Strasbourg, France, 22 Nov. 2023 – In a conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the assassination attempt on former European Parliament Vice President and the current President of the International Committee in Search of Justice, Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, was a focal point, amplifying calls for the European Union to take a stronger stance against the Iranian regime.
Dr. Vidal-Quadras, currently recuperating from an assassination attempt on November 9, conveyed a poignant written message to the conference. He accused the Iranian regime of being behind the attempt on his life, reflecting on the broader implications of Iran’s actions in Europe.
“Let me remind you that the Iranian regime uses four methods to impose its malignant will upon us. The first one is based on the panic Western governments feel for an Iran equipped with nuclear weapons. From that perspective, the JCPOA is purely tactical to buy time until they achieve their goals. The second is hostage taking and hostage swapping. The mullahs arrest innocent western visitors to Iran and after exchange them for convicted terrorists serving sentence in European or American territories. The third element relies on obscure interests of some big Western companies operating in Iran. On that particular point, doing business with the Iranian dictatorship is bread for today and hunger for tomorrow. And the fourth and last method is the capacity of the Iranian regime to plot and execute terrorist attacks as the one I have recently suffered. We must not forget that if you accept blackmailing once you will be blackmailed forever,” Dr. Vidal-Quadras, wrote.
“Let me state very clearly to you that the EU policy in relation to the Islamic Republic of Iran has to change and this change must be as profound as effective. For decades, the West has tried to appease, to negotiate, to dialogue and to make concessions. We have now all the evidence that this approach has not worked, and it will never work. One can make the effort to compromise with a rational enemy. Reaching an agreement with irrational Absolute Evil is just impossible,” EP Vice President until 2014 added.
Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), was the keynote speaker at the conference. She called for the EU to blacklist the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization and to shut down Iranian embassies. Rajavi linked the assassination attempt on Vidal-Quadras to the Iranian regime’s wider campaign of international terrorism.
“While the regime’s belligerence has engulfed the Middle East, its terrorism has jeopardized the security of European politicians and citizens. Nevertheless, the bullet that struck Mr. Vidal-Quadras in the face was a disgrace to the policy of appeasing Khamenei. This crime is the outcome of handing over the regime’s imprisoned terrorist-diplomat in Belgium and tolerating the presence of the network of agents and spies from the mullahs’ Intelligence Ministry in Europe. Indeed, isn’t it a proven fact that the regime’s embassies in Europe serve as its command headquarters for terrorism? Then, why have European governments failed to shut down those embassies?”
“The head of the snake is in Tehran, the epicenter for export of terrorism and warmongering,” Mrs. Rajavi said while calling on MEPs to urge their governments to:
- Place the IRGC on the terrorist list according to the EP resolution of January 19, 2023.
- Shut down the regime’s embassies in Europe.
- Expel the regime’s agents and spies from European institutions.
- Restore the UN Security Council’s six resolutions, consistent with Resolution 2231 and re-impose the sanctions against the clerical regime. Trigger the snapback mechanism to prevent petro dollars from pouring into the coffers of Khamenei and the IRGC.
- Recognize the Iranian people’s struggle for the regime’s overthrow and the young people’s fight against the IRGC.
A diverse group of MEPs, from a wide spectrum of political groups, including former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt MEP, former Foreign Minister of Poland Anna Fotyga MEP, Javier Zarzalejos MEP and Milan Zver MEP, co-chairs of the Friends of a Free Iran in the European Parliament, Ryszard Czarnecki MEP, Petri Sarvamaa MEP, Petras Auštrevičius MEP, Michèle Rivasi MEP, Anna Bonfrisco MEP, José Manuel Fernandes MEP, and Ivan Štefanec MEP. Former Defense Minister of Germany Dr. Franz Josef Jung also addressed the conference. The speakers collectively condemned the Iranian regime, pointing to its alleged involvement in terrorism and suppression both domestically and internationally.
The conference emphasized the importance of European solidarity in the face of threats posed by the Iranian regime.