The Tide May Be Turning Soon for Democracy in Iran

At long last, a court in Antwerp held its 2^nd preliminary hearing on Assadollah Assadi, the regime’s diplomat in Belgium who was instrumental in organizing the failed terrorist bomb attack at an important meeting of Iranians more than 2 years ago in Villepinte, Paris. The court case also involves Assadi’s partners in crime who are Amir Saadouni, Nasimeh Naami, and Mehrdad Arefani.

Now that the preliminary hearings have been completed the panel of judges has passed the case on to the Antwerp Special Counter-Terrorism Branch. Back on the 15^th of July, the request from the federal prosecutor to send the 4 to trial was upheld. Their charges are the following:

• “attempted terrorist act with the intention of murder”
• “participation in a terrorist group.”

The regime is clutching at straws to maintain control

The protests against the regime’s policies are now so popular that the regime had to cut off the internet for 7 days during the December 2017 and November 2019 uprisings. They even killed around 1,500 unarmed peaceful protesters as they tried to gain control over the protest movement. Not long ago several prison detainees were sentenced to death. However, protests throughout the world have forced the regime to postpone these executions.

Trump’s sanctions caused an economic downturn in Iran

Since Trump imposed sanctions on Iran its oil exports have sunk below 100,000 barrels per day. This has caused a severe drop in the value of the currency and GDP has shrunk by 7.6 percent in a matter of months.

Iranian diplomats were given their marching orders since 2018

• France has expelled Iran’s ambassador as well as a member of the Iranian embassy in Paris.
• Albania, which hosts the MEK, the main opposition group, has now expelled the Iranian ambassador, and some embassy charge d’affaires for taking part in terror plots.
• The Netherlands expelled two Iranian diplomats.

Albania Reveals a Terrorist Plot Against #MEK
https://t.co/UqOpbUgFGm#Iran #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) October 27, 2019

EU policy promotes the Iranian regime and what it calls moderate parties of President Hassan Rohani and the FM Javad Zarif. However, their so-called moderate label wouldn’t score high points for its human rights record. It has supported executions and has committed human rights violations.

"Zarif is no stranger to crimes against humanity. He was active as a senior career diplomat in the UN in 1988 while his gov butchered over 30k pol prisoners, members & supporters of the #MEK," writes Lars Rise, former member of Norwegian Parliament. #Iranhttps://t.co/uHM7o3PZdS

— NCRI-U.S. Rep Office (@NCRIUS) August 23, 2019

 

Assadollah Asadi case heats up: call for support groups overseas for the Iranian regime to be closed

• The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) offered documents to the court which revealed Assadi was ordered directly by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and he was the head of the MOIS in Europe to plan and carry out atrocities against the MEK. The key to halting these sorts of criminal activities is to close all of Iran’s embassies throughout the EU.
• Also, there are many front companies as well as cultural and educational centers, religious associations and mosques that receive funds and support from the Iranian regime and have formed the focal points for organizing terrorist activities in Iran. It is time for them to be exposed and shut down.
• Some agents carry out terrorist activities abroad under fronts which could be commercial, cultural, or religious, or pretend to be journalists or opponents or refugees. These people should be expelled immediately from their European strongholds.

The Iranian regime has been targeting Albania far more recently in the past few years in its effort to carry out terrorist bombings and other plots against the Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK.#Iranhttps://t.co/OqYrlkidWj

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) August 6, 2020

As stated by Claude Moniquet, co-founder and CEO of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, ‘’terrorism, when it comes to the Iranian regime in foreign policy, is not an accident but a method.’’

New approach needed in Europe

Up to now, Europe has been appeasing Iran by hiding behind the slogan “hear no evil, see no evil.’’ This type of support may soon change with the trial of the known diplomat terrorists. Sooner rather than later the EU will begin to recognize and support the MEK and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as it seeks “democracy, freedom, and secularism in Iran, the values that no one disagrees within Europe.”