On Thursday, Townhall.com published an article by former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi analyzing the Majlis (parliamentary) elections on Friday and the anticipated effects of a nationwide election boycott on the regime’s legitimacy.

In an op-ed published on the Euractiv website, former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi argued that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip to Brussels on September 2-3 offers an excellent opportunity to address the global threat posed by the Iranian regime.

#Pompeo’s visit to Brussels is an opportunity for a unified Iran strategy @EURACTIV https://t.co/hm3OnW1456 @GlobalCRL

— Giulio Terzi (@GiulioTerzi) September 3, 2019

Bellicose Behavior

“One of the main challenges is how to deal with the Iranian regime and its bellicose behavior,” wrote Terzi. He cited the regime’s increasing aggression toward commercial shipping vessels in the Middle East, including the seizure of a British-flagged vessel in mid-July.

“The United Kingdom responded appropriately by directing its warships in the region to shadow such vessels for the foreseeable future. But Europe has seemed hesitant to recognize the Iranian threat as extending to them,” Terzi wrote.

“The EU may be able to fool itself into believing that the naval activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been directed only against the US and Britain, even though seized and damaged tankers have born the flags of various countries including Norway and Japan. But no such self-deception can be justified when it comes to the threat of terrorism originating in or backed by Tehran,” he stressed.

Now is the time for EU to speak out and address the regime’s terrorism and cyber attacks in Europe@FedericaMog has not spoken out as voice of Europe against #Iran’s terrorism in Europe in elsewhere.#ExpelIranDiplomatTerrorists @GermanyDiplo @focusonline@eu_eeas pic.twitter.com/dX2T5Pdmbe

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) October 8, 2018

The former Italian Foreign Minister explained that at least six terrorist plots and assassinations by the Iranian regime were foiled by Western authorities in 2018. The targets ranged from opposition groups in the United States to the MEK’s headquarters in Albania.

Terrorist Plot on 2018 Free Iran Gathering

The most significant of the regime’s 2018 terrorist plots involved an Iranian-Belgian couple who were arrested with 500 kilograms of TATP explosives. The couple acting under the orders of regime diplomat Assadollah Assadi, were enroute to the annual Free Iran gathering of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Villepinte, France where they planned to set off the explosives.

The Free Iran gathering was attended by 100,000 Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) supporters, as well as hundreds of high-ranking politicians and dignitaries from around the world. Terzi was in attendance.

Regime diplomat Assadollah Assadi was arrested for masterminding the attack and eventually extradited to Belgium, where he and three accomplices are currently awaiting trial. The plot was planned by officials at the highest levels of the regime, wrote Terzi.

“Had the plot been successful, it would have not only taken place on European soil but would have almost certainly claimed European lives. If one is aware of this incident, one cannot deny that the Iranian threat to the international community is genuine, severe, and far-reaching,” Terzi emphasized.

“To be more precise, no one can deny this conclusion in good faith. But that won’t necessarily stop any given policymaker from denying it anyway. In advance of Iran’s Foreign Minister visiting Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly told his security chiefs to keep silent about last year’s terror plot. Now, in the wake of visits to Europe by the top diplomats from both Iran and the US, it is up to the incoming EU leadership to determine whose attitude toward Iran carries more weight: those who are explicitly covering up its crimes, or those who aspire to hold it to account,” he continued.

France Dangles $15 Billion Bailout for Iran in Effort to Save Nuclear Deal https://t.co/tAKaEa93dX @GlobalCRL @HandsOffCain_En

— Giulio Terzi (@GiulioTerzi) September 3, 2019

“The answer to this question will yield both short and long-term consequences. In the first place, it may determine whether the diplomat-terrorist who masterminded last year’s Paris bomb plot is actually punished in accordance with the charges he is now facing in Belgium. And the message of his prosecution may, in turn, set the stage for a proper, multilateral response to further Iranian terrorism, at a time when the regime is threatening Western entities like the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, subjecting them to ‘sanctions’ that might better be understood as fatwas,” Terzi argued.

