German Police Nab Man Before Leaving for Iraq to Join ISIS

Police walks in the German town of Wuerzburg, Germany, June 25, 2021, during a "major operation" in which police arrested a suspect after local media had earlier reported multiple stabbings. REUTERS/Heiko Becker
Police walks in the German town of Wuerzburg, Germany, June 25, 2021, during a "major operation" in which police arrested a suspect after local media had earlier reported multiple stabbings. REUTERS/Heiko Becker
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German Police Nab Man Before Leaving for Iraq to Join ISIS

Police walks in the German town of Wuerzburg, Germany, June 25, 2021, during a "major operation" in which police arrested a suspect after local media had earlier reported multiple stabbings. REUTERS/Heiko Becker
Police walks in the German town of Wuerzburg, Germany, June 25, 2021, during a "major operation" in which police arrested a suspect after local media had earlier reported multiple stabbings. REUTERS/Heiko Becker

An 18-year-old man suspected of having planned an extremist attack in Frankfurt has been arrested near Germany's border with Austria as he attempted to leave the country for Iraq and join ISIS, German investigators said Thursday.

The man, a German citizen with Moroccan roots who grew up in Germany, was arrested on Wednesday at a highway rest area near Passau, Frankfurt prosecutors and Hesse state criminal police said in a statement.

The arrest stemmed from an investigation that started last summer, The Associated Press reported. The man, whose name wasn't released, is accused of having planned a shooting attack in Frankfurt, of having researched how to build explosive devices online, and of procuring a stabbing weapon that he kept in his parents' garage.

German authorities were alerted by a foreign intelligence service, which Thursday's statement didn't identify. When the suspect's home was searched in August, investigators found depictions of ISIS’ flag and ideologically loaded pictures of fighting and executions, but couldn't immediately substantiate suspicions that he was planning an attack.

Further investigations suggested that he had put off his plans for an attack in Frankfurt for fear of being discovered and couldn't find enough money to get a firearm, authorities said. Instead, he allegedly planned to leave Germany on Wednesday to travel overland to Iraq, where he hoped to join ISIS.

The suspect was arrested before he could leave the country and his home was searched again.



Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump said on Monday he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran's atomic facilities.

"I think they're tapping us along," Trump told reporters after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Oman on Saturday with a senior Iranian official.

Both Iran and the United States said on Saturday that they held "positive" and "constructive" talks in Oman. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, and a source briefed on the planning said the meeting was likely to be held in Rome.

The source, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the discussions are aimed at exploring what is possible, including a broad framework of what a potential deal would look like.

"Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Asked if US options for a response include a military strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, Trump said: "Of course it does."

Trump said the Iranians need to move fast to avoid a harsh response because "they're fairly close" to developing a nuclear weapon.

The US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Joe Biden's term, but they made little, if any progress. The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under then-President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the 2015 international nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned.