Hamburg, 24 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) – German authorities on Wednesday banned the Islamic Centre Hamburg (IZH), an organization that German intelligence considers to be controlled by Iran.

To enforce the ban, which was published in the Federal Gazette and also affects affiliated organizations, officers searched the IZH as well as premises in other states early in the morning for the second time in a few months.

Dozens of police officers were seen cordoning off the Blue Mosque in Hamburg, a Shiite mosque located in an upmarket area on the shore of the northern German city's Outer Alster Lake that is run by the IZH.

According to a dpa reporter, several police officers stormed the building of a Shiite organization in the Tempelhof district of Berlin at around the same time.

Germany's domestic intelligence service has classified the IZH as extremist.

The organization is considered an important propaganda centre for Tehran in Europe. The state-level branch of the domestic intelligence service in Hamburg has been monitoring the organization since the 1990s.

The large-scale operation, which also saw authorities target organizations affiliated with the IZH in other states, comes after officials searched 54 properties across Germany in November, including the Blue Mosque and dozens of other premises in Hamburg.

Extensive material was confiscated at the time.

Photo: MIA archive