As someone who was the target of a criminal assassination attempt in Madrid on November 9, 2023, I welcome the recent report by the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD). This report attributes the assassination attempt on me, as well as a similar case in Haarlem, the Netherlands, to the Iranian regime. AIVD’s findings confirm what I have asserted from the outset: the clerical regime in Tehran organized this terrorist act because I have for decades been a staunch critic of the ruling terrorist dictatorship in Iran and a supporter of the Iranian Resistance, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
AIVD’s acknowledgment that the Iranian regime uses criminal networks to silence its opponents is an important step in exposing Tehran’s vile tactics. The terrorist act against me was no random incident; it was a calculated attempt to suppress dissent and instill fear among defenders of freedom and human rights. Prior to the attack, the Iranian regime had placed me at the top of its blacklist.
AIVD’s emphasis on the Iranian regime’s role in terrorist activities in Europe underscores the urgent imperative of designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and closing down the regime’s embassies and missions across Europe. This aligns with the European Union’s position of April 29, 1997, which called for the expulsion of the Iranian regime’s intelligence agents from EU territory. These measures are essential for safeguarding the lives of European citizens and Iranian refugees.
My survival was nothing short of a miracle, but the threat remains for others targeted by Tehran’s machinery of repression and terrorism. I express my solidarity with all victims of the Iranian regime’s campaign of terror.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras
President, International Committee in Search of Justice
Former Vice President of the European Parliament