Iran Media Warns of Protests Over CrisesIran has seen increased pressure from the international community and its own citizens over the past few years, including economic sanctions and two national uprisings. These uprisings began over economic matters but soon became about regime change, before the authorities cracked down brutally and killed over 1,000 people in the November 2019 protests alone. While the protests were stopped because of the coronavirus, which has killed over 210,000 in Iran, the people’s anger is still there and its growing thanks to the authorities’ lacklustre response. Indeed, many believe that the government is intentionally mishandling the pandemic to subdue uprisings. Rajavi said: “The Iranian people are extremely embittered and angry. The November 2019 and January 2020 uprisings clearly demonstrated the people’s desire for regime change. Due to the regime’s criminal policies, so far at least 210,000 people have lost their lives to the coronavirus, and there are no global comparables in this regard. This has intensified the people’s dissatisfaction even more.” The Biden administration previously suggested that it wished to re-enter the 2015 nuclear agreement, but an official said that this deal would need to be reworked to include other issues of concern. He has also not made any move towards re-joining via an Executive Order, which is how the US first joined and then left the deal. So far, Rajavi said, there has been no contact between the NCRI and the Biden administration, but she stressed that when he deals with the Iran situation, he must prioritise the creation of a democracy. She said: “Any policy vis-à-vis the clerical regime must take into account the desire of the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people as expressed in the clearest form during the 2019 uprising; and that is to end the religious tyranny and to establish a democratic government. Human rights must be placed at the front and centre of this policy. And, the Iranian regime must be held to account for gross violations of the Iranian people’s fundamental human rights.” On a related note, a court a Belgium issued 20 years imprisonment for Iran’s incarcerated diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who had attempted to bomb NCRI’s rally in 2018. Rajavi said this came on the orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. She said: “This trial demonstrates that it is high time to end the policy of appeasement and adopt a firm policy in its place. This regime can only understand the language of firmness.”
Rajavi Urges Biden To Take Firm Policy on Iran
The leader of the Iranian opposition is urging US President Joe Biden to hold Iran accountable for human rights violations, stressing that the mullahs are now at the “weakest point” since its inception in 1979.
Maryam Rajavi, the President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said: “The Iranian regime is at its weakest point in its history of the last 42 years. It is economically bankrupt. The national currency is in a free fall, and corruption has penetrated every aspect of the regime.”
The NCRI, which is an umbrella organisation of several democratic groups that seek mullahs’ overthrow in Iran, has a 10-point plan to transform Iran from a religious dictatorship to a secular democracy.
Political Prisoners Denied Medical Care in Iran
One of the longest detained political prisoners in Iran is suffering from severe and painful burns on his neck and back after being suddenly covered in boiling water whilst taking a shower, but the prison authorities refused to take him to the hospital, which has led to the infection of the blisters.
Gholam-Hossein Kalbi, 61, who has now spent 21 years in prison, was arrested in January 2000 in Dezful. He was held in solitary confinement for 14 months in Ahvaz’s Ministry of Intelligence building and subject to brutal torture before being sentenced to life in prison in 2002 and moved to Ward 209 of Evin Prison.
His only crime is support for the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) and a refusal to publicly demonise them as part of the government’s propaganda.
Kalbi, who is currently held in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, is also suffering from a variety of health complaints, including severe infections in his gums and both ears, alongside hearing loss in one ear.
The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) urged the United Nations and all human rights defenders to take immediate action to ensure that Kalbi receives medical treatment for his burns and illnesses outside or prison, stating that the denial of necessary medical care indicates “the intentional nature of the incident designed to torture him”.
