Germany Shuts Down Iranian Consulates
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announces the closure of Iranian consulates in Germany (Wikipedia Commons)
The German government announced the shutdown of all Iranian consulates in Germany in response to Iran’s execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a dual German-Iranian citizen, on October 31, 2024. The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, called this an “assassination.” “We have repeatedly made it unmistakably clear to Tehran that the execution of a German national will have serious consequences,” she said as she announced the closure of the Iranian consulates in Munich, Frankfurt, and Hamburg.
Sharmahd was an avid critic of the Iranian regime. Iranian security forces kidnapped Sharmahd in Dubai in 2020, and executed him on October 30 on account of terrorism charges. The trial that led to the execution has been recognized as a sham by Germany, the United States, and many international human rights organizations. Iran accused Sharmahd, a resident of Glendora, California, of orchestrating a mosque bombing in 2008 that resulted in 14 fatalities and over 200 injuries. Authorities also alleged that he had planned further attacks through the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, a fringe opposition group, along with its militant faction, Tondar. Additionally, Iran claimed that Sharmahd had disclosed "classified information" regarding Revolutionary Guard missile sites during a televised broadcast in 2017.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described Germany's closure of Iranian consulates as a form of "sanctions" against Iranians living there. He added, “no terrorist enjoys impunity in Iran. Even if supported by Germany.” He further criticized the German government, saying “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.”
This move came amid rising tensions between the West and Iran, reflected in Araghchi’s statement: “Your [German] government is accomplice in the ongoing Israeli genocide. Germany is the No#2 provider of lethal weapons to Israel for its genocidal campaign in Gaza and carnage in Lebanon. Look around. Even your own people ridicule your arrogant human rights claims.” Germany later urged its citizens to leave Iran due to fears of escalating war and hostage taking, according to a German foreign ministry spokesperson.
“We want to spare other German citizens this [Sharmahd’s] fate,” said the spokesperson.
The German Foreign Ministry had already summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires on October 29, 2024 to protest against Sharmahd’s execution. German Ambassador Markus Potzel also protested to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, before being recalled to Berlin for consultations. The closure of the consulates, a diplomatic measure that Germany rarely employs, indicates a significant deterioration in diplomatic relations, which Baerbock stated were “already at more than a low point.”
Iran’s government “knows above all the language of blackmail, threat and violence,” Baerbock said. “The latest comments by the Iranian foreign minister, in which he puts the cold-blooded murder of Jamshid Sharmahd in the context of German support for Israel, also speak for themselves.”
Baerbock wants to place Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on a list of terrorist organizations by the European Union. EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said that “the execution of a European citizen is seriously harming relations between Iran and the European Union.”
Germany and Iran have been engaged in diplomatic tensions for over a year due to Iran’s open support of internationally-designated terrorist groups against Israel and the latest development adds fuel to the fire.