Germany's closure of three Iranian consulates after the execution of dual national Jamshid Sharmahd leaves it with few further options to hit back without closing off diplomatic channels to Tehran, an expert says.
The German government on Friday urged its citizens to leave Iran to avoid suffering Mr Sharmahd's fate, which is being described in Germany as the killing of a hostage. However, embassy staff are not leaving Tehran, where Germany says it wants to continue supporting prisoners and monitoring the human rights situation.
Germany also maintains an interest in negotiating with Iran over its nuclear activities and discussing the conflicts in the Middle East, meaning it is unlikely to sever diplomatic ties altogether, said Diba Mirzaei, an Iran expert at the Giga Institute for Middle East Studies in Hamburg.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's decision to shut the three consulates in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich, leaving the embassy in Berlin open, is "more of a symbolic nature", she told The National. "It's more for the people in Germany that are outraged by Germany's incapacity to do much for Sharmahd.
The only other "plausible option" that Germany would be willing to pursue without severing diplomatic ties would be imposing "new sanctions, much heavier sanctions", she said. "But Germany is not doing it alone, it needs the EU, and currently at least I don't see that other European countries are supporting Germany in that. I think this was one of the reasons why Germany chose to close the consulates here."
Iran is already under heavy sanctions over a range of issues including its missile development, support for Russia and repression of regime critics and women's rights protesters. Germany, France and Britain recently announced they would end direct flights from Iran Air as part of the latest round of restrictions.
A key demand raised by Iran critics in Germany is to add the regime's Revolutionary Guards to an EU terrorist list. A court ruling that Iranian agents were behind a failed arson plot against a German synagogue has been presented in Brussels as a possible legal basis, but the proposal remains mired in EU procedures.
Acknowledging how many rounds have already been fired, Ulrich Lechte, a liberal Iran critic in the German parliament, said ministers should look at possible expulsions and "which further sanctions would be effective against the most sanctioned country".
Opposition leader Friedrich Merz called for Germany to expel Iran's ambassador and downgrade the post to a chargé d'affaires. But Ms Baerbock has told parliament she does not want to provoke Iran into closing the German embassy in Tehran, which she says would be doing the regime a favour.
Travel warning
A Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday reiterated a travel warning calling on Germans to avoid travelling to Iran because of the risk of being held hostage. Official advice is to leave the country and for people still in the country to delete any political content from their phones.
"We have long had a travel warning for Iran and a request to Germans in Iran to leave the country because we saw from the Jamshid Sharmahd case that Iran is taking German citizens hostage," the spokesman said. "We want to spare other German citizens this fate."
Mr Sharmahd, 69, was convicted on charges of supporting terrorism and "corruption on Earth" after what Germany said was an unfair trial. His daughter Gazelle Sharmahd, who had campaigned for his release, suggested his execution was an act of retaliation for Israeli strikes against Iran.
Brushing off the criticism from Germany, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that "a German passport does not provide impunity to anyone, let alone a terrorist criminal". It accused Mr Sharmahd of being involved in plotting attacks from the US, including a 2008 mosque bombing in Iran.
Nonetheless, Iran has an interest in maintaining some diplomatic ties to show it is part of the international community and in keeping the door open for nuclear talks, Ms Mirzaei said. A nuclear deal between Iran and world powers has been on ice since 2018, when Donald Trump ended US involvement.
"Germany and the EU are still very much interested in renegotiating a deal. If Germany does not have any diplomatic relations with Iran this will not be feasible," Ms Mirzaei said. "Severing its diplomatic ties with Iran will be the last resort that Germany will go to. Right now, I just don't see that happening."
"In general when it comes to the situation in the Middle East, Germany knows that Iran plays a pivotal part when it comes to Hamas, to Hezbollah, so it needs to keep those channels open so that in the case that negotiations with Iran on any topic could emerge, they could still use the diplomatic relations with Iran.
"Germany actually until recently had quite a good reputation in Iranian politics, and was seen as more of a mediator than other countries. I think Germany could still use that to its advantage, and I think Germany knows that."
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Fixtures
50-over match
UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am
Champion County match
MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am
Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