Iran Executes Eight Prisoners in One WeekIn a related story, political prisoner Mohammad Ashtiani is being denied medical treatment for low blood oxygen levels that, in addition to his asthma, almost suffocated him on January 26 and 27 following construction in the Central Prison of Karaj that increased dust levels. On January 28, he asked for treatment at the prison dispensary, where his oxygen levels were recorded as 80, but he was not taken to hospital or given treatment, which resulted in severe chest pain, heavy coughs, and a sense of suffocation. Without treatment, his life is in grave danger. Ashtiani, 57, also suffers from high blood lipid and GI problems. The father-of-two, who was a political prisoner in the 1980s, was arrested in March 2019 and interrogated under torture at the Department of Intelligence. He was then moved to the Central Prison of Karaj after being sentenced to three years and a heavy fine for “propaganda against the state”, “insulting [Supreme leader Ali] Khamenei”, and supporting the MEK. He is detained amongst violent criminals in violation of the principle for separating prisoners based on their crimes.
Iranian Workers’ Salaries Don’t Reach the Poverty Line
“Even a 100-percent increase in workers’ monthly salaries would not let them reach the poverty line,” said Mohammad Reza Tajik, representative of Workers Supreme Assembly in Iran’s Supreme Labor Council on February 3.
“We are in such circumstances that even a 100-percent increase in workers’ salaries is not adequate. Even a 100-percent increase cannot bring workers’ salaries to the poverty line. A 100 percent increase in 26-million-rial [$104] salaries per month is equivalent to 52 million rials [$208], which is still below the poverty line with any kind of measure,” ILNA news agency quoted Tajik as saying.
This is while government-linked economists have acknowledged the poverty line has reached around 100 to 120 million rials [$400 to 480]. In his interview with ILNA, Tajik pointed to rampant inflation and officials’ imprudence and indifference toward people’s living conditions.
“Unfortunately, employers have raised new issues in meetings about designating minimum wages. Employers’ representatives raise strange issues because they have nothing to say and under any circumstance, the product basket is twice the workers’ current paychecks,” Tajik said. “Their only purpose is to divert wage talks and evade estimating the product basket.”
One Meter of Housing, Equivalent to One Year of an Iranian Worker’s Wage
Workers’ Salaries $320 Below Poverty Line
Social disappointment and concerns about the eruption of public anger are seen in Iranian media reports. In its January 31 edition, Hamdeli daily highlighted the dire living situation of the working classes. Regarding workers’ low incomes, poverty, and livelihood crisis that society’s toiler strata struggle with, Hamdeli titled, “Workers’ salaries left 80 million rials [$320] to the poverty line.” “As estimations show, while the poverty line has reached 100 million rials [$400], the society’s lowest-income class is still just over 20 million rials [$80]. The distance between livelihood and inflation has become more critical, particularly this year,” the daily added. Hamdeli also mentioned that this is a long-lasting dilemma and officials have yet to resolve these problems despite their promises. “Every year, during these days, the issue of paycheck, inflation, and expenditures of the lowest-income class of society are bolded, and publications and virtual media write about od distance between livelihood and inflation,” the daily added. “Estimations show a price of 70 to 90 million rials [$280 to 360] for the product basket. However, last years’ experience has proven that these numbers would eventually remain on paper, and what is finally adopted as [workers’] minimum wage is far away from realities on the ground,” Hamdeli wrote. According to some rumors, MPs and labor activists insist on a 30- to 35-percent increase in workers’ paychecks. However, the government has yet to comment in this context. One ballpark calculation shows that even with a 30-percent increase in salaries, workers’ monthly paychecks will reach 25 million rials [$100], which has a meaningful distance with adequate income for a mid-class lifestyle.Erosion of the State’s Base
Around 90 percent of working families are in absolute poverty, and their monthly payments are three times below the poverty line. This number displays a deep rift between the state and society and the erosion of the government’s acceptance and trust among citizens. Nowadays, officials frequently speak about the “erosion of the state’s social capital,” meaning public distrust toward the entire ruling system. This distrust appears in the shape of constant social and economic protests, which have engulfed the whole country today. This may ignite Iran’s powder keg every moment and bring fundamental changes in this country.60 Million Iranians Below the Poverty Line
Iran’s Power Struggle on Khomeini’s Anniversary
The empty ceremony commemorating the forty-second anniversary of the infamous entry into Iran of Iranian regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini, on his lavish and pharaonic tomb, reflects the miserable condition of a regime that considers one of the worst men in human history as its founder.
