Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, August 20, 2020—The Special Tribunal for Lebanon ruled on Tuesday August 19, 2020 that Lebanon's prime minister Rafik Hariri Hariri was assassinated by the terrorist group Hezbollah senior operatives.
An international court tribunal confirmed on Tuesday, August 19, that Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated by senior operatives of the terrorist group Hezbollah in 2005.
Hezbollah is an extension of the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), was founded and nurtured by the mullahs’ regime, and has been funded, armed and trained by the IRGC throughout its existence.
The ruling was welcomed by the international community and countries of the Middle East region, which have suffered greatly at the hands of Hezbollah and other Iranian regime proxies.
“The truth is revealed today and only justice remains,” Hariri’s son Saad said to the reporters and pledged not to rest until the justice is done. “The time has come to hold Hezbollah accountable. Today, Hezbollah should pay the price.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's ruling, which found Hezbollah operative Salim Ayyash guilty for his role in the 2005 terrorist attack. Pompeo said that ending impunity is imperative to ensuring Lebanon’s security, stability, and sovereignty.
We welcome @STLebanon's ruling today, which found Hizballah operative Salim Ayyash guilty for his role in the 2005 terrorist attack that killed Rafik Hariri and 21 others in Beirut. Ending impunity is imperative to ensuring Lebanon’s security, stability, & sovereignty.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 18, 2020
By calling for justice and the punishment of Hezbollah and its criminal operatives, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry stressed that Hezbollah “is considered a tool of the Iranian regime and has proven its involvement in sabotage and terrorist acts in many countries, and the assassination of Mr. Rafik Hariri was one of the most affecting crimes on the security and stability of Lebanon.”
Ashraf Rifi, Lebanon’s former Minister of Justice, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Hariri’s assassination was not the result of a hasty decision. It was carefully planned by the Iranian regime and with the logistic support of Hezbollah and Syrian intelligence.
The common denominator of all remarks is the behind-the-scenes role of the Iranian regime and its proxies in the assassination of Hariri.
The court ruling once again highlighted the destructive policies of the mullahs’ regime ruling in Iran as the main source of terror and instability in the region. And as Hariri’s eldest son Bahaa mentioned, “The Hezbollah has no place in the future of Lebanon.”
The position of the Iranian Resistance
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) stressed that that the assassination of Hariri was ordered by the regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself, planned by the now-dead terrorist Qassem Soleimani.
“Ten years ago, Khamenei explicitly stated the regime’s policy and actions vis-à-vis this court. In a meeting with the Emir of Qatar on November 22, 2010, Khamenei brazenly threatened the court and said, ‘This court is a setup court, and any ruling it issues would be rejected. We hope that those in Lebanon who are influential and effective, act with wisdom so that the issue would not turn into a problem,’” said the NCRI.
Mohammad Mohaddessin, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NCRI, described Hariri’s assassination as “part of the Iranian regime’s plan to finalize their control over Lebanon.”
3-Hariri’s assassination was part of the Iranian regime’s plan to finalize their control over Lebanon. The only solution is expelling the IRGC & their proxies from #Lebanon . This is a duty on the shoulders of the UNSC & all related parties that seek peace & stability in Lebanon.
— Mohammad Mohaddessin (@Mohaddessin) August 19, 2020
Since many years ago, the NCRI and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) have underlined the danger of mullahs’ destructive policies in the Middle East and export of terrorism and fundamentalism. The world community is now acknowledging this reality. The main victims of the regime’s terrorism were, of course, the Iranian people, since the regime’s export of extremism has come at the expense of the Iranian people and from Iran’s national wealth.
In a webinar held on Wednesday, Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the NCRI US Representative Office said that despite more than 90,000 Covid-19 deaths across Iran, the regime continues to spend the people’s wealth on its terrorist proxies.
“The regime has provided $400 million to Hezbollah in Lebanon in the past six months as opposed to $300 million to counter the Covid-19 pandemic for a population of 85 million in Iran. That’s 59 cents per person per month,” Jafarzadeh said explained, adding that while the highest paid nurses in Iran get at most $200 per month, the Iranian regime pays its proxies at least five times that amount. “This shows where the priorities of this regime are,” Jafarzadeh said.
As the NCRI said in its statement, the court ruling shows once again that the only solution for the Middle East is to expel the Iranian regime from Lebanon and to cut off the tentacles of the Revolutionary Guards and its Lebanese branch from the country. “This is the responsibility of the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and all parties who want peace, security, and tranquility in Lebanon and the wider Middle East,” the NCRI wrote.