Continuing attempts by the regime in Iran to intimidate @FDD, an American think tank—a THINK TANK—must be condemned by all freedom-loving people around the world. The U.S. does not take these threats lightly, and will hold the regime and its “apparatuses” to account.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 29, 2019

“Speaking more broadly, decisions in the coming days may determine the future of US-EU relations. The Europeans need to recognize the need for confronting Iranian threats and guaranteeing that the regime faces consequences for criminal behavior,” Terzi concluded.

Staff Writer

In an editorial published on the Issues & Insights website on Thursday, former Italian Foreign Minister Ambassador Giulio Terzi discussed recent admissions by high-ranking officials within the Iranian regime that the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran(PMOI / MEK) poses a serious threat to the clerical dictatorship ruling Iran.

#Tehran Admits Strength of Iran’s Democratic Resistance .My OP-ED for #IssuesInside @GlobalCRL @HandsOffCain_En @gobadi @Mohaddessin @iran_policy @ispionline @eu_eeas @limesonline @formichenews @PartitoRadicale @RadioRadicale @MediasetTgcom24 @Agenzia_Ansa https://t.co/VlmZ78Bbx7

— Giulio Terzi (@GiulioTerzi) August 15, 2019

Terzi described an August 5th press briefing held by the spokesman for regime President Rouhani’s cabinet Ali Rabiee in which Rabiee openly mentioned the conflict between the regime and the MEK.

“This represents a departure from the government’s normal policy of remaining silent on that issue in order to downplay the threat that the MEK poses to the theocratic system,” wrote Terzi.

Unmitigated Confidence

The MEK has fought against the mullahs’ tyranny for four decades in its efforts to bring freedom and democracy to Iran. As the largest resistance group in Iran, it has established a well-organized plan for Iran’s democratic future, which is formally stated in Iranian opposition leader Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan.

“The MEK has expressed unmitigated confidence that the current regime is nearing its collapse, which will pave the way for that vision,” wrote Terzi. He cited that sentiment as the central theme of last month’s Free Iran gathering at Ashraf-3, the MEK’s headquarters in Albania. The five-day event was attended by hundreds of prominent politicians and dignitaries from all over the world and focused on “transforming Iran into a democratic country led by the rule of law, respect of human rights and democratic freedom,” wrote Terzi.

Terzi argued that Iran has yet to experience this kind of freedom. The Islamic Republic governs through the principle of velayat-e faqih, or absolute rule, of clerical leaders. Anyone who opposes Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is excluded from the ballot in political elections.

A Turning Point

The MEK has challenged this rule through protests and boycotts of the polls, often at great personal risk. Boycotts at the polls during the 2016 election were followed by a massive anti-regime uprising in December 2017, which spread to 142 cities and every province in the country. The regime did an abrupt about-face and acknowledged the MEK’s role in the Iran protests, contradicting years of their own propaganda that claimed that the MEK lacked influence inside Iran. “This was arguably the turning point undermining the regime’s oft-repeated claim that the MEK is incapable of presenting a serious challenge to the clerical dictatorship,” argued Terzi.

Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, an advisor to the head of the regime’s Judiciary Chief, also made recent comments about the MEK. Pour-Mohammadi was a member of Tehran’s Death Committee, which sent thousands of political prisoners to their executions during the 1988 Massacre, which claimed 30,000 lives during a single summer, most of whom were MEK members. Victims of the massacre included girls as young as 15 and pregnant women.

In a recent interview, Pour-Mohammadi once again defended what human rights defenders have called a crime against humanity and called for the elimination of the MEK. “We have no ambiguity about the MEK,” he said. “We are at a time of war. Now is not the time for talk. Now is the time to fight them.”

