Germany extradites Iranian diplomat to Belgium

An Iranian diplomat suspected of helping to plan a bomb attack against Iranians living in exile in France has been extradited to Belgium, German authorities announced Wednesday.

Assadollah Assadi was arrested in the southern German state of Bavaria on July 1 after a Belgian court issued a European arrest warrant for him.

German prosecutors stressed that Assadi cannot benefit from diplomatic immunity in the country as he was accredited in neighboring Austria and came for a holiday to Germany.

Assadi is accused of providing explosives to a couple living in Belgium in order to carry out a bomb attack during a rally on June 30 in neighboring France of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an umbrella bloc of Iranian opposition groups in exile.

Belgian police stopped the couple in their car allegedly before they could carry out the attack.

Iran has dismissed the accusation and claims it is part of a plot to undermine ties between European capitals and Tehran.