Iran Closes Centers Linked to Germany, Which Summons Ambassador

 Seals placed by the Iranian police force are pictured outside the closed gate of the Tehran offices of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural center on August 20, 2024. (AFP)
Seals placed by the Iranian police force are pictured outside the closed gate of the Tehran offices of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural center on August 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Iran Closes Centers Linked to Germany, Which Summons Ambassador

 Seals placed by the Iranian police force are pictured outside the closed gate of the Tehran offices of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural center on August 20, 2024. (AFP)
Seals placed by the Iranian police force are pictured outside the closed gate of the Tehran offices of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural center on August 20, 2024. (AFP)

Iran's judiciary has closed two branches of organizations linked to Germany due to "illegal activities and financial fraud", the judiciary's Mizan news agency said, in a move protested by Berlin with the summoning of the Iranian ambassador.

Mizan published pictures on Tuesday of security forces removing the banner of the German Language Institute of Tehran, which is linked to the German embassy.

"Additionally, there have been reports of violations by other Germany-affiliated centers and investigations in this matter are ongoing," Mizan added.

A spokesperson for the German foreign ministry condemned the actions against the language institute in a statement, which did not mention other organizations.

Tehran's ambassador would be summoned over the incident, the spokesperson said, adding: "We call on the new Iranian government to allow teaching to resume immediately."

In July, Germany banned the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and subsidiary organizations for "pursuing radical Islamist goals", according to the interior ministry.

The ministry said the IZH had acted as a direct representative of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and sought to bring about an “Islamic revolution” in Germany.

Following the closure of the IZH, Iran summoned the German ambassador in Tehran.



Bus Carrying Pilgrims from Pakistan to Iraq Crashes in Iran, At Least 28 Dead

Iranians drive past Iranian and Palestinian national flags hanging on buildings at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 19 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians drive past Iranian and Palestinian national flags hanging on buildings at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 19 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Bus Carrying Pilgrims from Pakistan to Iraq Crashes in Iran, At Least 28 Dead

Iranians drive past Iranian and Palestinian national flags hanging on buildings at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 19 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians drive past Iranian and Palestinian national flags hanging on buildings at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 19 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

A bus carrying Shiite pilgrims from Pakistan to Iraq crashed in central Iran, killing at least 28 people, an official said Wednesday.
The crash happened Tuesday night in the central Iranian province of Yazd, said Mohammad Ali Malekzadeh, a local emergency official, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Another 23 people suffered injuries in the crash, 14 of them serious, he added. He said all the bus passengers hailed from Pakistan.
There were 51 people on board at the time of the crash outside of the city of Taft, some 500 kilometers southeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Iranian state television later blamed the crash on the bus brakes failing and a lack of attention by its driver.
A separate bus crash early Wednesday in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province killed six people and injured 18, authorities said.