TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian authorities on Tuesday closed down the last language institute certified by the German embassy, local media said, in retaliation to the shuttering of Islamic centers in the European country.
A report by Nournews.ir, believed to be close to Iran’s security bodies, published a photo of police forces taking down the sign showcasing the establishment’s name. The Institute For Teaching German Language was established in the capital in 1995 to teach the German language to Iranians, said the German embassy’s website.
Mizanonline.ir, a news website affiliated with the country’s judiciary, said judicial authorities ordered the closure of the institute’s two posts, located in separate Tehran neighborhoods, calling them “illegal centers affiliated with the German government” which “breached Iran’s law, committed various illegal actions and extensive financial violations.” The report also said authorities would investigate possible infractions by other German-affiliated centers, without elaborating which.
Its closure came after German authorities shut down The Islamic Center Hamburg, and five sub-organizations, in July, accusing it of being an “outpost” of Iran’s theocracy, promoting the ideology of its leadership and supporting Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.
German Police also raided 53 properties around the country. Imam Ali Mosque in Hamburg, the militant group’s most prominent facility, was among the properties raided by police early. There were also raids in Berlin and six other German states.
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading near-daily exchanges of fire across the Lebanon-Israel border since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza broke out in October.
Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israeli militant groups like Palestinian Hamas and Hezbollah.
In 1995, Iranian authorities shut down Tehran’s Goethe International Institute which was part of over a hundred others that Germany has around the world to “promote cultural exchange, education and societal discourse,” according to the Goethe-Institut website.