Analysis by PMOI/MEK
July 2, 2018 – An Iranian diplomat identified as Asdollah Assadi will see his diplomatic immunity lifted by Austria following his suspected involvement in a terrorist plot in Belgium that planned to target the annual Iranian opposition convention held Saturday near Paris, according to various outlets.
Assadi would be “deprived of his diplomatic status within 48 hours because of the existence of a European arrest warrant” against him, according to the Austrian Foreign Ministry that made a statement on Tuesday.
The Iranian regime’s ambassador in Vienna was summoned on Monday, questioned on the situation and asked to clarify the issue, a statement explained.
Assadi, a diplomat of the Iranian regime’s embassy in Vienna, was arrested in Germany over the weekend.
The Belgian government is accusing him of being involved in a plot aiming to attack the June 30th convention where a massive crowd of the Iranian Diaspora – described as around 100,000 by The Washington Times and tweet by former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich – expressed their support for the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a coalition of Iranian opposition groups seeking to overthrow Iran’s clerical regime.
In Paris almost 100,000 people gathered to demand the replacement of the Iranian dictatorship. The Free Iran rally was impressive and emotionally powerful. Leaders from all over the world came to Paris to demand freedom for the Iranian people.
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) July 1, 2018
Other dignitaries have highlighted the possible catastrophe that could have resulted if the plot was successful.
The Iranian opposition rally that the Iranian regime networks wanted to target with terror attacks. Tens of thousands of unarmed participants. It could have been a major massacre..@Reuters @FoxNews @foxandfriends @FoxBusiness @AlArabiya_Eng @alarabiya @AlArabiya_Brk pic.twitter.com/pGeSjbjgme
— Walid Phares (@WalidPhares) July 2, 2018
Other suspects, five in total up to now, have been detained in Belgium and Frances, according to authorities in these two countries.
Belgian authorities were the first to reveal the terrorist plot
announcing on July 2 that the arrest of a husband and wife team took place on June 30 while they possessed 500 grams of TATP explosives along with a detonation device, all found in their Mercedes-Benz vehicle.
The suspected couple, who are described as Belgian nationals of Iranian origin, are now facing charges of attempted terrorist murder and preparing a terrorist attack.
French authorities have also detained three individuals for questioning in association with this developing case.
Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, had issued a statement on this highly sensitive subject.
“This accentuates the growing sense that the regime that is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world is increasingly weakened by constant large demonstrations in over 140 cities. It is also becoming apparent that Madam Maryam Rajavi and the NCRI pose a realistic alternative to this homicidal regime.”