Ali Khamenei, while fearing the coronavirus, had visited Khomeini’s grave alone the day before. The day after him, the battle of Iran’s leaders in this ceremony showed a level of terrible power struggles between them that was unprecedented in the history of this system.
In his speech, Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, spoke of ‘rationality’, ‘acceptability’ and ‘people’s votes’. These codes were an obvious grimace for the supreme leader Ali Khamenei and his faction, who these days considered to bring a so-called ‘young Hezbollahi’ government to power has narrowed the field of power over Rouhani and his faction in order to further shrink the system in his favor.
Note the words and sentences in his speeches:
“(Khomeini) in that speech [speech in Behesht-e Zahra in 1980] did not speak only of religious legitimacy. He even spoke about the acceptability and opinion of the people, about rationality and acceptability.”
Fight Against Corruption in Iran’s Judiciary or Khamenei’s Successor?“The way he chose for us, the government he said I would appoint, because the people trusted me, said I will appoint the government. This (Khomeini) speech was an important speech in Shiite ijtihad and political jurisprudence. He did not rely on his sharia rule, but on the opinion and vote of the people, he appointed the government.” “He pointed out that the votes of yesterday’s generation could not be the basis for today’s generation. At every stage, people must choose the system they want with their votes.” “We will present a passionate competitive election to the people. If 70 percent and a few of the people came to the polls, that (Khomeini) charter would have continued.” (State-run daily Entekhab, February 1, 2021) The interpretation of Rouhani’s remarks, which, of course, deceitfully inspires the trust of the people who hate the integrity of the system, can be summarized in several areas:
- Explaining to Khamenei, he says that the basis of his legitimacy cannot be only the position of Velayat-e-Faqih (Supreme religious rule), the people must accept him.
- He tells Khamenei that the basis for choosing a government [here the president] is the trust of the people. While he saying to, that the Velayat-e-Faqih has no credibility.
- He tells Khamenei that the people should elect the next president, not the supreme leader.
- By speaking about a ‘passionate competitive election’ he means that he wants to involve his faction in the power struggle and seize the presidency; While he is losing this position due to the decision of the supreme leader to contract the regime.
Iran’s Government at the Brink of Collapse
One day before the rejection of the general budget by Iran’s Parliament (Majlis), an expert of the so-called reformist faction said that the approval of the parliamentary integration commission “put the country on the brink of a dangerous precipice.”
The 2021-22 budget bill provided by President Hassan Rouhani’s government was submitted to the parliament with a 46 percent expansion compared to last year, and this was causing the society’s economy to become more and more critical. Nonetheless, the parliamentary commission approved another 35 percent and heat up the country’s economy more than before.
They increased the size of the general budget from 841 trillion tomans to 1143 trillion tomans. He warned his audience to be aware of the dire, dangerous, and catastrophic consequences of this dramatic change.
Iran: 2021-22 Budget Bill and Economic Crisis
Throwing All the Lower Classes into Misery and Poverty
One government-linked economist touched on the consequences of such budgets which are ruining people’s lives. “In economies facing a crisis of total supply, the extreme financial expansion would mean throwing the entire lower classes into the mire of misery and poverty. We will have a much sharper inflation outlook than we have seen in the last three years,” ILNA news agency wrote on January 31. What is even sadder is that this year the index of misery (inflation and unemployment) has crossed the unbelievable mark, and with this plan and others that both factions of the government are carrying out, we should expect a wave of millions of hungry people. According to even fake statistics of this government, “In 2017, the misery rate reached nearly 20 percent (19.8 percent). In 2018, it crossed the 37 percent mark. In 2019, it went above 45.5 percent and in November 2020, it reached the threshold of 70 percent,” wrote Etemad daily on November 3, 2020.Corruption the Other Side of Production Collapse
