Analyzing by PMOI/MEK
Iran, March 25, 2021—In 1996, when a court in Germany condemned the Iranian regime’s leadership for the murder of Kurdish opposition members in the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin, Tehran faced a strong message from Europe. European Union governments recalled their ambassadors from Iran and the Iranian regime was in turn forced to recall its ambassadors from Europe.
Eighteen years later, on February 4, 2021, an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, stood trial in Antwerp in Belgium for his leading role in a bomb plot against the annual rally of the Iranian opposition in France in 2018.
Assadi’s conviction came as a humiliating blow to the regime on the international stage. The relations of western countries with the clerical regime changed dramatically. The regime is in a much lower and weaker position globally, and many European lawmakers are questioning a “business as usual” relation with Tehran.
But the response to the regime’s evident breach of international norms and values leaves a lot to desire. The court clearly indicated that the orders for the terror attack came from Iran. The explosives were made in Iran and Assadi transferred them to Vienna in a diplomatic pouch on a commercial flight. The regime’s Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS), the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were all involved in the planning and orchestration of the failed attack. The terrorist case highlighted the meticulous coordination and cooperation between the regime’s diplomatic and terror apparatus. But despite undeniable evidence that the regime used its embassies and diplomatic channels to facilitate terrorist operations, European states did not close down Iranian embassies or take measures to clamp down on future attacks.
The West has time and again given the regime concessions and let it off the hook for its crimes, hoping that appeasement will contain the regime’s provocative behavior and help it become a responsible member of the international community.
But the main question is, why does the regime flout all attempts at rapprochement and makes no effort to improve its outlook by toning down its threatening behavior?
The answer lies in the unchangeable nature of the mullahs’ regime. Since the 1979 revolution, when the mullahs came to power, they made domestic repression and export of terrorism two main pillars of their rule. This is the only means of survival for a regime that is at war with the world and its own people.
Therefore, the regime’s entire structure and hierarchy has been designed to serve these two functions. The IRGC and its foreign terrorist outfit, the Quds Force, have considerable influence and clout on the regime’s foreign policy.
The IRGC’s tight integration into every aspect of Iran’s policy has made the mullahs’ regime a symbol of nuclear extortion, Islamic fundamentalism, recruitment of terror cells, development of weapons of mass destruction, and hostage taking. The regime has worked hard to make violence and terrorism its unique selling point, and it will not let it go anytime soon.
This is why the regime continues the nuclear standoff despite calls for returning to its JCPOA commitments. This is why it squanders billions of dollars on underground missile cities while the Iranian people are struggling to provide their basic needs. And this is why it continues its terrorist ventures through its embassies despite the threats such activities pose to its diplomatic stature.
Embassy staff are pawns in the regime’s terrorist network. And this is a reality that will not change regardless of how many concessions the West gives to the regime. The world should make it clear for the mullahs’ regime that it will not give in to Tehran’s extortion anymore.
Instead of signaling that every arrested terrorist and sanction breacher can escape through prisoner swaps, western states should show the mullahs that breaching diplomatic commitments, taking dual nationals as hostages, and conducting terror and rocket attacks will have consequences.
As far as the people of Iran are concerned, they have made it clear that they will no longer tolerate the regime’s repressive policies. In the past few years, they have taken to the streets time and again and called for regime change despite brutal repression by security forces. They are determined to overthrow this regime and establish freedom and democracy in their country
The world must show it is as courageous as the Iranian people, stand on the right side of history, and stand firm against the regime’s terrorism and human rights abuses.
