Iran shuts German cultural centers
Iran shut two offices linked to Germany’s government on Tuesday, the judiciary said, nearly a month after the closure of religious center in Germany over ties to the Islamic republic.
“Two branches of illegal centers affiliated with the German government, which violated Iran laws, 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, AFP wrote.
It is said the two establishments that were closed were offices of the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s government-funded cultural outreach organization.
On July 24, Germany banned the Hamburg Islamic Center over its alleged support for Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, as well its relations with the Islamic republic.
Following that move, Iran summoned the German ambassador to condemn what it called the “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 Center and its affiliated organizations throughout Germany accusing it for being “an Islamist extremist organization pursuing anti-constitutional objectives”.