Iran shut two offices linked to Germany’s government on Tuesday, the judiciary said, nearly a month after the closure of a religious center in Germany over ties to the Islamic republic.
“Two branches of illegal centers affiliated with the German government, which violated Iran laws and committed numerous illegal acts and extensive financial violations, were closed on Tuesday by order of the judicial authority,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.
It added that “reports of violations by other German-affiliated centers” in Iran had been received and that investigations were ongoing.
Iran’s Nour news agency said the two establishments that were closed were offices of the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s government-funded cultural outreach organization.
Germany said it would summon the Iranian ambassador over the closure the institute, with the the German foreign ministry saying, the “condemn the actions of the Iranian security authorities against the German Language Institute Tehran,” calling the action “unjustifiable,” adding that “the Iranian ambassador will be summoned.”
On July 24, Germany banned the Hamburg Islamic Center over its alleged support for Iran-backed Hezbollah as well as its relations with the Islamic republic.
Following that move, Iran summoned the German ambassador to condemn what it called a “hostile action” and branded it a “clear example of Islamophobia.”
Germany’s interior ministry accused the center of presenting itself as a purely religious organization with no political agenda but said its probe had found the contrary to be true.
In a statement, the ministry said it “banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre and its affiliated organizations throughout Germany to date, as it is an Islamist extremist organization pursuing anti-constitutional objectives.”
With AFP
