If Assadi is found guilty, it will send a clear message of support for NCRI and (PMOI / MEK Iran), as well as condemning the immoral and dangerous actions of the regime.

The trial of an Iranian diplomat, serving as a third counselor at the nation’s embassy in Vienna, Assadollah Assadi, began on 27 November in Belgium. Assadi and three others in connection with the crime are accused of plotting a terrorist attack on an Iranian resistance rally near Paris, on 30 June 2018, organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a section of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The President-elect of the NCRI, Maryam Rajavi, was the target of the planned bomb attack. The annual rally is attended by around 100,000 supporters, including many political dignitaries, such as Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the US House of Representatives. The planned explosion would have caused mass devastation and the loss of many lives.

Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami, a Belgian couple of Iranian origin employed by the regime to carry out the attack, met with Assadi, at a Pizza Hut. However, a Belgian plainclothes officer was observing the couple, following a tip-off by the Israeli Mossad national intelligence agency. The officer watched Assadi hand them a package which contained highly explosive chemicals, used to create a bomb.

According to the Belgian bomb disposal unit, 550 grams of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) was found “wrapped in plastic and concealed in the lining of a vanity case” inside the couple’s car. This is the same explosive that was used when suicide bombers killed 32 people in an attack on the Brussels subway and airport in 2016. They also found a digital long-distance detonator in a small bag in the possession of Naami, as well as a pocketbook in Assadi’s car with instructions on employing the explosive device.

The couple was halted by the police operation on the day of the Paris rally. They denied any knowledge of the bomb or terrorist plot, claiming that they were on a vacation and believed that the package contained fireworks. Further information has been revealed stating that Assadi paid the couple $14,000 and requested information from them in regards to the Iranian opposition. Text messages and emails show that the group talked in code and referred to the bomb as the “PlayStation 4.”

Assadi was arrested when traveling via Germany on 1 July 2018, where he does not have diplomatic immunity from prosecution. The group was charged with plotting a terrorist attack and for participating in a terrorist group. They face life in jail if found guilty. This will also be the first time an Iranian diplomat will be tried in Europe and is monumental in showing support for the Iranian resistance.

The Iranian regime has denied any responsibility for the planned attack; however, it is clear that in the theocratic regime all final decisions must be approved by the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This has been supported by the MEK leader, Massoud Rajavi, who has stated that Assadi received his orders from Rouhani and ultimately, Khamenei.

The prosecution of Assadi and his co-conspirators, Saadouni and Naami, demonstrates that the regime cannot act with impunity. Despite denying involvement in the terrorist plot, the regime uses every opportunity to attempt to destroy the democratic Iranian resistance movement. If Assadi is found guilty, it will send a clear message of support for NCRI and MEK, as well as condemning the immoral and dangerous actions of the regime.

and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube