Mullahs’ Terror Machine On The Move – OpEd

Iran's Grand Ayatollah Seyyed  Ali Khamenei. Photo by Seyedkhan, Wikipedia Commons.

The civilized world should take the threatening signs coming from Tehran serious. In this day and age and with likes of ISIS and Al-Qaeda still running around, warning shots from the theocratic regime in Iran should be taken with utmost caution. Some may interpret them as signs of strength but history has thought us that such behaviors are actually signs of absolute desperation and weakens.

The latest in the chain of events regarding Iranian regime’s covert activities outside Iran was uncovered by the US Justice Department on August 20. The Justice Department’s statement implicates two Iranian individuals — Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar and Majid Ghorbani — spying on Iranian dissidents. The main target according to the statement is members and supporters of main Iranian opposition the People’s Mojahedin organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

“On or about Sept. 20, 2017, Ghorbani is alleged to have attended a MEK rally in New York City, during which he photographed individuals participating in the protest against the current Iranian regime. In or about December 2017, Doostdar returned to the United States from Iran and made contact with Ghorbani in the Los Angeles area. During the meeting, Doostdar paid Ghorbani approximately $2,000 in cash and Ghorbani delivered to him 28 photographs taken at the September 2017 MEK rally, many of which contained hand-written annotations identifying the individuals who appeared in the photos. These photographs, along with a hand-written receipt for $2000, were found concealed in Doostdar’s luggage as he transited a U.S. airport on his return to Iran in December 2017,” the statement added.

It also says: ‘The indictment also alleges that Ghorbani traveled to Iran in or about March 2018, after informing Doostdar that he would be going to Iran to conduct an “in-person briefing.” Thereafter, on or about May 4, Ghorbani attended the MEK-affiliated 2018 Iran Freedom Convention for Human Rights in Washington, D.C. During the course of the conference, Ghorbani appeared to photograph certain speakers and attendees, which included delegations from across the United States. On May 14, Doostdar called Ghorbani to discuss clandestine methods Ghorbani should use in order to provide this information to Iran.”

Since early summer, the Iranian regime lost all hopes of hiding its true intentions for entering the nuclear deal with the West. It removed the mask and showed its ugly face. In late June, distant memories of Iranian regime’s capabilities in terrorism craft came to life when one of its top diplomats caught red handed in plotting a major terrorist attack on the big annual rally of Iran’s main opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Paris.

Terror plot

Even as the rally unfolded, a terrorist plot intending to target it was foiled by security forces in France with the help of their German and Belgian partners. Timing of the plot was significant because Hassan Rouhani was scheduled to visit Austria the next day.

Assadollah Assadi masterminded the plot while under diplomatic immunity from Austrian government. He was stationed in Vienna. Assadi was caught red-handed when he was giving the explosives and detonator to a sleeping cell, an Iranian born Belgian couple to carry out the attack.

To put some flesh on the bones, the Iranian regime’s history is marred by terrorism and hostage taking for political gains. It all began with taking American diplomats hostage for 444 days in Tehran in late 70s.

Attacks on EU soil

This is not the first plot of its kind on the European soil. On April 24, 1990, Kazem Rajavi was gunned down in broad daylight by several agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security of Iran as he was driving to his home in Coppet, a village near Geneva.

He was Iran’s first Ambassador to the United Nations headquarters in Geneva following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Shortly after his appointment, he resigned his post in protest to the “repressive policies and terrorist activities of the ruling clerics in Iran”.

The Mykonos restaurant in Berlin where four Kurdish-Iranian leaders were assassinated by the Quds Force Special units in 1992 was another notorious terror attack on European soil.

Referring to Assadollah Assadi arrest in Germany, a US official said that “the administration takes the arrest of the diplomat “very seriously” and sees it as evidence that Iran is using diplomatic compounds in Europe and elsewhere as cover to plot terrorist attacks.

