Tuesday, June 7, 2022, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is a subsidiary of the German Ministry of Interior, made its annual report for 2021 public in the presence of its head, Thomas Haldenwang, and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, in Berlin.
The main mission of this agency (BFV), as it is mentioned on its website, is defined as “protection of the foundation of a democratic and free system.”. In this regard, the BFV has been tasked with gathering and reporting information on all activities that in some way jeopardize the “foundation of democracy and freedom.”
The BFV’s 360-page report for 2021 is generally divided into nine chapters. The Islamic Republic and the dangers posed by the destructive and terrorist/Islamist activities of individuals and institutions affiliated with it which threaten democracy and freedom in Germany occupy a significant part of this lengthy report.
In the “Islamism/Islamist terrorism” chapter of the report, the activities of those institutions that operate legally in Germany are discussed, and in the same chapter, the activities of the “Islamic Center of Hamburg” are examined under a magnifying glass:
“The Association of the Islamic Center of Hamburg,” under which the Imam Ali Mosque in Hamburg also operates, next to Iranian embassy, is the most important representation of the country in Germany and an important propaganda center of the Islamic Republic in Europe. With the help of the Islamic Center of Hamburg, the Islamic Republic is trying to attract Shiites of other nationalities and to spread the social, political and religious values of its government in Europe. In this regard, the German Shiite Federation (IGS) is the most important element in advancing the goals and interests of the Islamic Center of Hamburg.
The main goal of the Islamic Republic foreign policy is to spread the Islamic Revolution to other countries. To implement this goal, the “leader of the revolution” Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei sends his agents to other countries. In Germany, the mission is entrusted directly to the Islamic Center of Hamburg and its head, Mohammad Hadi Mofateh, who acts as a representative of the ‘leader of the revolution.’
The fourth part of the chapter on “espionage and other intelligence activities” of this report is dedicated to the activities of the regime’s intelligence services, the main actor of which is the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic:
“The Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic (VAJA, MOIS) plays the most important role in anti-German activities. “The focus of this institution is specifically on dissident groups of Iranians in Germany.” The information is obtained and gathered through espionage operations. For this purpose, MOIS uses Iranians living in Germany: “In order to recruit assets, MOIS targets citizens who travel to Iran for family or business reasons. In Iran, it is almost impossible for these people to be out of the reach of Ministry of Intelligence agents. […]
How They Operate
“The recruitment of assets in Iran by the MOIS in some cases is accompanied by severe pressure on the citizen himself and sometimes on his family and relatives. The purpose of these measures is to force people to cooperate with intelligence and espionage with this institution or to stop citizen’s activities against the regime. High-ranking officials, especially those in the opposition, should keep in mind when traveling to Iran’s neighboring countries that the regime’s intelligence agents will have access to them. This is especially true for people with dual German / Iranian citizenship.”
State-Sponsored Terrorism
The intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic use the tools of “state terrorism” to carry out their goals. “Creating terror among the regime’s dissidents, physically eliminating them and neutralizing them is one of the most important goals of ‘state terrorism,’ which sometimes includes punishing ‘traitors’ and ‘those who have changed sides’.” The BFV report refers to the trial of the Islamic Republic diplomat-terrorist, Assadollah Asadi, and his accomplices in Antwerp, Belgium.
In addition to the Ministry of Intelligence, the IRGC’s Quds Force has been cited as another active intelligence agency of the Islamic Republic in Germany, which focuses more on spying on pro-Jewish and pro-Israel groups and targets.
State-sponsored cyberattacks are another way of accessing information, the report said, with its main targets in Germany being scientific/research centers and institutions, as well as the Iranian community in Germany, the largest group of Iranians in Europe.
Threat Assessment
“The intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic are the main tools of political sovereignty in order to maintain order and keep the regime in power. Therefore, the Iranian dissidents are still at the center of the actions of the Ministry of Intelligence, as well as the IRGC intelligence and its overseas branch, the Quds Force.”
Kidnapping, arbitrary detention of dual nationals by regime intelligence agencies are the dangers mentioned in this report. In another part of its report, the BFV also noted the significant increase in the proliferation activities of the regime’s intelligence agencies in acquiring the parts and components needed to advance its nuclear and missile programs.
According to this report and the reports published by the State Branch of the same office in Hamburg over the past years, it can be concluded that the Islamic Republic has not only reduced its terrorist activities and sabotage but has intensified and expanded them. The lack of legal action against the agents and centers of propaganda and state-terrorism of the Islamic Republic in Germany has led to the regime’s thugs in cyberspace and the real world publicly threatening and attacking citizens critical of the regime:
The inaction of the German law enforcement institutions in dealing with the agents of the Islamic Republic today has created the situation that diplomats and employees of the embassy of the Islamic Republic are attacking the questioning Iranian citizens in the street in broad daylight and in front of the camera:
The regime’s thugs and “diplomats” imagine that they have a kind of “impunity” in Germany, thanks to the Islamic Republic’s full support. The continuation of the Islamic Center of Hamburg activities and lack of legal action against it will only lead to the regime’s thugs becoming more arrogant and the scope of the center’s destructive and terrorist activities widening.
Translation of this post by Sahar.