Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Washington, D.C., June 17, 2020—The majority of the members of U.S. Congress condemned the terrorist activities of the Iranian regime in a resolution sponsored by over 220 lawmakers. Drafted by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, H. RES. 374 also expresses support “for the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear republic of Iran.”
The resolution was presented at an event hosted by the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC), in which several lawmakers delivered speeches. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), addressed the conference in a video message, in which she reiterated the need to support the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy.
In their resolution, the U.S. lawmakers reiterated several acts of terrorist committed by the Iranian regime, including a foiled terror plot against the Free Iran 2018 rally of the Iranian resistance in France, which was coordinated by a senior regime diplomat based in Vienna.
“Assadollah Assadi, a senior Iranian diplomat based in the Iranian embassy in Vienna, Austria, was arrested in Germany in connection with the planned terror plot in Paris,” the resolution reads, adding that “the Iranian diplomat has been charged in Belgium in connection with the Paris terror plot and in Germany with ‘activity as a foreign agent and conspiracy to commit murder.’”
The Free Iran gathering was attended by Mrs. Rajavi and prominent politicians from the U.S., including Rudy Giuliani and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Assadi and his co-conspirators were arrested on the eve of the rally, which was scheduled for July 1. On July 10, a senior Department of State official said, “Iran uses embassies as cover to plot terrorist attacks,” referring to the foiled terror plot.
The House resolution also refers to other acts of terror and espionage committed by the Iranian regime, including the surveillance of NCRI members in the U.S., conducted by agents of the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). Two suspects were arrested in this regard and put on trial in the U.S. According to a Department of Justice Federal complaint, their charges may have included “apprehension, recruitment, cyber exploitation, or capture/kill operations.”
The list of the Iranian regime’s terror activities goes on, including bombing plots against member of Iranian opposition People Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Albania, which led to a series of confrontations between Tehran and Tirana and eventually led to the expulsion of the Iranian regime’s ambassador from Albania.
“Iran’s malign activities in the Balkans, specifically its presence and activities in Albania, pose a serious threat to United States national security interests,” the U.S. lawmakers write.
The Congress Resolution also draws attention to the human rights violations of the Iranian regime at home, including the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 and the brutal suppression of demonstrations in 1999, 2009, and 2017.
While condemning the Iranian regime’s terrorist activities, the resolution called on the U.S. government to “hold Iran accountable for breaching diplomatic privileges” and to “call on nations to prevent the malign activities of the Iranian regime’s diplomatic missions, with the goal of closing them down, including the Iranian embassy in Albania.”
The lawmakers reiterated their support for the peaceful protests of the Iranian people against “an oppressive and corrupt regime” and their struggle to “establish a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear republic of Iran.”
In her remarks, Mrs. Rajavi said, “This Resolution, co-sponsored by a bipartisan majority of members of Congress, reflects the American people’s support for Iranian people’s desire for a free Iran, a republic based on people’s free vote, separation of religion and state, gender equality, respect for the rights of ethnic groups, and a non-nuclear Iran.”
While commending the call to hold the mullahs accountable and to adopt decisive measures, such as the closure of the regime’s centers of espionage and terror across Europe, Mrs. Rajavi said, “The people of Iran are encouraged to see that the lawmakers have expressed support for their right to rise up against a repressive and corrupt regime. Now, the time has come to stop the activities of the regime’s agents and entities in the U.S. under whatever pretext.”
“This is the first House resolution for a free Iran relying on the Iranian people for a free Iran,” said Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA), adding that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was informed of the resolution this week. “The NCRI is steadily gaining momentum & thus become the main target of the regime's terrorism.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said, “America stands in solidarity with brave Iranians for a new chapter. We stand with the Iranian people.” Sherman also reiterated his support for extending the UN arms embargo against the mullahs' regime.
“To the Iranian people, we in the Congress will never end our support for you and your ambitions of freedom,” said Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), to which he added the need to impose the “strongest ever sanctions targeting Iran's regime and its proxies around the world.”