The official dismissed Iranian suggestions that it was a “false flag” operation intended to falsely accused Iran of terrorism. The same US official also said: “If Iran can plot bomb attacks in Paris, they can plot attacks anywhere in the world, and we urge all nations to be vigilant about Iran using embassies as diplomatic cover to plot terrorist attacks.”

Had it not been foiled in time, it would have claimed the lives of thousands including top former officials from US, Canada and the Arab countries.

Iranian regime’s terror machine in full swing

With the arrest made on American soil, it is abundantly clear that the regime is after its main enemy: the Mojahedin. Make no mistake that the mullahs’ regime since its inception has always consider the MEK a vital threat to its existence. The Revolutionary Guards top brass day in, day out hardly miss any opportunity to warn against MEK’s involvement in galvanizing the protests in Iran.

Since January and new round of nationwide protests in Iran, the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei openly pointed his blaming finger at the MEK for leading the protests.

The regime officials regret missing the opportunity to wipe out the MEK members in Iraq. Now that they have moved to Albania in Europe IRGC is having a hard time terrorizing them.

A statement issued by the NCRI’s Security and Antiterrorism Committee drops the curtain on the IRGC and Quds Forces’ intentions of dealing with the MEK threat.

It says: “The regime’s Supreme Security Council, in an instruction to the Ministry of Intelligence, the terrorist Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence and other agencies involved in export of terrorism and fundamentalism, ordered them to take further measures to spy on the PMOI and the Iranian Resistance and to set the stage for terrorist acts. The Ministry of Intelligence stations in various European countries were ordered to collect more information from movements and activities and to use more resources.”

What has happen just in the summer is alarming for the US and especially the EU governments. It seems that the IRGC and its Quds Force take the role of MEK in leading the protests inside the country very seriously. They have shifted their undivided attention to wake up as many sleeping sells they have in Europe and the US to engage in terrorist attacks on members of the Iranian Resistance.

*Reza Shafiee is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He tweets @shafiee_shafiee

Iran’s IRGC chief saber rattling about threats

IRGC chief Mohammad Ali Jafari making ridiculous claims about the Iranian regime’s missile capabilities

The Iranian regime’s state-run Tasnim news agency, associated to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force, covered the bogus remarks made by IRGC chief Mohammad Ali Jafari, aimed at lifting the spirits of the Iranian regime’s forces.

“Today, having a large number of precision ballistic missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers provides an unprecedented capability for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Our nation, relying on these powers and the capability of our dependable forces, are able to stand in the face of global arrogant forces,” he said.

It is worth noting that international experts are debunking and ridiculing such claims.

“Those who have bases, troops, and equipment within 2,000 kilometers of Iran’s sacred soil should know that all of the IRGC’s missiles are very precise… the IRGC’s recent revenge of terrorists sent a very meaningful message to our enemies, especially superpowers who believe they can enforce their devious objectives upon us,” Safavi added.

Of course, a few hours after the mullahs’ claims of targeting Iranian Kurdish dissident groups using precision-guided missiles from inside Iran, military experts debunked Tehran’s claims by showing how the mullahs’ actually launched their missiles from inside Iraq at a range of about 20 kilometers.

The Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) claimed responsibility for a recent missile attack targeting Iranian Kurdish dissidents based in Iraq. This missile barrage on the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) site coincided with the execution of three Kurdish political prisoners early Saturday morning local time in Gohardasht (Rajaie Shahr) Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran.

The IRGC statement claims the objective was to end “aggressive measures against Iran.”

“The missile unit of the IRGC Air & Space Force, in cooperation with the IRGC Ground Forces Drone Unit, targeted a group’s base and the session on Saturday with seven short-range surface-to-surface missiles,” the statement adds. 

