German-Iran Relations Continue to Worsen

This year’s Munich Security Conference, held from February 17 to 19, was notably different from past years. The Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia have been excluded for the first time. Instead of Iranian mullahs came Iranian government protesters.

While Russia’s exclusion occurred for obvious reasons, less noticed is Germany’s rift with Iran.

• Two days after the conference, on February 21, Iran responded by sentencing Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd to death on charges of “corruption.” The German government had previously tried to prevent the ruling.

Diplomatic escalation: Iran arrested Sharmahd in August 2020, claiming he was involved in an April 2008 attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 14 people. Sharmahd’s family alleges that he was kidnapped by Iranian intelligence during a stopover in Dubai and taken to Iran, where his trial began in February 2022. Sharmahd is a member of the opposition group Tondar.

Sentencing a German national to death is one thing; ignoring government diplomatic efforts is another.

The death sentence against Jamshid Sharmahd is absolutely unacceptable. Not only is the death penalty cruel, inhumane and degrading, but Jamshid Sharmahd never had even the semblance of a fair trial since he had no access to freely chosen legal counsel. … We have intervened on Mr. Sharmahd’s behalf at a high-level time and again since his arrest, which took place under highly questionable circumstances. These intensive efforts have been ignored.
—Annalena Baerbock, German foreign minister

A tougher stance: Iran-sponsored terrorism and its pursuit of nuclear bombs have long concerned German conservatives. Bur for the most part, the German government was focused on deescalation. This has recently changed. Since protests erupted in September in Iran for women’s rights and freedom, German conservatives and liberals have united in opposing the regime.

Prophesied clash: As explained in Germany’s Secret Strategy to Destroy Iran, Daniel 11:40 describes a clash between the king of the north—a German-led European superpower—and the king of the south—radical Islam, led by Iran. The possibility of such a clash has been overlooked by the media. But tensions are escalating, and Bible prophecy is hastening toward its fulfillment.