Tehran’s Greatest Adversary

Terzi stressed that these words make it clear that “the MEK is Tehran’s greatest adversary, and it has not only evaded all efforts to destroy it but has actually grown so much in power and influence that it was able to organize and lead a nationwide uprising just last year.” He went on to urge the world to pay attention to the words regime officials say at home because if they do, “it will become clear that they are afraid.”

False accusations about MEK are ‘finished, gone forever’ @LBJunior: #MEK/#PMOI, who have a mission in life and who have made a choice, and they are dedicated to keeping that choice.#IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK #FreeIranhttps://t.co/ldOAeSqI0e – @washtimes pic.twitter.com/bjZI0SaNEL

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) August 13, 2019

This fear provides an opportunity for the international community and the Iranian people, emphasized Terzi. The regime is vulnerable and firm policies by the Western world would be effective in helping the Iranian people take back their country.

“It is now much more difficult for the mullahs to deny that there is already an alternative to their theocratic system and that popular resistance is their Achilles’ heel,” concluded Terzi.

Staff writer

Former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giulio Terzi, wrote another opinion piece calling for European governments to sever economic ties with the ruthless and violent Iranian regime. The piece, entitled ‘Six Years After Rouhani’s Election, Moderation is as Far Away as Ever for Iran’, appeared in Euractiv on Friday, March 8.

In the piece, Terzi criticized the appointment of Ebrahim Raisi as Head of the Iranian Judiciary which took place last week. Although Raisi’s predecessor was far from a moderate, his appointment represents a step back for Iranian human rights. “Raisi represents the worst features of the Iranian judiciary,” Terzi wrote, “at best his appointment by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei signals the regime’s public disregards for international human rights principles, and at worst it sets the stage for a dramatic upsurge in politically-motivated killings.”

#Iran 6 ears after #Rouhani’s election, moderation is as far away as ever 4 Iran @EURACTIV https://t.co/F7CRk2j2cy @GlobalCRL @HandsOffCain_En @eu_eeas @ispionline @Rebeccamieli @LetiziaDo @LaNotiziaTweet @GeopoliticalCen @GioSallusti @grimolizzi @agostinoballero @fertermentini

— Giulio Terzi (@GiulioTerzi) March 11, 2019

A Dark Past

Raisi’s past is of particular concern. Like previous heads of the judiciary, he was part of the “death commissions” that took part in the 1988 massacre when regime agents rounded up and executed more than 30,000 members of the Iranian opposition. Many of those killed were members of the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), the largest pro-democracy opposition group in Iran. Their only crime was their “failure to demonstrate loyalty to the theocratic dictatorship,” Terzi lamented.

The 30,000 executions took place in the span of a single summer. Many were buried in unmarked graves, the whereabouts of which the regime has continued to withhold, leaving many families in the dark on the fate of their loved ones.

The massacre was the regime’s response to growing calls for democracy. The MEK has established itself as a viable alternative to the regime’s ruthless branch of religious fascism, which it remains to this day.  “The massacre failed in its goal,” argues Terzi, “the PMOI (MEK) went on to gain in strength and popularity over the next three decades.” Today, the MEK is instrumental in coordinating protests against the regime’s economic mismanagement and rampant human rights abuses. It played a central role in the nationwide protests that rapidly spread across the country in 2018.

Like in 1988, the regime’s response has been to suppress protests through a violent crackdown on the Iranian opposition. In January alone, more than 8,000 Iranian protestors were detained and 50 were killed.

A Sustained Crackdown

When viewed in the context of recent events, Raisi’s appointment can be seen as a continued part of the regime’s backlash against the MEK and the Iranian opposition. Terzi called it

“a deliberate message to Iran’s activist community that the regime is ready to carry out further massacres.”

There have already been signs of impending violence. The clerical regime has made overt threats of executions against those engaging in protests and strikes against the regime.