KDP statement

The KDP issues a statement on mullahs’ vicious crimes saying the KDP Political Office base came under an IRGC aerial attack while the party’s Central Committee was holding a session. The KDP restated that when facing an increasing wave of domestic unrest at home and international political/economic pressures, the Islamic republic regime resorts to the crackdown, aggression, crimes and terrorist measures against freedom lovers of Kurdistan and Iran inside the country and abroad.

15 KDP members were killed and nearly 40 others were injured, the Kurdish dissident group specified in another statement. Four KDP Central Committee members, including Karim Mahdavi, Ebrahim Ebrahimi, Nasrin Haddad, Rahman Pirouti and two life-long members of the Central Committee, Soheila Ghaderi and Hashem Aziza, were among those killed in this missile attack. 

Iranian Resistance condemnation

Iranian opposition President Maryam Rajavi strongly condemned the execution of three Kurdish political prisoners and the missile attack launched against the Kurdistan Democratic Party by the mullahs’ regime, describing these measures as crimes against humanity and called for immediate measures by the United Nations Security Council.

Mrs. Rajavi called on the people of Kurdistan and all of Iran to rise in uprisings and protest.

“I call on the courageous people of #Kurdistan & across #Iran to rise up against the anti-human mullahs’ regime that is hell-bent on stepping up terror, repression, executions, and missile attacks to extinguish the people’s uprising. But it will take that wish to the grave,” Rajavi said in a tweet.

Geneva conference calls for inquiry into the massacre of Iranian political prisoners

Dignitaries, politicians reiterated the need to investigate the 1988 massacre in Iran

In a conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, dignitaries, and politicians reiterated the need to investigate the execution of thousands of Iranian political prisoners in 1988 and to bring the perpetrators, many of whom continue to hold positions of power in the Iranian regime, to account.

At the time, Ruhollah Khomeini, then-Supreme Leader of the Iranian regime, issued a fatwa, in which he ordered all political prisoners affiliated with the PMOI/MEK to be executed unless they repented their support for the Iranian opposition group. Tens of thousands of political prisoners were tried in 15-minute trials and more than 30,000 people were executed in the span of a few months.

The event, which many have described as one of the worst crimes against humanity after the Second World War, has become known as the 1988 massacre. Jurists and human rights defenders have constantly called for an independent probe into the crime and the perpetrators to be brought to justice in international criminal courts.

Former Columbian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who spoke at the conference, recounted the events that led to the executions, stressing that most of the victims were “political prisoners who were condemned and were serving their sentence. Some of them were about to be released.”

Ingrid Betancourt  is a Colombian-French politician, former senator, and anti-corruption activist

But the Iranian regime decided to execute them nonetheless. “Each day, there were hundreds of people executed. Imagine in five months, 30 thousand people were executed,” Betancourt said.

Betancourt also underlined that the regime tried very much to cover its crime by carrying out the sentencing and executions swiftly. “The regime is covering the mass graves and prohibiting the families from speaking about it,” Betancourt said, referring the regime’s continued efforts to prevent the scale of the crime to be brought to light.

Betancourt also emphasized the regime’s continued efforts to terrorize the members of the Iranian opposition, including a recent terrorist attempt against the largest gathering of the Iranian diaspora in France.

“The only chance we have to confront terrorism today is to help democracy get back to Iran,” Betancourt said.

Tahar Boumedra, distinguished jurist, former UN representative in Iraq, and the current head of Justice for the Victims of the 1988 (JVMI) underlined the need for an independent probe into the execution of political prisoners in Iran.

“As far as the United Nations is concerned, they’re still asking the government of Iran to investigate the event. They know they will never investigate,” said Boumedra.

FORMER UN ENVOY TO BAGHDAD

Boumedra also stressed that a recent report by Amnesty International report shows how the Iranian security apparatus is destroying the evidence of the 1988 massacre, especially the mass graves where the victims have been buried.

JVMI, Boumedra’s organization, is also documenting the evidence and facts about the 1988 massacre. “We have documented 70 mass graves with precise locations,” he said, urging diplomats and international organizations to visit the locations.