This tragedy, of course, was confirmed by international monitoring bodies with other related indicators. Previously, a report by Transparency International stated that the Iranian government ranked 149th out of 180 countries in terms of corruption in 2020. However, with the policies of inflation and anti-occupation (misery) of President Rouhani, the rank of the Iranian government fell another 18 steps and became one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to the monitor’s most recent report. “The production costs index in 2019 has exceeded 65 percent. When the index of producer costs is higher than the consumer index (41.5 percent), it means that they lead the country to the abyss of falling productivity and imposing humiliating dependencies on the outside world,” wrote Taodol daily on November 3, 2020.Unbridled Poverty, An Inherent Outcome of Iran’s Systematic Corruption
Falling Oil Revenues
During November 3, 2020, Majlis’s session, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, the Head of the Plan and Budget Organization, stated in private and addressed to Majlis Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, “Government revenues without oil exports are not enough to cover the budget expenditures of 2021.” “In the information that I cannot disclose, it is clear that the income from oil exports has experienced a terrible decline,” Jahan-e Sanat daily quoted Nobakht on the same day.Forecast of 400 Percent Inflation
In examining the country’s budget in the Majlis, some horrific facts and predictions were made, which show that the government’s hands and pockets are empty, despite their propaganda to present a different image. “Next year, we will see inflation of more than 400 percent because the currency of 42,000 rials has reached 175,000 rials, which means it has quadrupled,” an MP said. “The society does not tolerate more than this. In the budget, we will see inflation of more than 40 percent, while we will also have a budget deficit. Lack of stable income, more than 30 percent of oil dependency, the persistence of astronomical salaries, tax pressure,” Tejarat daily quoted the MP as saying on February 3.Why the Dollar Price in Iran Continues to Rise?
We Have No Choice but to Print Banknotes to Provide Resources
Abdolnasser Hemmati, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), who is frustrated with opening a way for foreign currencies to enter and no longer has any idea how to get out of this predicament, said that in the current situation, there is “no way other than printing banknotes” to finance. “He described the source of the funds as, ‘Monthly payment of livelihood plan to 60 million people’, and at the same time, he said printing banknotes causes ‘increased inflation’ whereby ‘everyone is harmed,’” the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying on February 3. In any case, after a two-month dispute between the Rouhani government and the Majlis over the 2021-22 budget bill, it was rejected in general, so that in practice, a result can be drawn from all this controversy, and that is one word: ‘None’Window of JCPOA Closing, But in Which Direction?
“The new [U.S.] administration has spoken out on almost every issue in U.S. foreign policy except the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the need to return to it, while Democrats and Republicans have been vocal about maintaining Donald Trump’s policy of maximum pressure on the Biden administration,” wrote Javan daily affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on January 28, 2021.
These days, it is not too surprising to find such a paragraph in one of the newspapers and media affiliated with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei.
It seems that the staff writers of this faction expected that the ‘Great Satan’ repent of past wrongdoings and lift sanctions overnight. They complain about why the new U.S. administration talked about everything, except its re-entry into the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known by the acronyms JCPOA. It is interesting that the U.S. is not in a hurry in this case.
“Apparently there is no rush on the other side, in the Biden government. In his first phone call with Vladimir Putin, Biden spoke of issues such as Ukraine, Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2020 election, and the extension of the treaties but did not say anything about the JCPOA or did not want it to be disclosed,” Javan wrote.
