Potzel was summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry on Tuesday after German officials, including the ambassador himself and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, protested the execution by Iran of Jamshid Sharmahd, an Iranian-German convicted of terrorism by the Iranian Judiciary.
Sharmahd was the ringleader of an anti-Iran group based in the United States, accused by Iran of planning and executing a series of terrorist attacks on Iranian soil.
Most notably, he was charged with organizing the 2008 Shiraz mosque bombing which killed and wounded around 200 innocent people.
The director general for Western Europe Department at the Iranian foreign ministry expressed Iran's strong objections to the inappropriate comments by German authorities.
The Iranian diplomat highlighted that support for Sharmard contradicts Germany’s claims of advocacy for the rule of law and human rights. The official further condemned Germany's support for the Israeli “genocide” in Gaza and Lebanon by providing weapons to the occupying regime.
Ambassador Potzel assured that he would promptly communicate Iran’s concern to his government.
Earlier in the day, the German foreign minister recalled Potzel to Berlin for consultations.
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