Boumedra asked the Special Rapporteur of the Human Right Situation in Iran and other human rights personalities and organizations to independently probe the 1988 massacre instead of demanding the Iranian regime to do it. “We want them to actually investigate themselves. We want an international inquiry to look into this,” he said.

Laurence Fehlmann Rielle, a member of the Swiss Federal Parliament, called the 1988 executions “one of the most atrocious crimes that hasn’t been investigated by the international community.”

Laurence Fehlmann Rielle

She also emphasized that some of the perpetrators are still in power in Iran. “The perpetrators of this crime must be tried,” she said.

Spanish lawyer Juan Garcés, former advisor of Chilean President Salvador Allende, highlighted on mullahs’ basis for this massacre and the importance of continuing to gather evidence.

“The 1988 massacre in Iran was a crime and mass murder. They used religious beliefs and treated their opponents as ‘enemies of God’ for executing them,” he explained.

Juan Garcés

“This massacre had a religious element because the victims were killed under the pretext of enmity with God. What can we do in this regard? 30 years have passed. These crimes that have a genocidal nature are usually committed by the state, and naturally, we can’t expect the state to serve justice… We must gather all possible evidence, including those of the victims and the perpetrators. One day, this can all be brought to the attention of an international court of law. Establishing a universal jurisdiction can pursue these cases,” Garcés underscored.

Gilbert Mitterrand, a co-organizer of this event, President of Danielle Mitterand Foundation, calls on the international community to place political observations vis-à-vis the Iranian regime aside and put human rights first.

Gilbert Mitterrand

“How many more such sessions do we need to hold?... We would like to go further, not only the 1988 massacres but also the current situation in Iran, where human rights continue to be trampled. The international community shows that it has other priorities above human rights,” he said.

“Former UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Asma Jahangir, requested an independent inquiry into the 1988 massacre… The international community has condemned the Iranian regime for trying to erase the traces of this crime… The international community is the ally of the Iranian people. We shouldn’t play the game of the mullahs,” Mitterand concluded.

“That massacre is probably the worst crime in Iran’s modern history,” said Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former Vice-President of European Parliament (1999-2014) and the President of the international committee In Search of Justice (ISJ).

Vidal-Quadras

Vidal-Quadras also reminded that the late Mrs. Asma Jahangir, the former Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Iran, was very much concerned about justice for the victims and had issued a report on September 2, last year, on the killing of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, most of the members of the main Iranian opposition group, the PMOI.

“Many of the perpetrators who have admitted to their role in this crime, have not been brought to justice,” Vidal-Quadras said, adding that instead, those perpetrators have been rewarded with ministerial positions.

This includes Mostafa Pourmohammadi and Alireza Avaii, the former and current ministers of justice in the cabinet of the Iranian regime’s president Hassan Rouhani.

“To appoint as minister of justice someone who has committed a crime against humanity is a record in evil,” Vidal-Quadras said.

Vidal-Quadras also emphasized that the violation of human rights is a problem that continues under the current regime. “During the presidency of Hassan Rouhani, more than 3,500 people have been executed. His predecessor was not ‘moderate’ but he killed fewer people. The concept of moderation in the Iranian regime is quite original,” he said.

He also reminded the audience that since protests erupted across Iran in late last year, more than 50 people have been killed in the streets and more have died under torture.

“It’s not an exaggeration if we call this regime a killing machine,” Vidal-Quadras said, criticizing European politicians and state for disregarding the Iranian regime’s abysmal human rights record.

“We must remind our European governments that Iran is not a normal government to do business with. It’s a totalitarian theocracy that survives by instigating civil conflict and terror outside their borders,” Vidal-Quadras said. “This is a very unstable and weak regime, and it has no future. We should not count on the mullahs and have illusions about Rouhani and the so-called moderates. The future belongs to democracy.”

Sanobargh Zahedi, lawyer and Chair of the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Justice Commission, emphasized on necessary measures by the international community.

