By Staff Writer
The British Office of the ‘ian Regime’s Terrorist Activities in https://t.co/FInrHx0SNj
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 12, 2018
The conference was attended by cross-party politicians from both Houses of Parliament, who condemned the Regime and announced a new initiative to counter Iran’s terrorist activities and support for terrorism, which threatens the security of Europe and its citizens.
Condemning the Regime in British law
At the conference, Conservative MP Bob Blackman announced an Early Day Motion for the UK House of Commons, which would condemn the Iranian Regime’s attempted bombing of the NCRI’s Free Iran gathering in Paris in June.
Blackman, who represents Harrow East, attended the gathering, along with 100,000 other people, and believes that the Regime must be held to account for their terrorism.
He said: “The best solution to counter Iran’s terrorism is to hold the regime in Tehran to account for these illegal activities. That is why I have tabled an early day motion in the parliament co-sponsored by cross-party colleagues, which calls for such measure.”
The EDM, entitled “ATTEMPTED BOMBING OF IRANIAN OPPOSITION IN PARIS”, has already been signed by 42 cross-party MPs, which is very promising.
If passed, this EDM would be a strong condemnation of Iran’s state-sponsored terrorism by the UK government and Iran’s use of its embassies across Europe and the US to plot terrorist attacks. Importantly, it would also call for a “robust policy” to confront the Iranian Regime’s malign activities and reiterate that the terror plot targeting the NCRI Grand Gathering, shows that the Regime is truly scared of the Iranian Resistance.
The attempted bombing in Paris was set to be carried out by three agents of the Iranian Regime, posing as supporters of the Resistance, who had been rectified by Iranian diplomat to Vienna Assadollah Assadi. He had also supplied them with the 500-grams of high-explosives and a detonator to launch their attack.
But the NCRI’s British Representative, Dowlat Nowrouzi, was quick to point out that Assadi, who she described as a “senior intelligence officer and terrorist mastermind”, was no rogue individual and that this terrorist attack was actually ordered by the highest ranking Regime leaders back in January.
The terrorist attack was seen by the Regime as retaliation for the ongoing Iranian uprising, which the NCRI is helping to direct, and for France’s refusal to censor the Iranian Resistance’s activities in France. The plan was approved by the Supreme National Security Council, headed by President Hassan Rouhani, and by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
She advised that the uprising, which is calling for the overthrow of the Regime, shattered the status quo in Iran and the even Rouhani has admitted to the uprising’s effect on the crises plaguing Iran.
Blackman and Nowrouzi called for Assadi, who is currently being held in Germany where he does not have diplomatic immunity, to be extradited to Belgium to face terrorism charges.
David Jones, Conservative MP for Clwyd West, said: “The UK should abandon the policy of appeasement and adopt a robust, firm policy that focuses on confronting the regime for its support for terrorism and human rights abuses as well as supporting the democratic aspiration of the Iranian people. I also call on the Government to strongly condemn Iran’s terrorism and turn its word into action by prescribing the entire IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and imposing punitive measures that deny the IRGC the funds and resources it needs to carry out terrorist activities and domestic repression.”
Iran’s terrorist plots
There were two other terrorist plots by the Iranian Regime that were covered in detail at the conference; one in the US, which was foiled in August, and one in Albania, which was foiled in March. Notably, both of these also targeted the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK), a resistance group that advocates for the overthrow of the Iranian Regime.
In Albania, two Iranian operatives were arrested on charges of terrorism for planning an attack on a MEK conference in Tirana during the Iranian New Year celebrations; which again was attended by prominent American and Albanian officials.
In the US, two Iranians were indicted for conducting surveillance on American citizens who are members of the MEK and Israeli and Jewish groups; both of which are considered enemies by Iran.
But the cases discussed today represent a small portion of the Iranian regime’s 300 terrorist activities in the world including Europe.
Blackman said: “The Iranian regime has made the decision to step up its terrorism in Europe because it is weak and because its survival is threatened by the popular protests going on in Iran and by the increasingly global and domestic support for the Iranian opposition coalition, the NCRI as a viable alternative to the ruling theocracy in Iran. Continued silence and lack of firm actions will only encourage the Iranian regime to continue its unacceptable behaviour and carry out more terrorist attacks in Europe. Our message to the government and EU is that it is now time to act.”
Nowrouzi also highlighted that the embassies play a key role in the Iranian Regime’s terrorist attacks in Europe, particularly the Iranian embassies in Germany and Austria. This is why she called for the closure of embassies and consulates, the expulsion of all Iranian diplomats, and the arrest and trials of all Iranian diplomats who have committed terrorist acts.
She said: “We think decisiveness would be the answer. There is a major need to strongly condemn terrorist operations of the Iranian Regime.”
Jones advised that the West should stop undermining the serious threat posed by Iranian terrorism and should abandon the myth of a moderate faction within the theocratic regime, in light of the attacks that are happening on our shores.
He explained that the anti-regime protests across Iran showcase that there are no moderates within the Regime and regime change in Iran, with the abandonment of terrorism, is supported by the Iranian people.
Jones said: “[The] reality proves that the regime is homogeneous and more crucially that terrorism and domestic repression are the two principals with which the theocracy maintains its grip on power.”
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass, Independent Ulster Unionist member of House of Lords, also argued that the Iranian Regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, must be treated as such and the West should abandon is a misguided belief in a moderate Regime.
He advised that the UK should treat these terrorist plots with the same seriousness that we treated the Manchester attacks or the Salisbury poisoning; advising the expulsion of Iranian diplomats, just like Russian diplomats were expelled earlier this year.
He said: “It wasn’t in the UK this time, but it will be next time terrorist cannot be talked to, they must be dealt with… There are a lot more Assadi’s waiting, being put in place, and they are not going away.”
Other Iranian terrorist attacks
Of course, the Iranian Regime’s terrorism in Europe is nothing new and dates back to the formation of the Regime in 1979.
Hossein Abedini, a member of the NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee and a victim of an assassination attempt by the Iranian Regime, told the conference how Regime agents attacked his car in Turkey, where he was trying to help Iranian refugees, and shot him multiple times, putting him in a near comatose state. The Regime’s agents then tried twice more to kill him in hospital.
Abedini then explained that he had lost many colleagues to the regime’s assassinations on European soil, including former Iranian ambassador to the UN Kazeem Rajavi, who was murdered in Geneva, another defector from the Regime, who was assassinated in Rome, and a close friend who was kidnapped, tortured, and mutilated, before his body was found in Istanbul.
