Iran shut two offices linked to Germany’s government on Tuesday, the judiciary said, nearly a month after the closure of religious centre in Germany over ties to the Islamic republic.
It added that “reports of violations by other German-affiliated centres” 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 organisation.
On July 24, Germany banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre over its alleged support for Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, 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 centre of presenting itself as a purely religious organisation 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 organisations throughout Germany to date, as it is an Islamist extremist organisation pursuing anti-constitutional objectives”.