Sanobargh Zahedi

“The families of the victims still do not how & why their loved ones die, or where they were buried. This is an ongoing form of psychological torture designed to put fear into people. If anyone asks what happened in 1988 or speaks to U.N. mandate holders, they are persecuted, detained and tortured themselves… The people who have committed these murderous crimes have never been held accountable. They have been promoted by the regime for their actions… Iran still executes the most people per capita in the world. Then NCRI calls on the UN Human Rights Council, the General Assembly, the Special Representative, and all special mandate holders to cooperate. Together we can ensure there is accountability and an end to impunity in Iran. We need an international inquiry because the Iranian regime is never going to investigate itself.”

Iran’s regime vowing strikes “beyond the seas”

Iran Regime Vows Strikes Outside Borders, ‘Beyond the Seas’

The Iranian regime is plotting attacks outside of its own borders and will go the distance of carrying out these measures “beyond the seas,” according to a top military figure. Tehran will seek to conduct attacks on those the mullahs consider their "enemies," said former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) chief Yahya Rahim Safavi.

Such statements are further highlighting the Iranian regime’s clandestine operations inside mainland United States and throughout Europe, especially after two operatives in Albania and a number of others, including a Vienna-based diplomat, in Germany, Belgium and France have been arrested on terrorism-related charges.

"We warn the enemies of the Islamic Revolution that if they make an aggression against the Islamic Iran, we will chase and punish them not only outside the borders but also beyond the seas," Safavi, a top aide to Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday in Tehran.

The remarks were made just days after the IRGC launched a missile strike in Iraq's Kurdistan region targeting Iranian Kurdish dissident groups. The Iranian regime has vowed further strikes in its western neighbor.

Tehran has claimed responsibility of conducting airstrikes during the weekend.

"The IRGC Aerospace Force's missile unit in cooperation with the IRGC Ground Force's drone unit targeted the headquarters and a meeting of the leaders of a filthy and criminal grouplet and a center for training affiliated terrorists with 7 short-range ground-to-ground missiles yesterday (Saturday)," the IRGC said in a statement provided by state-controlled press.

Safavi's rhetoric also comes after the arrest of two Iranian regime operatives in the United States facing charges of plotting terror attacks against various targets and gathering information about Iranian opposition members. U.S. officials are warning about Iranian regime espionage activities expanding beyond their borders and the mullahs’ regime gaining further capability of conducting terror attacks throughout the Middle East and even across the globe.

Retired employees, others from all walks of life protesting across Iran

Protest rally in Tehran, outside the regime’s Planning & Budget Organization

• 9/12/2018

Reported by PMOI/MEK

Iran, Sept. 12, 2018 - Hundreds of retired teachers rallied on Tuesday outside the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), protesting poor living conditions and not receiving answers to their demands.

The protesters were heard chanting against the mullahs’ repressive policies:

“Imprisoned teachers must be released”

Retirees and long-term nurses, and other employees of the health industry, along with retirees of the agriculture, banking and education sectors held numerous protests on Tuesday, complaining about their poor living conditions. These rallies were held outside the regime’s Planning and Budget Organization. They were seen chanting:

“Poverty line is 50 million rials – Our salary is 20 million rials/month”

“Our salaries are in rials – Expenses are in U.S. dollars”

Protest rally in Tehran, outside the regime’s Planning & Budget Organization

Retirees and long-term nurses in Yazd, protesting for their demands and poor living conditions, were joined by current and retired teachers rallying outside the city’s Planning and Budget Organization.

The banners raised by the protesters read how do authorities expect people to live on an income equaling to one-third of the poverty line?

Retired workers were also protesting in Mashhad

Retired workers were also protesting in Mashhad, northeast Iran, demanding better living conditions. This rally was also held based on a previous call for this protest rally.

