BERLIN/TEHRAN - Germany announced Thursday it will close all three Iranian consulates on its territory in response to the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German-Iranian dual national.
Iran accused Sharmahd of involvement in a mosque attack, and the Iranian judiciary announced his execution this week. He was "held for years without a fair trial before he was executed," according to German authorities.
In a statement issued Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said her country had issued multiple warnings to Tehran, stating, "The execution of a German national would have severe consequences."
The three Iranian consulates affected by the closures are in Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munich. The Iranian Embassy in Berlin will remain operational.
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Also on Thursday, Iran held a ceremony in Tehran to commemorate Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut earlier this month.
The ceremony, during which other slain leaders and commanders of the regional resistance groups were also commemorated, was attended by Iran officials, as well as the representatives of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran also stressed that it reserves the right to legitimate self-defense against Israel's recent attack on certain targets in the country, the official news agency IRNA reported.
In a note addressed to the member states of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva highlighted that the country would not hesitate to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to the report.
Noting that its restraint in maintaining regional peace has only led to "miscalculations" and emboldened Israel, Iran said it reserves the right to legitimate self-defense against Israel's recent attack to prevent it from continuing to violate Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity and perpetrate "crimes."
It called on the conference's members and the international community to take "serious and effective" steps towards compelling Israel to cease its "heinous crimes" by condemning Israeli attacks.
The Israel Defense Forces announced last week that it conducted "precise and targeted" airstrikes on targets in Iran in response to recent attacks from the country.
Iran's air defense headquarters said it successfully countered the Israeli attacks, which resulted in only "limited damage."
