The main point of this blog appears again in the news—Iran has been refusing to act as a “normal” country, and instead a Revolution (a dangerous one at that). The article below begins with the subtitle—“Iran’s use of diplomats to plan terror attacks is very unusual – most countries do not use diplomats to plan terror attacks.” See “Belgian conviction of Iran diplomat for bomb plot is a milestone,” Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, February 4, 2021.
“Following Iranian authorities’ approval of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, health experts in Iran rejected the vaccine, saying that they would not use the jab for themselves and their family members. Last week, Iran’s Zarif announced that Tehran would import two million doses of Russia’s vaccine by 20 March. However, Minoo Mohraz, a member of Iran’s national coronavirus task force, immediately denounced the officials’ decision to buy the Russian vaccine. “It’s only because of Iranians’ bad luck that the government is going to import a vaccine from Russia,” Mohraz was quoted by the Jahane Sanat daily as saying. “I, as a healthcare professional, would not take Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine, because so far we don’t have any information about it,” she added. After Mohraz’s rejection of the Sputnik V vaccine, Hossein Ali Shahriari, head of Iranian parliament’s health committee, announced that he would likewise not take the vaccine made by Russia. Meanwhile, in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani, 98 members of Iran’s Medical Council, responsible for registration of all healthcare professionals in the country, urged the government to carry out more research before buying vaccines that are not approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).” “Iran’s health professionals reject Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine,” Middle East Eye, February 4, 2021.
Terror conviction against Iran in Belgium. “Iranian diplomat convicted of planning attack on opposition,” Samuel Petrequin, AP, February 4, 2021. “An Iranian diplomat identified as an undercover secret agent was convicted Thursday in Belgium of masterminding a thwarted bomb attack against an exiled Iranian opposition group in France and sentenced to 20 years in prison, a legal outcome that infuriated Tehran. A Belgian court rejected the Vienna-based official’s claim of diplomatic immunity. The official, Assadollah Assadi, contested the charges and refused to testify during his trial last year, invoking his diplomatic status. He did not attend Thursday’s hearing at the Antwerp courthouse. Prosecutors had requested the maximum prison sentence of 20 years on charges of attempted terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group. Defense lawyer Dimitri De Beco said Assadi would likely decide to appeal the verdict and sentence. Three other defendants were also found guilty and received lengthy jail sentences after the court ruled that they belonged to the same network. During the trial, lawyers for the plaintiffs and representatives of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq opposition group, or MEK, claimed without offering evidence that the diplomat set up the attack on direct orders from Iran’s highest authorities. Tehran has denied having a hand in the plot. A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, condemned the court decisions and said Iran did not recognize the sentence because it considers the Belgian proceedings against Assadi to have been illegal. The court in Antwerp rejected Assadi’s claims of individual immunity and said the case did not violate state immunety principles since neither Iran nor an Iranian security service stood trial. In its ruling, it made clear Iran was not on trial, but insisted the quartet of defendants were members of a cell operating for Iran’s intelligence services gathering information about the opposition group to identify targets and set up an attack. Assadi’s conviction comes at a critical time and has the potential to embarrass his country as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration weighs whether to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. Iran also said last month it expects Washington to lift economic sanctions that former President Donald Trump imposed on the country after pulling America out of the atomic deal in 2018. The European Union centered its reaction on Assadi specifically and did not draw in Iran as a nation. “The acts committed by this person are completely unacceptable. That’s a fact. The other aspect I can add is that the person in question is already on the EU counter-terrorism list,” said EU spokesman Peter Stano. The Belgian government said the ruling stood on its own, separated from diplomacy and international relations. “What matters is that today the justice system has ruled on facts of terrorism and made a clear statement about it. And it must be able to do that in complete independence. Otherwise, we no longer live in a constitutional state,” said Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne. On June 30, 2018, Belgian police officers tipped off by intelligence services about a possible attack against the annual