The Iranian regime has imposed sanctions on 61 more Americans, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for supporting Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), Tehran said on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Most of these American dignitaries had long stood against the wrongful designation of the PMOI/MEK as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department and supported the PMOI/MEK members when Iraqi forces associated to the mullahs’ regime of Iran launched attacks against their sites in camps Ashraf and Liberty prior to their departure to Albania in 2016.
Others blacklisted by the regime’s Foreign Ministry for voicing support for the MEK included Republican former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House national security adviser John Bolton, according to the mullahs’ state media.
Tehran designates 61 prominent Americans including 30 bi-partisan sitting Members of U.S. Congress for their opposition to the prior designation of the main Iranian opposition movement, the MEK, and to #Iran regime’s killing of its members. https://t.co/oNSZ6yEHzO pic.twitter.com/8fx7PWff6T
— Alireza Jafarzadeh (@A_Jafarzadeh) July 16, 2022
Iranian Resistance Leader Mr. Massoud Rajavi described this latest move by Tehran as yet another reason why Belgium must not release Tehran’s convicted diplomat-terrorist Assadollah Assadi who remains imprisoned in for a bombing plot targeting the 2018 Free Iran gathering held just north of Paris in support of the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.
The government of Belgium and the Iranian regime sought to push through a secret prisoner exchange agreement that would secure the release of Assadi and his three accomplices. Many of those designated by the Iranian regime are would be targets of the regime’s terror plot pursued through Assadi.
“These 61 personalities were among plaintiffs in the terrorism case in Belgium that involved terrorism directed by the ruling religious fascism in Iran. This is another reason why the Belgian government must not release the bomb-plotting diplomat and his accomplices. Considering the regime’s designation of US personalities, releasing Assadi and his accomplices is a flagrant violation of international law, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 1373,” Mr. Rajavi underscored.
A Belgium-Iran treaty must uphold Belgium’s intl obligations & cannot grant impunity to Assadollah Asadi or any other actor responsible for human rights violations & heinous acts of terrorism. Iran must be held to account for backing terrorism & taking hostages for leverage. https://t.co/lXEhkG2dRI
— Senate Foreign Relations Committee (@SFRCdems) July 5, 2022
The sanctions, issued against dozens of Americans in the past on various grounds, allowing Iranian regime authorities to seize any assets they hold in Iran. The steps, announced as U.S. President Joe Biden wrapped up his trip to the Middle East, appear largely symbolic given the likely absence of such assets, Reuters explained.
Giuliani, Pompeo, and Bolton, have been widely reported to have taken part in MEK events and voiced support for the opposition MEK. Tehran had previously imposed sanctions on 51 Americans back in January and another 24 in April.
The regime’s indirect talks with the United States on reviving the 2015 nuclear pact began in November in Vienna and continued in Qatar in June. But the negotiations have faced a months-long impasse.
https://twitter.com/amsafavi/status/1548403840231231489
The Biden administration has pledged to support and protect all Americans despite any disagreements over politics or policy, Reuters added.
“The United States will protect and defend its citizens.”
This includes those serving the United States now and those who formerly served,” a State Department spokesperson said on Saturday. “We are united in our resolve against threats and provocations, and we will work with our allies and partners to deter and respond to any attacks carried out by Iran.”
The list of Americans sanctioned on June 16 by the Iranian regime is as follows:
- Mike Pompeo
- Robert Torricelli
- Rudy Giuliani
- Joseph Isadore “Joe” Lieberman
- Robert Joseph
- Michael Mukasey
- Louis Freeh
- John Robert Bolton
- Marc Ginsberg
- John M.” Jack” Keane
- Charles F. Wald
- Nathan A. Sales
- Lincoln Bloomfield
- Mary Landrieu
- Frances Townsend
- Gen. James T. Conway
- Deborah Lee James
- Gary Faye Locke
- Patrick Kennedy
- Linda Chavez
- Mitchell Reiss
- Joe Donnelly
- Bill Ritter, Jr
- Steve Bullock
- Philip Noman ” Phil Bredesen
- Timothy M. Boras
- Theresa Payton
- Donna Lease Brazile
- James Logan Jones Junior
- Pete Sessions
- Raul Ruiz
- Nicole Malliotakis
- Mario Diaz Balart
- Angie Craig
- Brad Schneider
- Thomas Earl “Tom” Emmer
- French Hill
- Sheila Jackson-Lee
- Brian Fitzpatrick
- Judy Chu
- Scott Perry
- Donald John Bacon
- Gwus Michael Bilirakis
- Kelly A. Ayotte
- Hakeem Jeffries
- Kevin McCarthy
- Brad Sherman
- Joe Wilson
- Dean Philips
- Cory Booker
- Roy Blunt
- Maggie Hassan
- Joni Ernst
- John Boozman
- Doug Jones
- Ted Cruz
- John Cornyn
- Thom Tillis
- Rick Scott
- Robert ” Bob” Menendez
- Jeanne Shaheen