In the early hours of December 3, a disturbing incident unfolded in Berlin, where the Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) was targeted with flammable material. Swift action by office residents averted a potential tragedy, as German police investigated the attack. This event follows similar assaults on NCRI-affiliated offices in Paris on May 31 and June 11, 2023, where assailants deployed handmade bombs and a handgun, yet residents’ prompt response prevented casualties. Unfortunately, no suspects have been apprehended.
On November 9, a fervent NCRI supporter and former First Vice President of the European Parliament were shot in broad daylight in Madrid. Despite the Spanish police detaining three suspects, the main perpetrator remains at large. While European law enforcement probes these incidents, the NCRI attributes the attacks to the Iranian regime and its foreign mercenaries.
The NCRI had sounded the alarm on May 26 following the release of Tehran’s diplomat-terrorist Asadollah Assadi in a dubious prisoner swap. The NCRI’s official statement warned, “The release of the terrorist, who organized and commanded the biggest criminal act in Europe after the Second World War, by violating the Court’s order, is a shameful ransom for terrorism and hostage-taking. This will embolden the religious fascism ruling Iran to continue its crimes in Iran through repression and regional and international terrorism.”
A four-decade history of hostage-taking and terrorism illustrates that yielding to the leading state sponsor of terrorism empowers the fundamentally corrupt and extremist regime. The Iranian Resistance, particularly the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MEK/PMOI), has borne the brunt of Tehran’s terrorism, both domestically and internationally. The Resistance has also been instrumental in exposing the regime’s global network of militias and terror cells that continue to operate from embassies and diplomatic consulates in all corners of the globe.
Fundamentalism and terrorism under the banner of Islam, whether Shiite or Sunni, are either promoted and financed by the Iranian regime, or have their origins in the regime.
The policy of appeasement towards this regime has not only harmed the Iranian people, its primary victims,… pic.twitter.com/XUZpJJ1cUo— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) October 8, 2023
The roots of these terror incidents trace back to the Iranian regime’s playbook, whose first phase involves demonizing and dehumanizing those who oppose it. In the early 1980s, the new-established regime targeted the MEK, the largest Muslim opposition group inside the country, accusing them of hypocrisy and foreign affiliations, leading to the prohibition of their political activities and the banning of all publications under their name. This strategy extended to mass arrests and genocidal campaigns against MEK members from 1981 to 1988.
Internationally, the Iranian regime enlisted Western-educated analysts, journalists, and academic experts to replicate its domestic strategy. The exposed “Iran Expert Initiative,” revealed by Semafor and other American outlets in September and October, aimed to undermine the MEK and the NCRI. These efforts sought to portray the Iranian Resistance as lacking domestic support, influencing decision-makers and public opinion.
While proponents of appeasement policies embraced these narratives, those negotiating with the Iranian delegations faced Tehran’s relentless demand to crack down on the MEK and the NCRI as a major condition for the regime’s alleged cooperation for strategic bargaining. Yet consequently, these Western statesmen, recognizing the significance of the Iranian Resistance, inadvertently parroted the regime’s talking points to justify their stance.
As a result, with Tehran escalating its domestic crackdown—executing a hundred people monthly—and backing extremist militias wreaking havoc in the Middle East, advocates of Western appeasement may soon confront a stark reality: a major attack hitting close to home.
The West’s historical complacency has inadvertently paved the way for Iranian regime-sponsored terrorism, and again, the Iranian Resistance now stands poised to bear the burdensome cost.