meeting of the MEK, stopped a couple traveling in a Mercedes car. In their luggage, they found 550 grams of the unstable TATP explosive and a detonator. Belgium’s bomb disposal unit said the device was of professional quality. It could have caused a sizable explosion and panic in the crowd, estimated at 25,000 people, that had gathered that day in the French town of Villepinte, north of Paris. Among dozens of prominent guests at the rally that day were Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani; Newt Gingrich, former conservative speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Assadi was arrested a day later in Germany and transferred to Belgium. The court said since Assadi was on vacation at the time of his arrest — and not in Austria, where he was accredited — he was not entitled to immunity. A note from Belgium’s intelligence and security agency seen by The Associated Press identified him as an officer of Iran’s intelligence and security ministry who operated undercover at the Iranian Embassy in Austria. Belgium’s state security officers said he worked for the ministry’s so-called Department 312, the directorate for internal security, which is on a European Union list of organizations the EU regards as terrorist groups. Prosecutors identified Assadi as the alleged “operational commander” of the planned attack and accused him of recruiting the couple — Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami — years earlier. Both were of Iranian heritage. Saadouni was sentenced to 15 years in prison while Naami received an 18-year prison term. According to the investigation, Assadi carried the explosives to Austria on a commercial flight from Iran and later handed the bomb over to the pair during a meeting at a Pizza Hut restaurant in Luxembourg. The ruling confirmed that the explosives were made and tested in Iran. The fourth defendant, Mehrdad Arefani, was sentenced to 17 years in prison.”
It is not normal country behavior to retaliate with force when it loses a court case. “Intelligence officials fear revenge attacks from Iran after its diplomat was sentenced for trying to blow up a Paris rally,” Mitch Prothero, Insider, February 4, 2021.
“Iran Carries Out Surgical Strike Deep Inside Pakistan, Frees Two Soldiers: Reports,” Aanchal Nigam, Republic World, February 4, 2021.
So much interesting news on Feb. 4. Here’s another. “Iran may reverse fatwa banning nukes if Israel, US act dangerously: ex-official,” Times of Israel, February 4, 2021. The problem is that Leader never issued a fatwa. No one has ever seen it. Such a document was never published or released. Iranian officials have been saying this for years, to make the world think that Shia Islam does not allow a nuclear weapon. But the fatwa has never been seen or read aloud. Thus, it doesn’t exist.
“Iran Defends Hosting Taliban Delegation Despite Decades-Old Attacks In Afghanistan,” Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL, February 4, 2021.
Confusion in Iran you’ll see when you read the excerpt below. “Iran receives its first batch of foreign coronavirus vaccine,” Amir Vahdat, AP, February 4, 2021. “Iran on Thursday received its first batch of foreign-made coronavirus vaccines as the country struggles to stem the worst outbreak of the pandemic in the Middle East. The shipment consists of 500,000 doses of Russian-made Sputnik V vaccines which arrived at Tehran’s Imam Khomeieni International Airport from Moscow, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Also Iranian state TV quoted Tehran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, as saying that Iran has ordered 5 million doses from Russia. The next batches are to arrive on Feb. 18 and Feb. 28, said Jalali. However, a report on the semi-official ISNA news agency appeared to contradict Jalali’s statement and the Fars report. ISNA quoted Mohammadreza Shanehsaz, head of Iran’s food and drug organization, as saying Thursday’s shipment included only 10,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. The conflicting reports could not be immediately reconciled. Shanehsaz also said that Iran had purchased 2 million dozes, not 5 million.”
“Russia, Iran Among Leading States Practicing Repression Abroad, Says Rights Watchdog,” RFE/RL, February 4, 2021. The group says the Iranian regime has been linked to five assassinations or assassination attempts in three countries, and plots were thwarted in at least two others. The campaign targeted dissidents and journalists the authorities often labelled “terrorists.”
“Iran Expands Foreign Assassinations While Decrying U.S. Killings: Report,” David Brennan, Newsweek, February 4, 2021. “The Freedom House non-profit released a report into what it called “transnational repression” on Wednesday, naming several authoritarian nations that have used a variety of tactics in recent years to intimidate and kill critics living beyond their borders. The report is based on 608 cases of direct, physical transnational repression since 2014 by at least 31 origin states. The cases took place in 79 countries, including the U.S. and other liberal democracies. Freedom House said some 3.5 million people had been affected by direct attacks or secondary tactics since 2014.”