The National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI), and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) reported that the Iranian regime is hoping that sanctions imposed on it will be soon relaxed and that the U.S. newly elected Biden led government will sign up to the nuclear deal again.
Iran violating the nuclear deal
“We have said time and again that if the U.S. decides to go back to its international commitments and lift all the illegal sanctions against Iran, we will go back to the full implementation of the deal,” said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recently.
The Iranian government has even tried to put pressure on the U.S. to recommit to the deal by February 21st.
Despite violating the nuclear deal, the JCPOA, repeatedly, the regime still expects that western governments will acquiesce to their demands.
The more the west prevaricates, dithers, and does nothing about Iran, the bolder the regime becomes. This is despite so many signs that the regime will do what it wants, wherever it wants, including planning to blow up its own opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI), and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) figures in the heart of Europe.
Nuclear extortion
Iran seems intent on using a policy of nuclear extortion and exploit differences between western governments over Iran.
The Europeans in particular have bent over backward to try and accommodate Iran whatever the Iranians do with regard to their nuclear development.
Iran abandoned compliance with the agreement at the start of 2020, the Europeans could have triggered a re-imposition of sanctions, but this didn’t happen.
The EU has now put pressure on the incoming Biden administration to commit to the JCPOA again and relax sanctions. The mullahs are lapping all this up.
The US has so far linked an easing of sanctions with full nuclear compliance by the regime and clear signs that they have stopped supporting proxy groups in the Middle East. These criteria have been rejected by Zarif and other regime officials.
Iran’s malign activities are not limited
The EU sees the whole situation from a mirror image perspective. Their view is that imposing sanctions drives the Iranian regime into committing violations rather than the other way round. In fact, the JCPOA was set up so that it could be easily manipulated and violated by the Iranians even if sanctions hadn’t been imposed.
Both the EU and the US must realize that Iran’s regime cannot be met halfway. It views compromise and negotiation as weakness and becomes emboldened when this happens.
Iran’s malign activities are not limited to nuclear missile development. They have been actively engaged in fomenting terrorist groups beyond their borders, many of which are controlled and financed by Iranian diplomatic missions and individuals based in Europe.
This was the case with Assadollah Assadi, a diplomat based in Iran’s Vienna, Austria, embassy. He was caught red-handed in mid-2018 having just passed on 550g of highly explosive material to two other operatives.
All three, plus another accomplice, were arrested before planting the bomb at the Free Iran rally organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and (PMOI / MEK Iran).
The decision by the Belgian court on the charges of terrorism against them and their probable prison sentences will be made in a couple of days’ time.
This is the first time that a serving Iranian diplomat will have been arrested and charged with a serious criminal offense in Europe, but it is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the series of actions taken against the regime’s perceived enemies outside its borders.
The sentencing of Assadi, resuming that this occurs, will be an embarrassing setback to the Iranian regime, but whether the real significance of the trial will be appreciated by European governments remains to be seen.
The Belgian prosecutors have been acutely aware all along that the charges against Assadi and the other three terrorists miss charging the very people who planned and organized the bomb attack.
These are the regime officials and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) chiefs in Tehran who should be brought to justice. The bomb attack, if it had not been stopped by European authorities, could have killed hundreds, possibly thousands, including European and American dignitaries.
The sentencing of Assadi, even if it is a setback, will not in itself be enough to convince Iran’s leaders to change their ways. A relaxation of sanctions would be the icing on the cake as far as the mullahs are concerned and Europe and the rest of the world will be just that less safe than before.
The EU should be firm and consistent with Iran, shut down its embassies and deport its so-called diplomats as well maintain sanctions as long as the regime fails to show progress in nuclear restrictions and human rights abuses.
The abridged version of an article written by Mohammad Sadat Khansari for the NCRI.
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and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube
