Germany has announced it will close all Iranian consulates within its borders in response to the recent execution of an Iranian-German citizen.
Earlier this week, Iranian authorities reported the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a 69-year-old Iranian-German dual citizen who had been abducted by Iranian intelligence in Dubai in 2020.
Iran’s judiciary claimed Sharmahd was guilty of terrorism charges, executing him on Monday.
Sharmahd’s 2023 trial, which culminated in a death sentence, was widely denounced as illegitimate by Germany, the United States, and several international human rights organizations.
Following the execution, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced the closure of Iran’s consulates in Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munich, reducing Iran’s diplomatic presence in Germany to its embassy in Berlin.
The German Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires on Tuesday to formally protest Sharmahd’s execution, while German Ambassador Markus Potzel lodged an additional protest with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before returning to Berlin for consultations.
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Iranian authorities accused Sharmahd, a California resident, of orchestrating a 2008 bombing at a mosque that killed 14 and injured over 200 people.
They also alleged he planned further attacks with the fringe opposition group Kingdom Assembly of Iran and its militant wing, Tondar.
Iran further claimed that Sharmahd disclosed “classified information” about Revolutionary Guard missile sites during a 2017 television appearance.
In a statement announcing his execution, Iran’s judiciary asserted, “Without a doubt, the divine promise regarding the supporters of terrorism will be fulfilled, and this is a definite promise.”
Sharmahd was one of several Iranian dissidents living abroad who, in recent years, have been abducted or forcibly repatriated to Iran, as Tehran has intensified crackdowns on opposition figures since the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, including Germany, began to deteriorate.
While responding in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Araghchi criticized the move by Germany saying, “No terrorist enjoys impunity in Iran. Even if supported by Germany.”
“Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd openly and unashamedly led a terrorist attack on a MOSQUE that killed 14 innocent people—including women and children. More than 200 were injured. The evidence is public and available for all to see. A German passport does not provide impunity to anyone, let alone a terrorist criminal. Enough with the gaslighting @ABaerbock,” Araghchi said.
He added: “Stop supporting child killers and terrorists and do not hide yourself behind hypocritical human rights slogans. We have not forgotten about the chemical weapons provided to Saddam’s regime by German nationals.”
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said “the execution of a European citizen is seriously harming relations between Iran and the European Union.”
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