Iran's Reaction to Allegations of Attempted 'Assassination' in Denmark

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry dismissed the allegations made by Danish officials regarding the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence attempting to carry out an 'assassination' on Danish soil as 'malicious' and 'strongly' denied them. Bahram Qasemi on Tuesday, November 30, referred to this report as part of what he called 'the plots and schemes of known enemies of the good and expanding relations between Iran and Europe in the current critical situation.' Just hours before this reaction, Denmark's security service announced that an Iranian-Norwegian citizen had been arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and attempting to attack members of an opposition group to the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, Denmark's Prime Minister reacted strongly, stating that he would raise the issue in the European Union. Additionally, Denmark's Foreign Minister announced that Morteza Moradian, Iran's ambassador in Copenhagen, had been summoned and was told 'very clearly' how significant and unacceptable this matter was. Danish police stated that this individual had been seen taking photos of members of the 'Al-Ahwaz Liberation Movement' in Ringsted, located 60 kilometers southwest of Copenhagen. This allegation comes in the wake of the assassination of Ahmad Mola Abunahad, known as Ahmad Nissi, who was referred to as the founder of the 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahwaz,' who was killed on November 8, 2017, in front of his residence in The Hague. The 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahwaz' has previously declared its struggle for 'the independence of Khuzestan province and its separation from Iran.' Following an attack on an Iranian military parade in Ahvaz, the Islamic Republic had protested the presence of members of this group in Denmark. 'Yaqoub Hur al-Tustari,' who introduced himself as the spokesperson for the 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahwaz,' attributed this armed attack to a group known as 'the National Resistance of Ahwaz' in an interview with Radio Farda. However, ISIS officially claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Islamic Republic retaliated by launching several missiles at the alleged headquarters of this group in Syrian territory. The allegations made by Danish officials against the Islamic Republic came four months after the arrest of an Iranian diplomat on charges of involvement in a plot to attack a meeting of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization in Paris. Meanwhile, some analysts consider this incident and other events, including reports regarding the assassination of Mohammad Reza Kolahi, the main perpetrator of the explosion at the Islamic Republic Party building, as signs of a potential new wave of assassinations of Iranian opposition figures abroad.