Iran summons German chargé d’affaires after Berlin closes Iranian consulates

Iran summoned the chargé d’affaires of the German embassy in Tehran on Thursday, October 31, to protest against Berlin’s decision to close Iranian consulates in Germany. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced in a press release a “irrational decision” WHO “cannot be justified” and said that he summoned the chargé d’affaires to convey the “strong protest” from Iran.

The German ambassador in Tehran, Markus Potzel, had already been recalled to Berlin for consultations.

Earlier Thursday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced Berlin’s decision to close the three Iranian consulates on German soil in response to Tehran’s execution of naturalized German Iranian dissident Jamshid Sharmahd. He stated that Berlin had “they regularly and clearly communicated to Tehran that the execution of a German citizen would have serious consequences”.

Jamshid Sharmahd, 69, was sentenced to death in February 2023 by a Tehran court for “corruption on earth”for his alleged involvement in an attack against a mosque in Shiraz (south), which left 14 dead and around 300 injured in April 2008.

“The German government’s decision to close these centers is deliberate to deprive Iranians of consular services and facilities.”judged the Iranian Foreign Ministry. He warned that “Germany’s unconstructive and confrontational approach is a serious miscalculation and the German government will be responsible for its consequences.”