Tehran Summons German Charge D’Affaires over Closure of Iranian Consulates

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, Press TV reported.

It came hours after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced that the Iranian consulates in the cities of Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich are to be closed over the execution of German-Iranian 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 Iranian foreign 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 US-based terror group behind a series of deadly attacks against the Iranian nation.

Germany protested to Iran by recalling its ambassador to Tehran and summoning the Iranian charge d’affaires in Berlin.

Announcing the closures of the Iranian consulates, Baerbock said, "We repeatedly made it crystal clear to Tehran that the execution of a German national would have serious consequences."

In its press release, the Iranian 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.