Haste to Return to the JCPOA
In this situation, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations, is constantly forced to call for haste. “Hey! ‘The window of the JCPOA is closing’, hurry up!” he threatened the European States and the new U.S. government. What is this rush for? Did not the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei say just 20 days earlier that, “We have no urge, no rush for America to return to the JCPOA. Our problem is not whether the United States will return to the JCPOA or not. Our rational demand and our rational demand is the lifting of sanctions,” Khamenei’s official website Khamenei.ir wrote on January 8, 2021. It is at this point that the sanctions are squeezing the throat of the clerical dictatorship, and even an hour’s continuation is an hour for the life of this government.Request to Maintain Maximum Pressure
Despite Tehran’s haste to lift sanctions, the other side is in no hurry. Not only is he in no hurry, but according to Javan, “Dennis Ross, Barack Obama’s adviser on the West Asian region, and Juan Zarate, deputy national security adviser to the administration of George W. Bush, in a joint note, called for Washington to maintain maximum pressure against Tehran.” “They [Dennis Ross and Juan Zarate], referring to Iran’s decision to resume 20 percent uranium enrichment, claimed that this was not done to force the United States to hasten a return to the nuclear deal, but because Iran wanted to lift sanctions. Of course, Iran should not be able to reduce sanctions for free,” the daily added.Iranian Opposition Reveals New Details About Military Aspects of Tehran’s Nuclear Program
Threat with an Empty Gun
In addition to rushing to return to the JCPOA, Iran’s theocracy thinks that it can intimidate and hold the other side for ransom by using an empty gun by threatening, blackmailing, and striking a deadline. Speaking at a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that “he was forced to implement the resolution of the regime’s parliament.” “The parliament has approved a resolution according to which we are obliged to take some measures. One was the 20 percent enrichment that had begun, and the other was the end of the implementation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Additional Protocol, which must be operational from February 21 to 23, and we are required by law to do so,” Vatan-e-Emrooz quoted Zarif as saying on January 27.Iranian Officials Have to Opt Between Bad and Worst
Consequences of Withdrawing from the NPT’s Additional Protocol
Former diplomat Fereydoun Majlisi reacted to Zarif’s claim a day later. “Regarding the withdrawal from the Additional Protocol, as well as the 20 percent enrichment, and basically the approval of the parliament, the question is, what effect did the five steps of reducing Iran’s nuclear obligations have on the European positions that are now being discussed?” Majlisi said in an interview with Arman-e Mali daily on January 28. “After the withdrawal from the Additional Protocol, the sanctions would remain in place, and such actions can only intensify them or cause the return of the previous six [UN] sanctions resolutions, because these sanctions were not lifted, but have been suspended,” he added. Given this, it is clear that the Islamic Republic’s rush to lift sanctions and resort to an empty gun for ransom will not go anywhere, while these days in the positions of various U.S. and European officials, the international community insists on a stricter agreement on nuclear restraint of the world’s number 1 state-sponsor of terrorism. Yes, the JCPOA window is closing; but the question is in which direction?Tehran Is Concerned About a New “JCPOA Plus”
“Food Poverty Line” a Warning Sign of Iran’s Silent Massacre
The “food poverty line”, the warning of a silent massacre, and with the continuation of Iran’s clerical rule, the severity of the economic devastation have reached a point where even the usual words in the economy do not reflect the current situation.
This is why even government economists have become aristocratic. They use new self-made vocabulary to describe the current situation.
Government agents, instead of the “poverty line” whose amount is set at 10 million tomans, name another line called “food poverty line” or “livelihood line” which set be set at 670,000 tomans per person.
The “livelihood line” is the “death line.” If a family cannot earn this amount of income, it will be unable to provide food.
The “food poverty line” is 670,000 tomans
“Many working-class families are below the poverty line or on the border of the ‘food poverty line.’ The food poverty line is 670,000 tomans per person,” said Alireza Asgarian, the relief committee’s deputy for public participation, whose remarks were published in government newspapers on January 26, 2021.
