Iran shuts German language institute in Tehran

Iranian authorities have shut a German language school in Tehran citing unspecified legal violations, the Misan website, which puts out press information from the judiciary, reported on Tuesday.

Misan reported two "illegal" institutions run by the Federal Republic of Germany had been closed, reported dpa.

Security forces sealed off the German Language Institute in Tehran (DSIT) in the north of the capital, eyewitnesses reported.

Images shared on social media showed a large police presence outside the language school which was founded by the German embassy in Tehran in 1995, according to its website.

Nurnews, an outlet close to Iran's Security Council, considered the step to be retaliation for the closure of the Islamic Centre Hamburg (IZH) in the northern German city last month.

German authorities banned the IZH, considered "an important propaganda centre for Iran in Europe," on July 24. Assets and facilities of the centre and five sub-organizations were confiscated in nationwide raids.

In response, Iran summoned the German ambassador and last week the organization filed a complaint against the ban.

Relations between Berlin and Tehran are tense. Several German citizens, including some holding an Iranian passport, are currently imprisoned in Iran.

Critics accuse Tehran of deliberately holding foreigners as political bargaining chips.

Iran has rejected such claims, usually justifying the arrests with espionage accusations.

Early last year, German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmah was sentenced to death on terrorism charges. His relatives vehemently deny the accusations against him.