Europe’s countries have a long and shameful tradition of appeasing Iran’s totalitarian regime. They have done so in the face of the regime’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, such as by signing on to a JCPOA deal in 2015, which Iran was able to quickly and with immunity breach after realizing it was not getting sufficiently economic benefits from its former adversaries. They did so despite ongoing human rights violations, including threats to Western land, workers, and critical interests.
Through more than four decades of failed attempts to incite an illusory trend of moderation within the Iranian regime, this pattern has barely changed.
Unfortunately, this reality has only strengthened Iran’s nefarious activities. However, the evidence is clear that Iranian officials have stretched their luck too far, exposing themselves to increasing levels of international pressure and pushing at least some Western politicians to the point where they can no longer accept the ongoing Iranian attacks and offenses.
More than 100 Iranian cities and towns marched in demonstrations demanding a total regime change from December 2018 to January 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) on December 15, 2019.
Following thousands of killings and thousands of arrests by the regime’s officials, Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi called for a “year full of uprisings.” Recognizing the connection between this appeal and a series of localized demonstrations and labor disputes, the regime chose to sabotage the key source of international funding for Iranian “Resistance” units.
In March, in response to this event, a plot to detonate a truck bomb was set at the Albanian headquarters of Iran’s most powerful opposition party, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran). When the scheme was foiled and two Iranian diplomats were expelled from the region, the regime simply set its sights higher, ordering another high-ranking diplomat to lead a mission to bomb the MEK’s parent alliance, the National Council of Resistance of Iran annual’s meeting of Iranian expatriates in France.
Presuming the European conciliation and appeasement measures continue in the close future, it would be hard to underestimate how Tehran will continue to take advantage of the situation to extend its oppressive policies. The result will be a double tragedy in the face of several nationwide uprisings by the Iranian people.
Some American and European lawmakers, fortunately, understand both the Resistance’s achievements against the regime and the importance of the Resistance’s democratic, egalitarian, and non-nuclear platform. Such lawmakers were well-represented at the 2018 Free Iran rally, and they’ve been leading the charge in pressuring their own governments to implement or uphold measures that prioritize pressure over negotiation ever since. We can only hope that, in the face of all that has occurred in the last few years, the EU leadership would not disregard their pleas.
MEK Iran (follow them on Twitter and Facebook)
and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube
