The German Foreign Ministry on Tuesday recalled Ambassador to Iran Markus Potzel, then summoned Iran’s envoy in Berlin to lodge a formal protest against Iran’s execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen who resided in California.
On Thursday, Germany went a step further by shuttering three Iranian consulates. Speaking from New York, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the unusual consulate shutdown might not be the last measure Berlin takes in response to Iran’s “assassination” of Sharmahd.
“We have repeatedly made it unmistakably clear to Tehran that the execution of a German national will have serious consequences,” she said.
“The execution of Jamshid Sharmahd by the Iranian regime is a scandal that I condemn in the strongest possible terms. Jamshid Sharmahd was not even given the opportunity to defend himself against the charges against him in court,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.
Germany previously expelled two Iranian diplomats after Iran sentenced Sharmahd to death in 2023.
The Biden-Harris administration has yet to take any action over the killing of Sharmahd, who Iran accused of plotting a 2008 bomb attack on a mosque.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry insisted Sharmahd’s execution was justified and accused Germany of hypocrisy on “the rule of law, the protection of human rights, and the fight against terrorism” by supporting the slain man.
Jamshid Sharmahd, 68 at the time of his death, was born in Tehran but moved to Germany with his family when he was seven years old. He became a German citizen in 1995. He moved to Glendora, California, about 20 years ago.
Sharmahd was in Dubai on a business trip in August 2002 when he was kidnapped by Iranian agents, in what Tehran would only describe as a “complex operation.” Iran refused to recognize his German citizenship, as it refuses to acknowledge all dual nationalities.
Iran accused Sharmahd of being the “ringleader” of a “terrorist” group called Tondar, also known as the Kingdom Assembly of Iran. It also claimed his activities were “heavily supported by U.S. and Israeli intelligence services.”
The relatively obscure group agitates for restoration of the Iranian monarchy, which was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Sharmahd was affiliated with the group, having run its website and recorded videos claiming it was gathering strength and preparing to fight the ruling theocracy.
Sharmahd was given an absurd secret trial in a “revolutionary court,” during which he was not allowed to choose legal counsel or see any of the evidence against him. His family said the “lawyer” appointed by the Iranian regime to represent Sharmahd tried to extort $250,000 out of them.
Iran accused him of masterminding a 2008 mosque bombing in Shiraz that killed 14 people and injured 200 more. He was charged with planning 22 other “terror attacks,” including five that were “successful.”
Human rights groups complained Sharmahd was tortured and forced to record a “confession” video. The court ultimately convicted him of “corruption on Earth,” Iran’s favorite all-purpose death sentence.
The U.S. State Department “condemned” Iran’s execution of Sharmahd on Monday, calling it “the latest case in the regime’s history of transnational repression and disregard of human rights,” but took no action against Tehran.
Sharmahd’s daughter Gazelle, a tireless advocate for his release ever since he was abducted by Iran, blasted both the U.S. and German governments on Tuesday for not doing enough to save her father.
“We will see in a few hours if these two incompetent and corrupt governments can tell me tonight: 1- What have they (US & German) done for 4 years when their German-American national was kidnapped in Dubai and taken to Iran by force?” Gazelle Sharmahd raged.
“Besides abandoning you in every hostage negotiation, what do they have to show for?” she said.