German Party's Efforts to Prevent Land Deal with the Islamic Republic

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is trying to prevent the exchange of part of the land of the Islamic Republic of Iran's consulate in Frankfurt with adjacent land. Over the past years, the consulate has attempted to trade the adjacent land with part of its green space to establish a tea house; however, it has not been able to convince the city council so far. Now, the Islamic Republic has requested that if they are not going to transfer this land, they should provide them with another plot. The Social Democratic Party, which opposes this issue, states, 'Iran should not be given the opportunity to create a propaganda tea house.' Simon Wich, a representative of the Social Democratic Party in the Frankfurt City Council, said, 'In the city of Frankfurt, the land exchange between the city and the [Iranian] consulate is planned. This contract allows Iran to engage in propaganda by establishing a tea house at the Iranian consulate. The current property of Iran that should be transferred to the city does not allow for this, as the current property is green space.' He added, 'We want to stop this propaganda printing house. We express solidarity with all Iranians fighting for freedom and human rights. The city of Frankfurt should not trade with a regime that kidnaps people and arbitrarily condemns them to death. Such a regime should not be rewarded with a piece of land that is intended for its own propaganda.' The Green Party in the Frankfurt City Council has not yet made a final statement regarding the land exchange or deal with the Islamic Republic. Earlier, Julia Frank, spokesperson for the Green Party's planning policy in the city council, stated in an interview with Frankfurter that 'we only want to decide after talking to all involved.' For more than 10 months, the Iranian community opposing the Islamic Republic abroad has been trying to persuade European politicians to end their dealings with the Islamic Republic. The demands of Iranians residing in Europe include severing diplomatic relations with the Iranian government, listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization, and closing cultural centers and consulates affiliated with the regime. Hassan Sanei, an advocate for increasing the bounty on Salman Rushdie's assassination, has passed away. New European actions against Iran's support for Russia and Syria: six more individuals have been sanctioned. A bipartisan proposal in the U.S. Senate has been introduced to intensify sanctions against the Islamic Republic. A member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee stated that the Biden administration does not have a serious policy regarding Iran.