Germany Urges Its Citizens to Leave Iran

The German government has extended its travel ban for citizens to Iran and has urged Germans residing in Iran to leave the country. A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry warned on Friday, November 3, that citizens of this country are at risk of being taken hostage by the Islamic Republic while in Iran. The spokesperson added that the German government suspects that following the execution of Jamshid Sharmeh, a German-Iranian citizen residing in the United States, the Islamic Republic may take German citizens in the country hostage. He stated that Germany aims to prevent its other citizens in Iran from facing a similar fate. Following the execution of Jamshid Sharmeh on November 1 by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, the German government closed all three Iranian consulates in the country. Mr. Sharmeh had traveled from the United States to India for business four years ago, and during his return to the U.S. amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he spent some time in a hotel at Dubai Airport in the UAE, where he was kidnapped by Iranian intelligence agents in August 2020. A few days after his disappearance, the then Minister of Intelligence in Hassan Rouhani's government announced that Sharmeh had been transferred to Iran. The Islamic Republic introduced this German-Iranian citizen, who owned a private radio station in the U.S., as the head of the Tondar group (the Iranian Monarchy Association in the U.S.) and as the 'designer and executor' of a bombing in a Shiite mosque in Shiraz, which killed 14 people. Mr. Sharmeh and his family in the U.S. strongly denied any allegations of planning or involvement in that bombing. The Chancellor, Foreign Minister, and many German officials condemned the execution of Sharmeh in recent days. Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, emphasized that his death sentence was 'completely unacceptable' and a unilateral act by Tehran. The European Union also issued statements condemning Iran for the execution of this European citizen. The Islamic Republic executed Jamshid Sharmeh suddenly, two days after escalating military tensions between Iran and Israel, which raised concerns in the U.S., Germany, and other Western and regional countries. One day after this event, the German ambassador to Iran left his post in protest and was summoned back to Berlin for consultations. German media reported that these actions, along with the summoning of the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Berlin to the German Foreign Ministry for protest, are not the only steps Germany is considering, and discussions may also involve reducing the level of diplomatic relations and designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. The Iranian Foreign Minister described the German Foreign Ministry's order to close Iranian consulates in Germany as 'sanctions against Iranians.' Abbas Araqchi wrote in a message on X, 'Closing Iranian consulates in Germany is a sanction against Iranians residing in Germany, most of whom are also German citizens.' He promised Iranians residing in Germany that consular affairs would be handled by strengthening the consular section at the Iranian embassy in Berlin, which remains active, and at other Iranian representation centers in countries close to Germany. Western countries and international human rights organizations say that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a long history of taking dual citizens hostage to fulfill its demands since its inception. The Sharmeh family, considering his residency rights in the U.S., hoped he would be freed during the deal struck by the Biden administration with Iran in early autumn last year, which led to the release of American hostages in Iran. The Sharmeh family has accused the U.S. and Germany of failing to protect this European citizen residing in America.