Execution of a German-Iranian citizen: crisis between Iran and Germany

At the beginning of the week, Jamshid Sharmad, a German-Iranian citizen accused by the Iranian regime of terrorist activity, was executed in Iran. Sharmhead, 69 years old, was an Iranian and German citizen who lived in Iran as a child and left its borders at a young age together with his family who moved to Germany. From 2003 he lived in California in the USA. In 2020, during a visit to Dubai, he was kidnapped to Iran by the Iranian security forces.

The German Foreign Ministry announced today (Thursday) that Germany will close the three Iranian consulates in its territory as a response to his execution. The Reuters news agency stated that the Iranian embassy would remain open. At the beginning of the week, following the incident, Germany already recalled its ambassador from Iran and summoned the Iranian attaché in Berlin for a hearing.

“Diplomatic relations between us are already below the lowest point,” said German Foreign Minister Anlana Barabok in New York.

Brabok condemned Iran for playing political games with hostages and accused Tehran of trying to use Germany’s support for Israel during the war in the Gaza Strip to justify the killing of Sharmhad. “More German citizens are being held unjustly, we are deeply committed to them and continue to work tirelessly for their release,” she said.

Foreign Minister Barabok also called on the European Union to add the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to the list of terrorist organizations.