German Green Party probes Iran’s activity against Israel and dissidents
Hezbollah operatives are also under inquiry.
By BENJAMIN WEINTHALUpdated: AUGUST 11, 2017 00:18German flag flutters half-mast on top of the Reichstag building, the seat of the German lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin, March 25(photo credit: REUTERS)
The expansion of Iranian regime institutions in Germany has prompted the opening of an inquiry by the Green Party in the Bundestag on Friday to assess Tehran’s anti-Israel and espionage activities.A Green Party document titled “Direction of Shi’ite associations and their connection to the Iranian regime,” which contains 21 detailed questions on Iran’s influence in Germany, was sent to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration for a response. The Jerusalem Post obtained a copy of the Green Party’s written inquiry.“What conclusions and consequences did the federal government draw from the anti-Israel positions of the officials of the Islamic Center of Hamburg by their appearance and participation in the al-Qud [Day]’s demonstrations?” Green Party lawmakers asked.Hamidreza Torabi, who heads the Islamic Academy of Germany – part of the Iranian regime-owned Islamic Center of Hamburg – held a poster in downtown Berlin at the 2016 anti-Israel al-Quds Day rally urging the “rejection of Israel” and terming the Jewish state “illegal and criminal.”Torabi is a principal organizer of the annual al-Quds Day event in Berlin. The Islamic Center buses Hezbollah and Iranian regime members and supporters to the event, which also serves as a gathering for the BDS campaign against Israel. The al-Quds Day rally calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Ayatollah Reza Ramezani directs the Islamic Center of Hamburg.Ramezani is the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the Federal Republic.The Green Party politicians asked the German government about Hezbollah supporters who are active in the Islamic Center of Hamburg.Hezbollah’s so-called political wing remains a legal organization in Germany. There are 950 Hezbollah operatives in Germany, according to the 2017 national intelligence report. The US, Canada, Israel and the Netherlands classify Hezbollah’s entire organization as a terrorist entity. The Green Party politicians queried their government about cases of Iranian regime intimidation of exile Iranians.The Islamic Association of Shi’ite Communities of Germany, which has more than 150 member mosques, is also a subject of the Green Party probe.
