Denmark takes tough line with Saudi Arabia and Iran over spying claims

The Danish security service has accused Saudi Arabia and Iran of dragging Scandinavia into their long-standing conflict in the wake of a foiled assassination attempt in Denmark and allegations of spying.

On Monday, an Iranian intelligence official was charged in absentia with attempted murder and espionage in connection with a 2018 plot targeting the leader of an Iranian separatist group in a town 60km southwest of Copenhagen.

Danish intelligence also charged three senior members of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA) – which Tehran regards as a terrorist organisation – with spying for Saudi Arabia in Denmark between 2012 and 2018.

“This is a very complex case where Saudi Arabia and Iran have brought their conflict to Denmark,” said Finn Borch Andersen, head of the Danish intelligence and security service. Iran and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a power struggle in the Middle East for years and often accuse each other of seeking to destabilise the other.

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Terrorist attack

Tehran accused ASMLA of being behind a terrorist attack that killed 25 people in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz in September 2018. The country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had paid the attackers. Riyadh denied any involvement.

On Monday, Jeppe Kofod, Denmark’s foreign minister, called an emergency meeting of the country’s foreign policy committee, and said the alleged espionage was a “serious and completely unacceptable case”.

Danish intelligence said the three ASMLA leaders had collected information about individuals and companies in Denmark and other countries for years and passed it on to Saudi intelligence. They are also charged with condoning acts of terrorism by making statements praising the Ahvaz attack.

Secret hearing

They will appear in court on Tuesday for a hearing Danish intelligence has requested takes place in secret.

Denmark revealed the Iranian assassination plot in October 2018 and arrested a Norwegian citizen of Iranian descent on suspicion of being involved. The Iranian intelligence official charged in absentia on Monday is accused of being his handler.

"Obviously, this is a very serious case. We cannot and will not accept that foreign states bring their mutual conflicts to this country," added Mr Andersen. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2020