Measures must be taken to stop the foreign terrorism of the Iranian regime.

Measures must be taken to stop the foreign terrorism of the Iranian regime.

Despite the protests and the major internal crisis facing the Iranian regime, the Islamic Republic shows no signs of backing down from its terrorist activities abroad.

For example, the Associated Press reported last month that an Albanian court had convicted an Iranian national on terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, according to court officials. It was suspected that he worked for the Iranian secret services. “The Albanian Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime found Bijan Pooladrag guilty of financing terrorism and being a member of a terrorist organization. No details were released about Pooladrag’s age, his hometown or when he arrived in Albania,” the AP wrote. He continued: “Pooladrag was arrested two years ago on suspicion of spying on members of the Iranian opposition group Mojahedin-e-Khalq, or MEK, some 3,000 of whom live in exile in Albania.”

It appears that in some countries, where the Iranian regime is unable to establish militia groups, it instead attempts to establish terror cells. Pooladrag’s conviction came just months after Albania detained six other Iranians. Albanian news outlet News24 reported in August: “Pooladrag is accused of being part of a terrorist cell that intended to attack senior Iranian opposition officials, who live in Ashraf 3. He received orders and instructions via the Telegram app… One The defendant had been ordered by intelligence officers from the Iranians to purchase a Kalashnikov machine gun on the black market and find trained people who could commit murder.”

In addition, the Albanian Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime issued search warrants against Hassan Heyrani, Mehdi Soleimani, Gholamreza Shekari, Mostafa Beheshti, Abdolrahman Mohammadian, Hassan Shahbaz, Sarfaraz Rahimi, Mahmoud Dehghan Gourabi, Mohammad Reza Seddigh, Reza Islami and Ali. Hajari. They were accused of “receiving money from Iran’s secret services, the Quds Force and the IRGC.

In some countries, where the Iranian regime cannot establish militia groups, it tries to establish terror cells instead.

dr majid rafizadeh

It should come as no surprise that one of the regime’s own diplomats, Assadollah Assadi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium for his role in a 2018 terror plot. Assadi reportedly delivered explosive materials to his accomplices with the aim of bombing an Iranian opposition rally in Paris, which I attended. If the plot had not been discovered at the last minute, hundreds of people could have been killed, including international dignitaries and many European parliamentarians.

The Iranian regime apparently uses its embassies, cultural and diplomatic centers in foreign countries to act as cells to organize and build terror groups. A 2017 Kuwait Supreme Court ruling revealed how Iran’s embassy there played a role in the formation of terror cells. As a result, the Iranian ambassador and other diplomats were expelled.

Last June, Turkey detained eight members of an Iranian cell planning to kill Israelis in the country. The IHA news agency reported: “The hitmen from the assassination team, who took up residence in two separate rooms on the second and fourth floors of a hotel in Beyoglu, were (detained) with a large quantity of weapons and ammunition.” Israel’s then Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said of the plot: “We are not only talking about the murder of innocent Israeli tourists, but also about a clear violation of Turkish sovereignty by Iranian terror.”

The terrorist plots of the Iranian regime can also be found in other European countries. For example, another Iranian regime operative, Mohammed Davoudzadeh Loloei, was sentenced to seven years in prison by a Danish court in 2020 after being convicted of spying for Iran and his involvement in a plot to kill an Arab opposition leader. Iranian. cluster.

It is worth noting that in a rare interview with a state TV channel in 2019, former Iranian Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian revealed that the Intelligence Ministry has long used the services of “friendly journalists” and “scholars.” to advance your schedule. abroad, including their disinformation campaigns. “We don’t send an agent to Germany or the United States and, for example, we say, okay, I’m an agent of the Ministry of Intelligence…Obviously, he would work under the cover of business or other jobs, including reporters. You know, a lot of our reporters are actually ministry agents,” he boasted.

To properly address and counter the Iranian regime’s terrorist plots abroad, the international community must hold it accountable. Governments can also adopt strong policies and even pass laws to expel Iranian “diplomats” and intelligence agents, who may be plotting new terrorist attacks. Closing Iranian embassies until Tehran stops its terrorist activities is also a critical step. Furthermore, and most fundamentally, they must designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies as terrorist organizations.

In short, until the international community takes firm action against the Iranian regime, the Islamic Republic will continue to engage in terrorist activities abroad.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Arab News.

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