Germany on Wednesday banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre, an association that has been under investigation for several months over its alleged support for Lebanon's Hezbollah group and its links to Iran.

Tehran reacted in fury, summoning Germany's ambassador to Iran to condemn Berlin's "hostile action" which it branded as a "clear example of Islamophobia".

Germany's Interior Ministry accused the centre of presenting itself as a purely religious organisation with no political agenda, but said its probe has found the contrary to be true.

In a statement, the ministry said that it "banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre and its affiliated organisations throughout Germany to date, as it is an Islamist extremist organisation pursuing anti-constitutional objectives".

Accusing the group of being a "direct representative of Iran's supreme leader", the ministry........

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