Retired workers in Mashhad, northeast Iran

In Tehran, a number of people whose savings have been plundered by state-controlled credit firms rallied in Mirdamad Avenue outside the Central Bank.

They were heard chanting:

“I will regain my money even if I die”

Protest held by clients of credit firms robbed of their savings – Tehran, Iran

In Ahvaz, southwest Iran, a number of contract workers involved with the oil industry held a protest rally demanding answers to their requests and officials’ decision to place 27 oil storage tanks under the control of a non-local company.

In Mahabad, a number of credit firm clients stolen of their savings by the “Sepehr Iranian” company held a protest rally demanding their money returned. Saman Rahnama, the company director, has fled the country after news of its bankruptcy.

People protesting outside the Sepehr credit company in Mahabad, northwest Iran, after its bankruptcy announcement

In Isfahan, central Iran, clients of the Shahrak Negin property company held a rally protesting how their lands were stolen and their cases remaining in limbo after 16 years. This gathering was held outside the regime’s judiciary office in this city.

In Neyshabur, northeast Iran, a number of truck drivers rallied on Tuesday morning and launched a strike, protesting skyrocketing prices of tires and spare parts.

Neyshabur, northeast Iran – Truck drivers on strike

More rallies are witnessed on Wednesday in numerous Kurdish cities as locals are angry over the recent execution of three Kurdish political prisoners and an attack carried out against Iranian Kurdish dissident groups based in Iraq.

Iranian opposition warns against an uptick in Tehran’s foreign terrorist activities

NCRI reveals the Iranian regime’s terrorist activities in Europe

In a press conference held in London, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) revealed new classified information from inside the Iranian regime showing Tehran is busy increasing its terrorist activities against the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), and the NCRI.

Ms. Dowlat Nowruzi, the UK representative of the NCRI, laid out details of the Iranian regime’s operations abroad and the role of its embassies in planning and coordinating terror plots against dissidents in European countries. The information compiled by the Iranian opposition also shows that, contrary to what some analysts have tried to portray, the foreign terrorist activities of the Iranian regime are not rogue operations and are being orchestrated at the highest levels of power in Tehran.

An uptick in terrorist activities

In the past year, the Iranian regime has increased its espionage and terrorist activities abroad. In March, authorities in Albania stopped a terrorist bombing plot against a gathering of MEK members in Tirana. The plot was planned in Tehran and involved two Iranians who had traveled to Albania under the guise of journalists.

In June, European law enforcement agencies stopped a terrorist attack against a large gathering of the Iranian opposition in France. The convention was attended by tens of thousands of Iranians from across the world, featuring speeches by NCRI President Maryam Rajavi and dignitaries from the U.S., Europe, Middle East and other regions.

Two months later, in August, U.S. authorities apprehended two Iranian men who had been spying on Iranian dissidents—namely people tied to the MEK and NCRI—at the behest of Tehran’s regime.

“No doubt we are facing a new wave of terrorist activities by the mullahs’ regime outside Iran,” Nowruzi said in her remarks. The NCRI representative also stressed that according to specific information from within the regime, the decision to carry out the operations, including the attempted bombing of the Paris gathering, was taken in January 2018 in the Supreme National Security Council, headed by Hassan Rouhani.

High profile authorities of the Iranian regime were involved in the decision making process, including the regime’s foreign and intelligence ministers, the Supreme Leader’s closest advisors, the commander of the IRGC and Qassem Suleimani, the head of the regime’s terrorist Quds Force.

“Further discussion on the extent of this operation took place in the months of January and February in the Supreme National Security Council, and the plan was taken by Hassan Rouhani to Khamenei for final approval,” Nowruzi said.

The role of the Iranian regime’s diplomacy in terrorist plots

According to the NCRI, the “Organization of Foreign Intelligence and Movements,” is the specific department in the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) responsible for terrorist activities in Europe and U.S. This is one of the most important departments within the MOIS, coordinating espionage and terrorist operations between MOIS stations in different countries, which include the Iranian regime’s embassies.

