One of Germany’s largest newspapers reported last month that Luxembourg authorities had surveilled three terror suspects while they were in the grand duchy.

According to the Welt, Luxembourg agents observed an Iranian-Belgian couple meet a third man at a supermarket in the city centre on 28 June 2018. The rendezvous reportedly was held to handover a bomb meant to be used in Villepinte, north of Paris, two days later. The foiled attack targeted the annual meeting of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, attended by roughly 25,000 people.

Belgian authorities arrested the couple on their way to Paris, the Welt wrote. German authorities arrested the third man, an Iranian diplomat who operated under the codename ‘Daniel’, and extradited him to Belgium. A fourth suspect was arrested in France and extradited to Belgium, the newspaper said on 16 October.

On 13 November, Jean Asselborn, the foreign affairs minister (LSAP), and Henri Kox, the internal security minister (Green party), substantiated some of the Welt report.

Asselborn and Kox stated:

“The government confirms that in July 2018 arrests were made in Belgium, France and Germany and that a quantity of explosives were seized. This action took in the context of Belgium legal proceedings targeting terrorist activities.”

The ministers said that Luxembourg’s state intelligence service, public prosecutor’s office and police force “were engaged in this case.”

Two Iranian-EU nationals were added to a terrorist watch list in January 2019, the government said. However, “there currently are no plans to impose sanctions on the Iranian leadership.”

Asselborn and Kox were responding a parliamentary question from Fernand Kartheiser, the ADR MP.