Countering Iran’s Threat, Strategies for Regional Stability

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  Written by Mahmoud Hakamian Two-minute read On Sunday morning, April 14, the Iranian regime launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, escalating tensions in the Middle East. Despite military experts’ assessments that the attack failed, it underscores  Iran’s role as a focal point  of regional conflict. The October 7th attack sent shockwaves globally. Despite ample evidence implicating the Iranian regime, Western governments dismissed Tehran’s involvement, adhering to a flawed appeasement policy toward the primary state sponsor of terrorism. They disregarded explicit statements from Revolutionary Guards  (IRGC) commanders boasting  about their direct role in the attack. For decades, the Iranian Resistance has urged the international community to adopt a resolute stance against the Iranian regime’s aggression and terrorism. Despite persistent calls, the failed appeasement policy of the West allowed Tehran to escalate its belligerent activities, including financing, arming, train

Iran’s State-Run Media Echoes Regime’s Fear of Assadi’s Condemnation, Blatantly Calls for Taking EU Diplomats Hostage

 By Mahmoud Hakamian

A court in Antwerp, Belgium, will finally announce its verdict about Iran’s incarcerated diplomat-terrorist Assadollah Assadi and his accomplices, who planned to bomb the opposition’s rally in 2018 in France. As the possibility of Assadi’s condemnations grows stronger, Iran’s state-run media echo mullahs’ desperation and rage over this historical trial and call for hostage-taking. 



After years of spreading terrorism and carrying out political assassination across Europe by using its diplomat-terrorists, it is the first time European countries holding the regime’s diplomat on duty to account for his role in terrorism. 

“While Assadollah Assadi’s sentencing hearing has been postponed to February 4, some European media outlets, with the help of the security services of several Western countries, are trying to prepare the ground to file new charges against our diplomat,” wrote state-run Vatan-e Emroozdaily, an outlet close to the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.  

“Two days after the announcement of the postponement of Assadollah Assadi’s sentencing hearing, German Channel One, quoting German officials, announced the discovery of two important notebooks Assadi’s car. The Germans did not mention how 30 months after Assadi’s arrest and confiscation of his car, they had just found two notebooks in the car,” Vatan-e Emroozadded. 

The new information revealed by Germany’s security services suggests Assadi had orchestrated an extensive network of terrorism and espionage across Europe. In other words, while he was acting as the third secretary of the regime’s embassy in Austria, he was the regime’s chief intelligence officer in Europe. 

Germany’s police arrested Assadi on July 1; before entering Austria. Authorities found a green notebook in Assadi’s car with important information about the 2018 bomb plot, Assadi’s actions, travel, and the amounts of money he had given to different operatives. 

“The Iranian Resistance has specific information of the Iranian regime’s sleeper cells across Europe, which were commanded by Assadi. The Iranian regime’s MOIS has a network of agents in Europe supported by the regime’s embassies that misuse their diplomatic facilities. Assadollah Assadi was at the head of the Iranian regime’s intelligence network in Europe,” Mr. Javad Dabiran, the deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) representative office in Germany, told Al-Arabiya on January 22 in this regard.  

Assadi and his accomplices tried to target NCRI’s annual “Free Iran” rally in Paris in 2018.  

https://youtu.be/NnKyWTWC6EM

According to the Belgian prosecutors, Assadi acted on behalf of the regime’s top leaders. The regime’s Foreign Ministry and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif facilitated the bombing plot by providing diplomatic cover to Assadi. Assadi used this diplomatic cover to transfer explosives using a commercial flight to Europe, then hand it over to his operatives.  

Since Assadi’s arrest, the regime’s Foreign Ministry and Zarif have tried to secure his release. Assadi refused to appear in the court session on November 27 and December 3, claiming he has diplomatic immunity.  

The Iranian Resistance announced that based on information obtained from inside the regime at that time, Zarif had instructed Assadi not to appear in court. Belgian prosecutors later confirmed that Assadi’s refusal to appear in the court once again indicates he acted on behalf of the regime during the 2018 terror plot.  

“This is a complicated trap set up using the MEK [People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran] for this Iranian diplomat,” said Saied Khatibzadeh, Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson on Sunday regarding Assadi’s condemnation.  

Now, Vatan-e Emrooz daily blatantly speaks of the hostage-taking of European diplomats to blackmail Belgium.  

“Seemingly, the long and unusual procedure of [Assadi’s] case has demonstrated its behind-the-scenes goals to everyone. Iran [‘s regime] must take more serious action to free its senior diplomat and end the Western storytelling. Perhaps now is the time to implement the advice that some initially suggested: Retaliation,” Vatan-e Emrooz wrote.  

Long years of the European Unions’ appeasement policy has encouraged the regime to send its diplomats to plant a bomb in the heart of Europe, and when arrested, claim diplomatic immunity. In line with this so-called immunity, the regime boldly threatens Europe and Belgium. The EU leaders should not fall into this extortion campaign.  

During the NCRI’s online conference on Thursday, European dignitaries underlined how this appeasement policy had endangered the EU’s security.  

https://twitter.com/iran_policy/status/1354771962862723077?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1354771962862723077%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncr-iran.org%2Fen%2Fnews%2Fterrorism-a-fundamentalism%2Firans-state-run-media-echoes-regimes-fear-of-assadi-condemnation%2F

The Belgian judiciary will declare the ruling of the court soon. Regardless of the outcome, we must fix our attention on the importance of this case because this is a ring on the bell of the European Union and European states. If they do not treat this seriously, it will be repeated. If there is another attack, it might succeed. It might be of a bigger dimension. All these governments and the people of the External Action Service, the High Representative, the Council must be very attentive to the result of this trial. If they ignore it and go on with business as usual, there will be another worse attack,” said Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former Vice-President of the European Parliament on Tuesday.  

Giulio Terzi, former Italian Foreign Minister, went as far as counting what measures should the EU leaders take to deter the Iran regime’s terrorism.  

“Those who are involved in this attack, including Iranian officials, must be brought to justice. Zarif must be held accountable for his role in this attack. The regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) must be designated as a terrorist entity.”  

As Mr. Terzi said, “European-Iranian relations must be made contingent on Iran taking concrete measures to stop its malign activities in Europe. We must also adopt practical measures to give Tehran the message that we are serious. This means closing Iranian embassies and expelling Iranian diplomats when there’s serious evidence of terrorist activities.”  

This is the only answer to the regime’s terrorism and extortion campaign.  

This article was first published by ncr-iran

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