orange prison uniforms, as is common in US prisons.
Since late February, several European countries have supported American and Israeli attacks on Iran, for example, by allowing them to fly through their airspace.
Marz in early March: ‘Mullah rule is coming to an end’
After US and Israeli attacks on Iran began in early March, Merz said that the German government shared the relief felt by many Iranians that the regime was now coming to an end. He added: “We share the interest of the United States and Israel in ending this regime’s terror and its dangerous nuclear and ballistic weapons.” However, so far, the regime remains in power.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated at the beginning of the campaign against Iran. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is now his successor. In a written statement, Mojtaba Khamenei announced “retribution” for his father’s death.
An online article in a widely read Iranian newspaper last week said: “Retribution is inevitable. The perpetrators will take their wish for a peaceful death to the grave.”
It was not included in the Sunday print edition compatriotsAnd earlier this week it was removed from the website.
Government officials say attacks by Iran should be expected
Nevertheless, German government officials as well as the opposition environmentalist Green Party expressed concern.
Mark Heinrichmann, chairman of the Bundestag oversight committee responsible for overseeing Germany’s intelligence agencies, said: “We have to recognize that Iran’s intelligence services are also planning attacks in Europe.”
German security agencies are particularly concerned about what are known as “disposable agents”, or individuals who are recruited only to carry out a single attack.
Sebastian Fiedler, domestic policy spokesman for the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary group, expressed similar concerns. he told the newspaper World They saw a high level of threat and current events confirmed this assessment.
He pointed out that the current situation has the potential to “inflame extremist groups and mobilize lone actors”.
However, many politicians also said that the Chancellor was already under extremely tight security and that increased security measures for Friedrich Merz were not necessary at this time.
Green Party politician Omid Nouripour, Vice-President of the Bundestag, was born in Iran.
Nouripour told DW: “In Germany, we have many past experiences with state-sponsored terrorism exported by Iran. A newspaper would not have been able to remove a death threat from a censor if the regime did not want to. So we have to take it seriously. When a regime targets our head of government, it is hostile behavior and should be treated as such.”
As far as the German government is concerned, its reaction has been very reserved. At Monday’s regular press conference, deputy spokesman Stephen Meyer said only that he had noticed the death threats and declined to comment further.
Authorities estimate there are about 180 potentially dangerous individuals in Germany
However, one thing is clear: Security experts are not ready to rule out the possibility of Iranian terrorist activities in Germany.
Officials estimate there are about 180 individuals in Germany who are active either on behalf of the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards or for the Iranian intelligence service. In response to an inquiry by the online portal Euractiv, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said in early May that the Iranian intelligence service has long been prepared to resort to actions similar to state terrorism.
According to the agency, “These include everything from threats against specific individuals to intelligence gathering for the purpose of planning potential attacks.”
The Constitution Protection Office further said that the Iranian security apparatus has been significantly weakened by the ongoing attacks in Iran. However, there are fears that Tehran could redirect its activities abroad once pressure on the regime eases – for example, after the official end of the war.
This article was originally published in German.