Tehran said on Friday that Germany’s closure of Iranian consulates in the country effectively served as a “sanction” against Iranians residing in Germany.

This comes after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced on Thursday that three Iranian consulates in Germany would be closed in response to the execution of German-Iranian dual citizen Jamshid Sharmahd.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the order online.

“The closure of Iran’s Consulates in Germany is a sanction against Iranians residing in this country, many of whom also have German citizenship,” he wrote.

Call for Germans to leave Iran

Meanwhile, Germany reiterated its call for citizens in Iran to leave the country and warned others not to travel there.

“We have had a travel warning for Iran for a long time and a request for Germans in Iran to leave the country because in the case of Jamshid Sharmahd we saw Iran taking German citizens hostage,” State Department spokesman Sebastian Fischer said in a statement Friday. he said.

“We want to save other German citizens from this fate,” he added.

Germany orders the closure of all Iranian consulates

On Thursday, Germany ordered the closure of Iranian consulates in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich but said its embassy in Berlin would remain open.

“We have repeatedly and clearly stated to Tehran that the execution of a German citizen will have serious consequences,” Foreign Minister Baerbock said in announcing the closures. he said.

Germany closes Iran’s consulates due to the execution of Shahmad

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On Monday, Iran announced that Sharmahd had been executed after being sentenced to death in 2023 on charges of “corruption on earth” for a 2008 attack on a mosque and other incidents.

The German government, his relatives and human rights activists vehemently denied the charges against him and dismissed the case as unfair.

Baerbock also said Germany would seek EU-wide sanctions against those involved in Sharmahd’s execution. This includes the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the minister said.

lo/msh (Reuters, AFP)