Belgian court sentences Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi to 20 years in jail on charges of a bomb plot targeting a 2018 opposition rally north of Paris.
2) -Belgian court stripped #Iran's diplomat-terrorist Assadollah Assadi of his diplomatic immunity
-Bomb was tested in Iran
-Bomb was transferred in diplomatic suitcase of Assadi from Tehran to Vienna.
Nasimeh Naami—18 years in jail
Mehrdad Arefani—17 yrs
Amir Saadouni—15 yrs
3) Iranian diplomat convicted of planning bomb attack against exiled opposition group in France, given 20-year sentence washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…
4) The case, which represents the first trial of an Iranian official for terrorism in the EU, sheds light on Tehran’s terror activities abroad just as it hopes the arrival of new US president will herald a loosening of sanctions. thearabweekly.com/verdict-terror…
5) Belgian court revokes the Belgian citizenship of Assadi's three accomplices, Nasimeh Naami, Mehrdad Arefani & Amir Saadouni.
6) An Iranian official on Thursday was convicted of masterminding a thwarted bomb attack against an exiled Iranian opposition group in France in 2018 and sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Belgian court that rejected his claim of diplomatic immunity. apnews.com/article/iran-t…
7) Iranian spymaster tried to cover bomb plot tracks with family tour of German castles
A police surveillance team monitored Assadi meeting Amir Saadouni and his wife Nasimeh Naami in Luxembourg where he handed over the bomb to be used in the attack. thenationalnews.com/world/europe/i…
8) On 30 June 2018, Belgian police officers tipped off by intelligence services about a possible attack, stopped a couple traveling in a Mercedes car. In their luggage, they found 550 grams of the unstable TATP explosive & a detonator. washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…
9) As Assadi was outside Austria at the time of his arrest, German authorities said his diplomatic immunity as a counselor at Iran's embassy in Vienna did not apply and he was extradited to Belgium. dw.com/en/belgium-ira…
10) Belgium’s bomb disposal unit said the device was of professional quality. It could have caused a sizable explosion and panic in the crowd. abcnews.go.com/International/…
11) Prosecutors said he was the “operational commander” of the attack and accused him of recruiting the couple — Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami — years before the attack, to obtain information about the opposition. #ShutDownIranTerrorEmbassies finance.yahoo.com/finance/news/i…
12) Among dozens of prominent guests at the rally that day were Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani; Newt Gingrich, former conservative speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. startribune.com/iranian-diplom…
13) Belgian prosecution lawyers & civil parties to the prosecution said Vienna-based diplomat Assadi was found guilty of attempted terrorism after a plot to bomb an NCRI rally near Paris in June 2018 was foiled by German, French and Belgian police. reuters.com/article/iran-p…
14) Former Columbian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt
"This judgement calls for a severe European response. No more accommodation, no more submitting our values to political and economic interests."
15) @GiulioTerzi
"Those who appease the mullahs’ regime must be aware that the mask is finally off. The regime is certified as a terrorist state by the court."
16) @PandeliMajko
This clarifies #Iran’s official status. Iran’s leaders have imprisoned their country. They are now faced with international law and public opinion at home.
18) @PJK4brainhealth
"It's time to call Iran for what it is: a terrorist state. It's time to expel their diplomats. It's time that we have a new Iran."
19) @steve_mccabe
"This is the time for tougher action, reduced diplomatic relations, and reconsideration of our longer term relations with this regime. Terrorists are terrorists."
22) @jmclement86
"It should send a strong signal to European diplomacy, especially French diplomacy. The Iranian regime is a criminal system, not a political system."
24) Gen. James Jones, former U.S. Nat. Sec. Adv.
"It is now time to end our conciliatory approach toward this regime & adopt a much firmer policy. This is a regime that is taking its last breaths."
26) Dr. Tahar Boumedra, former UNAMI Human Rights Office chief in Iraq
"I call on the EU & member states to start a new type of relationship with this regime that would leave no room for complacency & would hold all criminals accountable for their acts." pscp.tv/iran_policy/1j…
27) @KimmoSasi
"The EU has to show how serious they are in fighting for human rights, especially the right to life."
28) @paulocasaca1
"Diplomatic statutes cannot be used for terrorist activities. European states must reevaluate all the credentials of Iranian diplomats."
30) @giannagancia
"We need a stronger policy against the threatening activities of the Iranian regime in Europe. We in Europe need to be firm against the actions of the Iranian regime."
@giannagancia 31) @Baird
"For more than 40 years, the regime in Tehran has been sponsoring terrorism around the world. The Iranian regime, including their president Hassan Rouhani, targeted the Iranian opposition."
@STRUANSTEVENSON 35)
Amb. Robert Joseph
"... for the EU, this should mean the adoption of a firm policy, including designating the MOIS and the IRGC as terrorist entities."
#Iran official identified an undercover agent was convicted of masterminding a thwarted bomb attack against an exiled Iranian opposition group in 2018 & sentenced to 20 years in prison seeing his claim of diplomatic immunity rejected. #Time4FirmIranPolicy bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
A court in Belgium convicted Iranian "diplomat" Assadollah Assadi of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.
NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee member Farzin Hashemi
"It is important in the U.S. and Europe to take this matter very seriously and make sure the right policy is adopted."
1) #Iran’s “diplomat” Assadollah Assadi is awaiting a ruling tomorrow in a Belgian court his role in a foiled bomb plot targeting an opposition rally in June 2018.
@eu_eeas should stand firm & impose justice as deserved.
3) #Iran is responsible for the attempted bomb attack by a diplomat and several others at an event held by an exiled Iranian opposition group in France in 2018, the civil party’s lawyer Rik Vanreusel says. #EUTime4FirmIranPolicy
#Iran's "moderate" President @HassanRouhani:
-No article of the 2015 nuclear deal (#JCPOA) will be changed.
-No individual (party) will be added to the JCPOA either.
-The Americans should know that to this day they
have been in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Former Iranian diplomat Amir Mousavi
-#Iran doesn’t need nuclear weapons to “put an end” to the Zionist entity [Israel]
–However, @khamenei_ir might resort to changing fatwa banning nuclear weapons.
"We haven't... had any discussions with the Iranians, and I wouldn't expect we would until those initial steps go forward," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price on the #Iran nuclear deal. #JCPOA
April 29, 2013 #Iran's dictator Ali @Khamenei_ir meeting with a Taliban delegation on the sidelines of the ‘Scholars and Islamic Awakening’ conference in Tehran.
Senior IRGC member:
-[In 1990s] we were in Bosnia as Red Crescent providing military training to jihadists.
-We were w/ Al-Qaeda. They learned our style.
-We established jihadi units w/ [extremists] from across the globe.