Berlin police investigate suspected arson attempt at Iran opposition group’s office

By AP 4 December 2023, 5:34 pm

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Demonstrators take part in a protest called by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) against the Iranian regime, in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, July 10, 2021. (Paul Zinken/AFP)

FILE: Demonstrators take part in a protest called by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) against the Iranian regime, in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, July 10, 2021. (Paul Zinken/AFP)

Police in Berlin are investigating a suspected arson attempt early this morning at the office of an Iranian opposition group.

Members of the group noticed flames at a window of the building in Berlin’s Schmargendorf district at about 2:15 a.m. and were able to extinguish them before they spread inside, police say in a statement.

No one was hurt, and a police investigation is underway. The statement doesn’t give further details or say who might have been responsible.

The group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, claims that assailants affiliated with the Iranian government “initiated the attack by throwing incendiary materials towards the building.”

The NCRI is the political wing of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, which is considered a terror organization by Iran and was once designated as such by the United States until it was delisted in 2012. The EU removed the group from its terrorism list in 2009.