For Immediate Release 17th February 2021—
A group of senior politicians and experts on Iran have written to Charles Michel, President of the European Council, expressing their dismay over the silence of the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the recent case of the Iranian diplomat found guilty of terrorism and attempted murder in Belgium. In a hard-hitting letter, the International Committee of ‘In Search of Justice’ (ISJ), a Brussels-registered NGO, which seeks to promote human rights, freedom, democracy, peace and stability in Iran, say that Assadollah Assadi, the diplomat from the Iranian embassy in Vienna, was supervising a terrorist network across the EU and warn that carnage will occur if retaliatory action against Iran is not taken now.
The ISJ letter was signed by Dr Alejo Vidal Quadras, former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Giulio Terzi, former foreign minister of Italy, Struan Stevenson, former UK Conservative MEP and Paulo Casaca, former Portuguese Socialist MEP. They point out in their letter that “Assadi, who has been exposed as a senior trained agent of the terrorist-listed Ministry of Security & Intelligence (MOIS), had collected and tested the bomb in Tehran and flown to Vienna in a commercial airliner, with the device in his diplomatic bag. Throughout the trial, he claimed diplomatic immunity and refused to appear. As such, there can be no doubt Assadi’s terrorist outrage was planned and ordered from the highest echelons of the regime, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the president Hassan Rouhani, the foreign Minister Javad Zarif and the Minister of Intelligence Mahmoud Alavi.”
Stating that “there can surely be no further ‘business-as-usual’ with a regime that uses terrorism as statecraft” the ISJ say that “it is absolutely essential for the EU to take steps against the Iranian regime such as closing its embassies and making all future diplomatic relations contingent on Iran ending its terrorism on European soil.” The ISJ are demanding action against the Iranian regime’s foreign minister Javad Zarif for his role in the murderous bomb plot and they have launched a withering attack on the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security, Josep Borrell, for his total silence on the outrage. The ISJ letter states that “far from seeking to indict Zarif for this crime, it appears that Josep Borrell is again determined to reinstate his proposed 3-day online business conference with the Iranian regime, financed by the EU, at which Zarif will be a keynote speaker. A more catastrophic capitulation to the Iranian regime’s attempts to bomb and kill people on European soil can barely be imagined and we urge you to intervene without delay.”
The ISJ letter concludes by saying “where a ‘diplomat’ has attempted to effect mass murder in Europe, potentially killing and maiming many EU and other citizens, it is incumbent on the EU now to take tough retaliatory action.” Speaking from his home in Madrid, Dr Alejo Vidal Quadras, President of ISJ, said: “The silence of the EEAS and their blatant attempts to appease this terrorist regime are a disgrace and place EU citizens at risk from future attacks.”