“As a sign of focusing more on terrorism, the status of this department within the MOIS was elevated from directorship to organization on 8 February 2017. That means expanding the department with more budget and personnel,” Nowruzi warned.

The Iranian opposition’s information indicate that the OFIM is headed by Reza Amiri Moghaddam, a top security official reporting directly to the Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi. “He plays a key role in the regime’s terrorist activities in Europe and the U.S.,” Nowruzi said.

Reza Amiri Moghaddam, head of the Iranian regime’s “Foreign Intelligence Organization,” in charge of Tehran’s terrorism operations outside of Iran

A former IRGC commander, Moghaddam was involved in terrorist attacks against coalition forces in Iraq following the 2003 U.S.-Iraq conflict. An Iranian Resistance investigation has found that Moghaddam was at the head of an Iranian regime delegation that held three-way negotiations with the U.S. and Iraq.

Moghaddam was also in charge of the coordination of the terror attack against the Iranian opposition convention in Paris and delivered orders and instructions to Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat and the head of the MOIS intelligence station in Vienna.

Assadi, a terror mastermind who has had experience carrying out terrorist activities in various countries, was in charge of planning and executing the attack with a sleeper cell in Belgium. Assadi was apprehended by German police two days before the Free Iran rally, after he had delivered explosives to his accomplices.

“For your information, Assadollah Assadi since 2014 has been head of all intelligence stations of the MOIS in Europe. Given the sensitivity of the operation, he was instructed to be personally engaged in the execution of the plan,” Nowruzi said.

Assadollah Assadi, head of the MOIS intelligence station in Vienna

Assadi has also served in the Iranian regime’s embassy in Iraq from 2004 to 2008, serving as third secretary. “According to our information, Assadi played a key role in terrorist plots, bombings and kidnappings against PMOI members, Iraqi citizens and collation forces from 2004 to 2008,” Nowruzi said.

The NCRI’s representative warned that the Iranian regime’s embassies in Europe play a key role in the regime’s terrorist activities in different aspects. “The NCRI has done thorough research on this issue, and the outcome will be released today for the first time. The regime’s embassies, in addition to collecting intelligence, provide logistics up to the point of the operation including weapons, explosives, money and other facilities required for the terrorist act,” she said.

The Iranian regime’s fear of nationwide protests

The increase of terrorist activities are happening while the Iranian regime is reeling from the effects of an ongoing uprising that started last December. Against all security provisions, the people of numerous Iranian cities poured into the streets to protest against poverty, unemployment and government corruption. The demonstrations soon turned into anti-government protests that called for the overthrow of the regime in its entirety. The regime’s officials have blamed the MEK for organizing protests and are trying to retaliate against the Iranian opposition to keep their tenuous hold on power.

“From the outset [of the protests], the highest-ranking officials of the regime blamed the PMOI (MEK) for the uprising and stated that they would respond in the harshest manner,” Nowruzi reminded.

Nowruzi also observed that since January 2018, the Iranian regime has had no solutions for responding to the people’s needs. “It sees its only solution as striking a blow to the organized Resistance and the alternative to its rule, in particular via terrorism. Given the urgency and serious nature of the matter, it is willing to pay any diplomatic price in this regard,” she said.

Nowruzi compared the Iranian regime’s methods and tactics to those of the extremist group Islamic State, and warned that continued relations with the Iranian regime is “as legitimate as having diplomatic relations with ISIS.”

“Silence in the face of the mullahs’ unbridled state terrorism, which has now openly reached Europe, is tantamount to ignoring this threat. It is equal to placing false hope on dialogue and the continued policy of appeasement, with biased and political objectives and destructive and deadly consequences for Europe, and playing with the lives of innocent people who will be the victims of this state terrorism. We should not allow the Iranian regime, in its phase of demise, to threaten the lives of Iranian refugees and opponents and the security of European countries,” Nowruzi said.

