London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Israel’s Mossad targeted German, Swiss firms – reports

Israel’s Mossad targeted German, Swiss firms – reports

The country reportedly sought to prevent Pakistan from developing own nukes in 1980s
A Swiss newspaper claims Mossad may have been behind bombing attacks and threats against several German and Swiss companies in the 1980s. Israel reportedly sought to prevent Pakistan from developing nuclear weapons.

The bombshell report was published by Switzerland’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung on Sunday. The paper claims that Mossad was behind three bomb attacks in Switzerland and Germany, which happened in 1981 and targeted property belonging to people and firms involved in the sale of dual-purpose materials to Pakistan. The explosions, which damaged the buildings and killed a dog, were followed by phone calls to other companies believed to be involved in dealings with the Pakistanis, with warnings that they could be the next target unless they ditched nuclear-related business deals with Islamabad.

At the time, an obscure group named the ‘Organization for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in South Asia’ claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, the organization had not been heard of prior to the attacks, nor has it emerged ever since.

The Swiss newspaper, citing recently unclassified State Department documents, claims that the US was unhappy about Pakistan’s attempts to develop its own nukes, but Washington did not wish to alienate the government in Islamabad. American diplomats first tried to convince authorities in Bonn and Bern to prevent companies from selling dual-purpose materials to Pakistan. However, those efforts bore little fruit, as the paper claims, and a year later, a string of attacks on the people and entities involved occurred.

Israel, which, according to the report, saw the prospect of a Muslim country getting hold of nukes as an existential threat, reportedly took more decisive action to prevent this from happening. The paper admits, however, that there is no “smoking gun” to point the finger at Israel beyond a reasonable doubt. However, there is some circumstantial evidence that may implicate Mossad, the report claims.

For instance, it reveals that one of the businessmen who had been receiving threats in the wake of the attacks told Swiss police that the Israeli secret service had contacted him. He also reportedly told the investigators that a man named Mr. David, who worked in the Israeli embassy in Germany, had called him multiple times and even met him once in person to try and convince him to opt out of business with Pakistan.

Historian Adrian Hänni also told Neue Zürcher Zeitung that the bombings bore all the hallmarks of a secret service operation, and were strikingly similar to the attacks that had happened two years prior, which targeted people allegedly involved in Iraq’s nuclear program.

The report concludes by saying that most of the German and Swiss companies that were allegedly selling dual-use materials to Pakistan continued with the lucrative business despite the attacks and threats. The Swiss newspaper also claims that several years later, Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program, went on to help Iranians get hold of uranium enrichment centrifuges.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×