Iran’s Air Pollution Crisis Is not the People’s FaultAsgarian, speaking at the fourth webinar of the Higher Institute for Social Security Research, referred to the “centralized social security system for individuals” and said that there were currently a population of about 20 million people in need of social security coverage. Regarding the current economic situation and the devaluation of the national currency and the rising unemployment of workers and the high cost of goods, he points to horrific statistics and he said: “There are currently a population of about 20 million people in need of social security coverage. The monthly observation center samples at 1,800 points and defines the food poverty line. Now the ‘food poverty line’ is 670,000 tomans per person, and if you consider a family of three with the minimum wage, many working families are below the poverty line or on the border of the ‘food poverty line’”. Statistics of the Statistics Center of Iran and the depth of the disaster These government confessions show only a small part of the reality of society and the enormous pressure that has been put on the people. The horrifying reality is that, according to the Statistics Center of Iran, a population of over three million of the country’s working population are unemployed. But the indicator that the statistics center has for having a job is that: “If a person has done an hour-long job during the week, he is considered employed.” A closer look at the statistical studies of the Statistics Center of Iran reveals the depth of the tragedy. A document published by the Statistics Center of Iran in the fall of 2019, states: “A review of the unemployment rate of the population aged 10 and over shows that 6.10 percent of the active population was unemployed. Based on these results, the unemployment rate was higher among women than men and in urban areas compared to rural areas.” As can be seen, government agents have also included 10-year-old working children, who should be in the classroom, in the labor force. The reason is that they want to balance their statistics by increasing the number of working children and avoid giving real statistics. Warning signs of a silent massacre Various statistics on the number of educated unemployed in Iran have been published in government publications. In the mentioned statistics, the number of unemployed university graduates of the country is mentioned from 2 million to 4 million. This population is the main labor force of the country that should take the helm of the country’s economy after 16 years of education or more. But due to the destruction of the country’s economy in the fields of industry, agriculture and services, such a huge force has remained unemployed. According to government officials, with a poverty line of 10 million Tomans, about 70 million of the country’s population fall below the poverty line. If we consider the new government criterion based on the “food poverty line” which is 670,000 tomans, even if one million of this population of 70 million who are below the poverty line are below the “food poverty line”, that would be a warning about a nationwide silent massacre. Because this population cannot afford the daily strength to survive.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Cover for State Terrorism
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acts as a cover for state terrorism. The Antwerp court in Belgium announced its verdict on Thursday, February 4, on the charges of a “terrorist group.”
Assadollah Assadi and three accomplices were convicted of planning to attack an Iranian opposition rally involving senior U.S. and European statesmen in the outskirts of Paris in June 2018.
This is the first time a European court has tried an Iranian diplomat on terrorism charges. The trial comes as the direct role of Iranian government diplomats in the assassinations was clear in similar cases, including the assassinations of Dr. Kazem Rajavi, Abdolrahman Ghassemlou, Sadegh Sharafkandi, and others. But because of the European appeasement policy, they were all released.
EU Policy on Tehran Leads to TerrorismIn this way, this is the sign of serious change in the relationship between the EU and the Iranian government. First, it shows the weakness of Iran’s leaders, who can no longer blackmail and threaten the West with terror acts. Secondly, it was a big blow to the diplomatic apparatus of this clerical dictatorship. This blow means that diplomatic facilities can no longer provide security for Iran’s terrorists in power. Thus, the hand of the government in terrorist operations is completely closed.
The Role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Sovereignty of Iran
So, the question here is, what is the role of the regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the structure of this regime if it cannot lead the state’s terror acts outside the country and provide the regime’s intelligence service a ‘diplomatic cover’ to conducts its acts of terror. The role of the foreign ministry shows the clear purpose of this ministry. “I was in charge of representing Iran in New York at the time of the US invasion of Iraq. I was talking to American officials on the orders of the country’s top officials,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. “I had the most coordination with General Soleimani—Qassem Soleimani, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force (IRGC-QF) commander who was killed by a U.S. drone in 2020 in Iraq. Soleimani and I decided to review the latest developments at least once a week and make the necessary arrangements,” he added. The weekly coordination with Soleimani confirms precisely the fact that the main task of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Islamic Republic is to facilitate the transfer of ammunition, weapons, money laundering, travel documents, and documents for spies and terrorist cells, as well as organized terrorist guidance. Between 2015 and 2019, “seven diplomats,” including an ambassador, were expelled from Europe for involvement in terrorist plots.Iran’s FM Zarif Should Be Held to Account for TerrorismTherefore, it can be said with certainty that without the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC-QF would never have been able to carry out terrorist plots outside Iran. This was not the first overseas terror operation of the regime in European countries. Examining the dark record of the clerical dictatorship presents us with a list of terrorist acts. A review of this record of all crimes shows us that in the past, the government carried out terrorist acts with a free hand and evaded accountability. For example:
- In the assassination of Shapur Bakhtiar, Abdolrahman Ghaselmo, Sadegh Sharafkandi, Prof. Kazem Rajavi, Zahra Rajabi and Ali Moradi, Abdolrahman Boroumand, and Mohammad Hossein Naqdi, Iran’s diplomats were never tried. Even in the case of the assassination of Zahra Rajabi and Ali Moradi, the then Turkish government only expelled four regime diplomats.