 

Iranian regime’s President Hassan Rouhani, often championed among European governments as a “moderate” influence within the Iranian regime, has shown indifference towards the appointment of murderers and criminals to senior positions in the Iranian judiciary. He has also filled his own cabinet with those that took part in the 1988 massacre. These appointments show that at best, Rouhani is a loyal servant to the Supreme Leader and at worst, he is another hardliner, happy to promote murderers and brutes.

“Western policymakers have turned a blind eye to his record,” Terzi asserts, “because of their expectations about opening up Iranian markets and gaining access to Iranian oil.” “Such a short-sighted attitude cannot be a guiding principle for Western policies toward the Islamic Republic anymore,” Terzi concludes.

Terzi calls for the immediate severance of ties with Iranian businesses and diplomats. “The international community should push for an independent inquiry about all the crimes committed by the Iranian regime,” he asserts. If Tehran refuses, then international governments must embrace the only viable alternative to regime rule: the MEK.

Staff Writer

Giulio Terzi, the former Foreign Minister for Italy, penned an opinion piece for Townhall on Friday, December 14^th. The piece called for unified collective action from the European and US governments in the face of the escalating threat of Iranian state-sponsored terror.

In his piece, Terzi maps the heightened threat the regime poses to governments around the world. He describes how Albanian authorities detained Iranian agents planning an attack on the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) in March. He also cites the failed Iranian car bomb attack on the MEK’s Grand Gathering event in Paris that was foiled in June.

MEPs Demand Extradition of Iranian Regime Diplomat/Terrorist to Belgium in Letter to Merkel

“Had the plot been successful, there is no telling how many of the 100,000 attendees might have been killed, or whether the death toll would have included any of the hundreds of high-profile political dignitaries who visited from around the word”, Terzi wrote.

Shortly after the incident, a pair of Iranian agents were detained in the US on espionage charges. Once again, their target was the MEK. It is believed the pair were carrying out reconnaissance ahead of another planned terror attack against the Iranian opposition group.

Finally, Terzi describes how in October, Danish officials thwarted an assassination attempt by an Iranian intelligence agent to murder opposition activists on Danish soil.

Europe is Blinded by Greed

The United States re-imposed sanctions against the Iranian regime and under the Trump administration, has abandoned its policy of appeasement towards the barbaric and violent clerical regime in Iran.

Europe Should Expel Regime Diplomats, Agents

Terzi wrote, “it is perhaps difficult to understand why the EU has been so hesitant to follow suit”. He asserts that Europe is motivated by “short-sighted greed”. European nations and business want to remain active in Iranian markets.

Another factor at play, Terzi argues, is that European governments do not have an accurate understanding of the political landscape within Iran. They assume that the authoritarian dictatorship of Supreme Leader Khamenei is stable.

However, this could not be further from the truth. The regime is in an existential crisis as the calls for regime change have intensified among the Iranian public. Pro-democracy activists, like the MEK, are enjoying a surge in popularity, and the MEK-organised protest movement “represents perhaps the greatest threat to the theocratic dictatorship in its 40 years”.

Regime Experts Admit MEK’s Major Role in Recent Protests

2018 has seen protestors adopt explicitly anti-regime slogans, including, “death to the dictator”, and “death to Rouhani” or “death to Khamenei”.

Sanctions are Necessary to Curb Iranian Aggression

Terzi makes the case for the introduction of European sanctions against the Iranian leadership. “Sanctions to undermine the regime’s repressive institutions, will not only punish the mullahs for their belligerence but will also amplify the effects of the protest movement and provide Iran’s domestic activists with an all-important boost in morale”, he writes.

British Lord and Professor Urges the UK and Europe to Consider Any US Proposal for Further Iranian Sanctions

“There is an ever greater confrontation coming between the deeply unpopular theocratic regime and the increasingly influential democratic Resistance”, Terzi wrote. European policymakers can no longer ignore the reality of the situation in Iran. The mullahs’ days in power are coming to an end. To ignore this fact is to turn their back on democratic progress in the Middle-East.

Staff Writer