Germany recalls ambassador to Iran over execution

Germany has recalled its ambassador to Iran over the execution of German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd and summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to voice the government's strong protest against the killing, the German foreign office has said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock recalled the ambassador after he formally voiced Germany's condemnation to the Iranian foreign minister, the ministry said in a post on X.

Yesterday, Ms Baerbock condemned the execution saying: "The killing of Jamshid Sharmahd shows once again what kind of inhumane regime rules in Tehran: a regime that uses death against its youth, its own population and foreign nationals."

She said Germany had repeatedly made clear "that the execution of a German national would have serious consequences".

Sharmahd, who had been detained since 2020, was executed yesterday, the judiciary's Mizan website said.

"After going through the judicial process and the final approval of the court decision by the Supreme Court, the death sentence of Jamshid Sharmahd .... was carried out this morning [Monday]," the website said, following Sharmahd's conviction for "corruption on earth".

Sharmahd, a German citizen of Iranian descent and US resident, was seized by Iranian authorities in 2020 while travelling through the United Arab Emirates, according to his family.

Iran, which does not recognise dual citizenship, announced his arrest after a "complex operation", without specifying how, where or when he was seized.

Sharmahd, 69, was sentenced to death in February 2023 for the capital offence of "corruption on earth", a sentence later confirmed by the Supreme Court in the Islamic republic.

He had been convicted of playing a role in a 2008 mosque bombing in the southern city of Shiraz, in which 14 people were killed and 300 wounded.

Sharmahd was also accused of leading the Tondar group, "thunder" in Persian, also known as the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, which aims to topple the Islamic republic. Iran classes it as a terrorist organisation.

He grew up in an Iranian-German family and moved to California in 2003, where he was accused of making statements both hostile to Iran and Islam on satellite television channels.

Mizan said Sharmahd was "a criminal terrorist" who "was hosted by the United States as well as European countries and was operating under the complex protection of their intelligence services".

In May 2023, Iran executed Swedish-Iranian dissident Habib Chaab, who had been held in prison since October 2020 after he vanished during a visit to Turkey before going on trial in Tehran.

He was also convicted of "corruption on earth" for leading Harakat al-Nidal, which is also labelled a terrorist organisation by Tehran.

In January 2023, Alireza Akbari, a former Iranian official with British citizenship, was executued after being convicted of spying for the United Kingdom.

Iran carries out the second highest number of executions worldwide per year after China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.

Several other Europeans are still being held in Iran including at least three French citizens.

In 2023, Irish man Bernard Phelan was released after being held for over six months in prison in Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

The Paris-based travel consultant was arrested while travelling in the country. Iran accused him of anti-government propaganda, a charge he had denied.