- Tehran even has planned to assassinate Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian opposition coalition (NCRI), in Dortmund, Germany. This terrorist act was exposed before it was carried out. Meanwhile, two diplomats, Ali Osuli and Jalal Abbasi were expelled from Germany for their involvement in the plot.
- In another plot against Mrs. Rajavi, a hand-made cannon of Iran’s defense industry called a 320 mm folding missile was to be launched. The weapons and ammunition, which were placed in three boxes with the label of pickles in one of the containers of the ship named Kolahdooz, were discovered during an inspection by customs officials in the Belgian port of Antwerp.
Historical Trial of Iranian Diplomat in EuropeDue to the dirty policy of appeasement and extortion, the regime was not only able to get rid of this terrorist incident but also brazenly made demands from the relevant country. In response to the newspaper article, the Iranian ambassador to Germany Hossein Mousavian sent a letter to the Frankfurter Allgemeine. “It is said that a weapon was found in the port of Antwerp. The security services of these countries want to disrupt the relations between Germany and Iran in all fields in unison with the Mojahedin Organization, and now they are trying to achieve this by exchanging information,” Mousavian wrote. We are facing a new situation in the case of the Villepinte bombing. For the first time, a diplomat was taken to court and then to prison. The trial of this diplomat is not the trial of one person, but the trial of the integrity of the regime and, in a higher-order, the trial of the appeasement policy with a religious dictatorship. Now it’s time for the EU countries to make decisions and change their relationships with the Iranian government in all fields.
Struan Stevenson on the arrest of Iranian agent Afrasiabi
The arrest of political scientist and Iran expert Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi by the FBI should have been top news in Western media, according to Struan Stevenson, the coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change.
He wrote that Afrasiabi has been openly praising Iran for 13 years without registering as a foreign agent, despite being paid over $265,000 through Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
The U.S. Justice Department is charging Afrasiabi for “conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, with John C. Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, explaining that Afrasiabi presented himself as neutral when talking about the regime to Congress, the media, and the public, swaying opinion and perhaps policy in an illegal way.
“The revelation that an Iranian spy was embedded in the heart of the U.S. democratic process certainly came as no surprise to representatives of the National Council of Resistance of Iran and the Mojahedin e-Khalq (MEK/PMOI), the main opposition movement to the theocratic fascist regime in Iran,” wrote Stevenson a former member of the European Parliament. “The NCRI and MEK have long been the target of a campaign of misinformation and demonization by Tehran.”
This campaign took place in papers, on the internet, on TV, and on the radio, parroting the narrative of the Iranian government, with so-called experts quoted. Sometimes, Stevenson said, Western reporters and media outlets are even on Iran’s payroll.
It has been going on since the 1979 revolution, with the most common victims being the Iranian opposition because they seek a democracy with full respect for human rights.
This is not just a war of words but has been used strategically to justify Tehran’s abuses of the MEK, from the 1988 massacre of 30,000 supporters to the assassination of its leading members abroad.
Don’t Ignore Iran Terror Plot“Needless to say, following their long history of lies and deception, all of these murders and assassinations are routinely denied. There is now a high-level investigation into the 1988 massacre underway by the United Nations,” Stevenson wrote. Stevenson believes the trial of Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who is charged with attempting to blow up the 2018 Free Iran rally, has the power to fundamentally change relations between the West and Iran. In this regard, many politicians like former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Gov. Tom Ridge, former U.S. National Security Advisor and United States European Command Gen. James Jones, former Vice-President of the European Parliament Alejo Vidal-Quadras, and many prominent dignitaries agreed with him. Notably, Assadollah Assadi and his accomplices were convicted of long-term prison by a Belgian court in Antwerp on Thursday, February 4. However, the Iranian “diplomat” is facing further charges in Germany over information that was found in a notepad in his car upon his arrest that reportedly links him to a Europe-wide terror network. “Sadly, years of appeasement of the tyrannical Iranian regime have emboldened its efforts to deceive the West while indulging in grave violations of human rights at home and aggressive military expansionism and the export of terrorism abroad. The arrest of Afrasiabi and the trial of Assadi should surely be a wake-up call for the West,” Stevenson addressed.
