Iran denied having any link to an Afghan-German man suspected of spying for Tehran, suggesting his arrest in Germany was part of efforts to mar EU-Iran relations, Channel NewsAsia reported citing the state news agency IRNA.
Germany's federal prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that a 50-year-old Afghan-German dual national who worked for the German military had been detained on suspicion of passing data to an Iranian intelligence agency.
"While denying any link to this supposed individual ...we are not surprised to hear such news amid baseless security charges concocted by those who seek to damage relations between Iran and Europe at this sensitive juncture," IRNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi as saying.
Qassemi did not elaborate, but IRNA referred to a German newspaper report that said the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency may have tipped off German army intelligence officials.
