Iran official claims Iranian-German prisoner died before he could be executed

Iranian-German national and US resident Jamshid Sharmahd attending his trial at the Revolutionary Court, in Tehranin February 2022 (Koosha Mahshid Falahi/Mizan News Agency via AP)

An Iranian official claimed on Tuesday that Iranian-German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd died before Tehran could execute him — directly contradicting the country’s earlier announcement he had been put to death.

The comment by Asghar Jahangir comes as Germany shut down all three Iranian consulates in the country over Mr Sharmahd’s death.