Iran said Wednesday it has expelled two German diplomats over Berlin's alleged interference in its internal affairs. The move comes a week after Germany expelled two Iranian diplomats over a death sentence handed down to Jamshid Sharmahd, an Iranian-German dual citizen and opposition figure accused of masterminding deadly attacks.
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Iran's Foreign Ministry said it had also summoned the German ambassador over "excessive" demands, without elaborating. Germany expelled the two diplomats a day after Iran sentenced Sharmahd, who had been residing in Glendora, California, prior to his detention. Iran accuses the 67-year-old of leading the armed wing of a group committed to restoring the Western-backed monarchy that ruled Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Sharmahd's family says he was only a spokesman for the opposition group and denies he was involved in any attacks. They say he was abducted from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, in 2020 and spirited into Iran.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Sharmahd, who lives in Glendora, California, did not have "even the beginning of a fair trial" and that consular access and access to the trial had been repeatedly denied.
