Germany shuts down Iran’s consulates after execution of dual national

Germany announced on Thursday that it would shut down Iran's consulates in the country, in response to the execution German-Iranian dissident Jamshid Sharmahd.

Speaking to reporters in New York, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Sharmahd was executed despite Berlin's intense diplomatic efforts at the highest political level.

"We have repeatedly made it clear to Tehran that the execution of a German citizen will have serious consequences, so I have decided to close Iran's consulate generals in Frankfurt am Main, Munich and Hamburg," she said.

Sharmahd, a 69-year-old German-Iranian national, was executed in Iran on Monday, following his conviction for "plotting terror attacks," which he vehemently denied.

He was accused of leading a U.S.-based group known as "Tondar," which seeks to restore Iran's monarchy, which was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution. Iranian authorities had claimed that the group planned numerous terror acts against Iran under the orders of Western and American intelligence agencies.