Foreign ministers who were representing countries taking part in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal held a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss the chances of salvaging the agreement by asking the United States to rejoin the discussions after the presidential transition has taken place on January 20.
Despite the discussions, no significant changes in strategy from any of the six countries involved is expected to take place. While Russia and China still firmly support the Islamic Republic, the 3 European signatories are still not prepared to challenge Iran’s theocratic government in any significant way.
Could not agree more. EU Ministers Must Address Tehran’s Terrorism and Human Rights Abuses during Nuclear Talks https://t.co/dkVzUYmo50 via @Iran_Focus @eu_eeas @JosepBorrellF @iran_policy
— Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) December 22, 2020
The British, French, and German foreign ministers basically used this meeting as a chance to beg Iran to be patient, in anticipation that the U.S. will be walking back its assertive policies that the Trump administration adopted which closely matches the suggestions on offer from Europe.
Typically, the U.S. has pushed for “maximum pressure” on the Iranian government over the last two and a half years while the European Union imposed no new consequences for destructive activities, even when the mullahs’ regime stopped its compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) altogether.
It is hard to imagine what incentive Tehran would have to comply with any Western demands under those circumstances. And even if it did, the relevant changes would just be limited to the activity taking place in the nuclear sphere.
Monday’s meeting typically gave the ayatollahs a free pass so that it could continue with its provocations and abuses in other areas but it has been recommended that they are unlikely to face little to no consequences as long as the JCPOA remained technically in force.
EU leaders appear to have ignored developments in Belgium where an Iranian diplomat, with the full connivance of the regime in Iran, has stood trial accused of planning a bomb attack in the heart of Europe targeting Iranian resistance, the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI), and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), rally on June 30, 2018.
Assadi was aided and abetted by three others with joint Iranian European nationality. The diplomat, Assodallah Assadi, was caught red-handed and has since arrogantly attempted to threaten Belgian authorities with potential “action” by unspecified agents.
The fact that an Iranian diplomat should be able to even think of killing and maiming people right on European soil seems to have been ignored by European leaders, perhaps because it forces them to confront the terrible human rights performance of the Iranian regime.
The fact is that although Assadi maybe the first Iranian diplomat to be charged with a terrorist offense in Europe it is certainly not the first time that Iranian agents have carried out or planned to carry out terrorist activities in the continent.
This policy of ignoring the worst abuses by Tehran simply allows the mullahs to think that they can repeat their abuses all over again. The fact that Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, one of those who knew all about the bomb plot, is being feted by EU leaders in a business conference at the moment is a sign that important lessons have not yet been learned.
The Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI), and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) has consistently pointed out the mistake in appeasing the Iranian regime at the same time highlighting the human rights abuses, including arrests and executions of protesters that occur within Iran.
The regime in Iran has every reason to keep up its policy of severely cracking down on any form of dissent within and outside of Iran as long as it can get away with it. Over 1,500 protesters were killed by snipers during the last major uprising in Iran in November 2019.
Reuters confirmed in a special report on December 23, 2019, about the deadly crackdown on November nationwide protests in Iran the death toll of 1500 that was announced by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) on December 15, 2019.
Arrests, torture, and executions continue today. These abuses are simply being ignored by EU and British leaders who turn a blind eye to whatever the Iranian regime does in Iran as long as it pretends to stick to the nuclear agreement.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) has made the point over and over again that action against the Iranian regime can only help the Iranian people and this in the long term secures safeguards for the whole of Europe as well.
and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube
