Germany is paying its "historic debt" to the Jews after labeling Hezbollah a terrorist organization and banning all its activities on German soil, Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.
"We have a feeling that the Germans seem to have a historic debt to the Zionists, that they are paying it off, they do not realize that the whole world and the Muslims could react," said Iranian foreign spokesman Abbas Moussavi at a press conference in Tehran.
Germany announced Thursday that it had "banned the activity of the terrorist organization Hezbollah" on its territory, indicating that it was responding to a long-standing request from the United States and Israel.
Hezbollah is "a powerful and legitimate party represented in the Lebanese government and parliament," said Moussavi, adding the German decision "will only create problems."
Earlier this week, Israel's international espionage agency Mossad provided German security services with intelligence on Hezbollah operations inside the country, leading Berlin to issue a ban against the terrorist group, Hebrew-language broadcaster Channel 12 reported Saturday.
The terrorist designation coincided with police raids carried out across the country on individuals thought to be Hezbollah members.
According to Channel 12, Israeli intelligence worked in Germany in a highly sensitive operation for months to expose Hezbollah's terrorism network. The information gathered was then handed over to Germany's security services.
The operation is said to have disrupted Hezbollah's cash network, worth millions of dollars, and helped locate ammunition depots.