Nowruzi concluded her remarks by making three clear demands:

• The detained terrorists in Germany and Belgium must be prosecuted in Belgium without any political considerations.
• The Intelligence Ministry’s mercenaries and spies in European countries, including in the UK, must be arrested, tried and expelled.
• The Iranian regime’s embassies and diplomatic missions in Europe must be shut down. 

Blacklisting Iran’s IRGC

Right Honorable Sir David Jones, a Conservative British MP, discussed the threats of the Iranian regime launching a broad new surge of terrorist activities spanning across Europe and even reaching the U.S.

The UK government must do more than just express concerns over the terrorism of Iran's regime. London should make it clear it supports the extradition of Tehran's diplomat. Furthermore, the UK government should consider blacklisting Iran's Revolutionary Guards & implement more effective measures,” Jones said.

Iran regime officials are continuously acknowledging how the PMOI/MEK is playing a major role in current protests throughout the country, the MP emphasized, adding  London should be engaging the Iranian resistance movement, being the NCRI & Mrs. Maryam Rajavi as the movement’s President-elect.

You can’t talk to terrorists

Lord Ken Maginnis of Drumglass touched on his decades-long experience of studying and battling terrorism to emphasize the importance of tackling the threat posed by the Iranian regime.

“We do very little from actually stopping terrorism from happening again. We must attack Iran's terrorists here at home. I am critical about the indecision of our government,” he said in strong remarks.

“Assadollah Assadi is a diplomat organizing terrorism in our democracies. We must highlight this threat… You can't talk to terrorists. We are committed to forcing our government to taking effective action. There are a lot more Assadollah Assadis waiting. A lot more being put in place. They will not go away,” Maginnis warned.

Referring to his relationship with and knowledge about Tehran’s mullahs and main Iranian opposition, Lord Maginnis highlighted how imperative it is to stand alongside the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom and democracy.

“Nothing has changed for the Iranian people despite Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani coming to power. I hope we begin to see the heroes of Iran's resistance, the people who have seen consistently and often having been threatened and attacked. We've got to think of Iranians as people who do not deserve that,” he added.

Signaling the media’s sensitive role, Lord Maginnis delivered final remarks underscoring the importance of this medium in informing the public about the grave threat of Iranian regime terrorism at hand.

“Can I emphasize the need for our press to listen to us. We will not mislead you. A consistent media approach is needed to realize that you have a responsibility. As an 81 year old, I'm still motivated to fight this battle. There is a lack of communication or lack of decision among our political leaders in terms of what we do about our security difficulties. This is carelessness at government level. Various parties are guilty. This leads to negligence by the press,” he said. “You have a responsibility outside and beyond your front door.” 

The Iranian regime must be held to account for state-sponsored terrorism

UK Conservative MP Bob Blackman highlighted on the very recent history of the Iranian regime’s terrorist plots targeting the PMOI/MEK.

“I'm here to emphasize the threat of terrorism supported by Iran's regime. Since March there have been three terrorist plots by Tehran across Europe & the U.S against the PMOI/MEK… Iran's operatives have been arrested in Albania, Belgium, Germany, France & the United States involved in plotting terrorism against the PMOI/MEK,” he explained.

Iran's regime must be held to account for state sponsored terrorism, the British MP continued, adding how a cross-party effort in the British Parliament is gaining support for an early day motion against Tehran-sponsored terrorism.

“Germany must extradite Iran's diplomat terrorist Assadollah Assadi to Belgium… Iran's assets in the UK must be frozen to stop Tehran from deploying terrorist plots. There is enough evidence that says Iran's operatives must be held to account,” Blackman continued.

Providing an in-depth perspective on Iran’s need for terrorism, the British MP highlighted the mullahs’ weakness in confronting growing troubles back home.

“Tehran is increasing its terrorism in Europe because it is weak in the face of protests across. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is a viable opposition,” he added.