Iranian Diplomat Convicted for Terror Plot Against Dissidents
Iranian Diplomat Convicted for Terror Plot Against Dissidents
The Belgian Court of Antwerp declared its ruling in the case of Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi and his three accomplices on Thursday, February 4, 2021. Following more than two years of investigations into Tehran’s foiled bomb plot against the Free Iran 2018 rally in Paris, the court annulled Assadi’s diplomatic immunity and sentenced all four “terrorists” to long-term imprisonment.
Back in November 2020, Belgian prosecutors had urged life imprisonment for Assadi, as the plot’s mastermind, and 15-18 years prison for his accomplices. Eventually, judges sentenced Assadi to 20 years, Nasimeh Naami to 18 years, Mehrdad Arefani to 17 years, and Amir Sadouni to 15 years in prison.
Simultaneously, supporters of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) gathered outside the court. Furthermore, the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) held an international webinar connecting Iranian dissidents from at least 40 countries together. Many politicians and members of the parliaments in Europe and the United States attended the virtual conference.
As the conference’s keynote speaker and the main target of Assadi’s attack, NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi highlighted the role of the Iranian government in sponsoring terrorism. “The conviction of the clerical regime’s terrorist diplomat by a European country’s judiciary confirms the regime’s state-sponsored terrorism,” she said.
EU Must Adopt Punitive Measures Against Tehran in Assadollah Assadi’s CaseAssadi’s attorney also affirmed this reality, saying, “My client feels that it is not himself but his government that is on trial.” The conviction of an Iranian diplomat underscored significant facts, including that the theocracy ruling Iran has organized an extensive network for terrorizing and blackmailing other countries, as well as targeting dissidents. In parallel, Tehran leads a misinformation campaign against the Iranian Resistance, particularly the MEK. However, Iranian leaders’ main purpose is to suppress domestic objections. The Islamic Republic has institutionalized human rights violations in its constitution, which is the autocrats’ leading instrument to ensuring their establishment. In this context, they employ terrorism to silence governments. They also target dissidents abroad to dishearten angry people about any protest. The ayatollahs apparently remove their opponents but, in fact, they create and spread an atmosphere of fear among citizens. Moreover, the Iranian government explicitly addressed its alternative. Iranian officials exploited diplomatic privileges to transfer and deliver explosive materials to terrorist operatives. Under the cover of third counselor of Iran’s embassy in Vienna, Assadollah Assadi was directing Tehran’s intelligence station in Europe.
Don’t Ignore Iran Terror PlotDuring this period, he established an extended network of terrorists called sleeper cells. In his travels to 11 European countries, he personally paid secret agents’ salaries. German law enforcement discovered and seized two booklets when they arrested Assadi in July 2018. One of them contained the bomb instructions for the terror plot. Another one contained 289 notes, including appointments and receipts. This information gave a clue to European security services to shed light on the Iranian government’s covert operations on European soil. Finally, Assadi had been tasked by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. In the West, many know Zarif as a ‘moderate.’ They ironically try to embolden moderates versus hardliners while Zarif and his President Hassan Rouhani are wolves in sheep clothing, opposition activists say. In other words, the conviction of Zarif’s subordinate proved that there is no distinction between Iran’s moderates and hardliners when it comes to savagery. In this context, before shaking Zarif’s hand and taking selfies, international negotiators must consider what if Assadi’s plot had succeeded and the bomb had exploded. Iranian dissidents have frequently insisted that the international community should condition any negotiations with Iranian officials to an end to human rights violations inside the country and terrorism abroad. Unconditional negotiations with autocrats in Iran merely incite them to carry out more abuses of human rights and more terror plots, they say.
Zarif Personally Involved in Iranian Terrorism and Hostage-Taking
