TEHRAN -- Iran has summoned German charge d’affaires in Tehran to protest the European country’s “irrational” decision to shut the missions of the Islamic Republic and deprive Iranians of consular services.
The director of the First Department for Western Europe at the Iranian Foreign Ministry called in the diplomat on Thursday to relay Tehran’s “strong protest” and condemn Berlin’s “destructive approach” towards the Iranian people, including those residing in Germany.
The summon came hours after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced that the Iranian consulates in the cities of Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich would be closed over the execution of convicted terrorist Jamshid Sharmahd.
“The decision by the German government to stop the activities of the consulates of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Germany is an unjustified act,” the ministry’s said in a press release.
The move, it added, “deliberately deprives Iranians of the benefit of consular facilities and services” while “causes unnecessary trouble for Iranians residing in Germany and violates their basic rights.”
On Monday, Iran’s Judiciary executed Sharmahd, the ringleader of a U.S.-based terror group behind a series of deadly attacks against the Iranian nation.
Germany recalled its ambassador to Tehran and summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires in Berlin.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said granting a German passport to an individual does not provide impunity, let alone a terrorist criminal.
The foreign ministry said Baerbock’s “meddlesome” and “unprofessional” statement lacks decency and legal value, noting that Berlin’s “unconstructive and confrontational approach is a major miscalculation, and the German government will be responsible for its consequences.”
It also condemned the German government’s disrespect for international law, as well as any support for terrorism and the killing of innocent people.