UK Should Close Iran’s Embassy Over Threats, Alinejad Says
Opposition figure Masih Alinejad says the UK should have closed the Iranian embassy instead of advising Iran International to relocate to the US over regime’s threats.
Opposition figure Masih Alinejad says the UK should have closed the Iranian embassy instead of advising Iran International to relocate to the US over regime’s threats.
Alinejad made the comment Tuesday as she spoke about the uprising in Iran at the Italian Senate along with Canada-based activist Hamed Esmaeilion. They are also set to attend a gathering against the Islamic Republic in the capital Rome the following day, accompanying several other activists. Activist Hiva Feizi, Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mark Wallace, and Former Italian Senator Andrea Cangini were among the panel that addressed the Senate on Tuesday.
Alinejad was referring to the announcement by Iran International TV about shifting studio operations to Washington DC because of threats the UK police said were coming from the Islamic Republic, which have solicited worldwide reactions.
“At its sharpest, this has involved police and MI5 working together to foil 15 plots since the start of 2022 to either kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime,” said a senior official of UK counter terrorism police.
Alinejad said after 15 plots, London should have taken more decisive action against the regime instead of advising Iran International to relocate. She also called on European countries not to be afraid of talking about “regime change” in Iran as the Iranians themselves are echoing this demand inside the country and abroad.
She added that keeping silent against the atrocities of the Islamic Republic is tantamount to taking sides with the regime, calling on all countries not to view the human rights situation in Iran as a mere internal issue. Standing up for human rights is a global issue, she highlighted. Alinejad alluded to American saying that ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,’ noting that “What happens in Iran, spreads throughout the world.” “The Islamic Republic is the ISIS with oil,” she concluded.
Esmaeilion, in his turn, thanked the Italian lawmakers who have approved a draft resolution urging Tehran to immediately stop issuing death sentences to anti-government protestors and free all detainees. He also touched upon the shooting down of Flight PS752 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in 2020, in which he lost his daughter and wife, saying the circumstances of the tragic incident is still shrouded in mystery and the regime “sadistically harasses the families of the victims” to hide the realities.
Esmaeilion reminded the Senators that the regime has killed over 500 protesters, including at least 70 children, and arrested about 20,000 as part of its crackdown on the current wave of protests which is driven by women across Iran. He urged that the world, in particular European countries, not to negotiate with the Islamic Republic, which he described as “congenitally unable to be committed to any agreement.” He also referred to the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities in the country and said the Islamic Republic is a menace to Iranians and all the people of the world alike.
He also mentioned the regime’s support for the Syrian government in cracking down on dissent and military support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Elsewhere, he talked about the regime’s policy of hostage taking to use foreign nationals as bargaining chips.
Referring to a recent opinion survey involving 158,000 people in Iran that showed more than 80 percent of people reject the regime and prefer a democratic government, he called on the European countries to “suffocate all the means that nourishes” the regime.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's exiled prince Reza Pahlavi also held talks with French senators André Vallini and Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio. They called on Paris to contribute to all initiatives in support of protests to expedite the imminent fall of the dictatorship.
After a historic forum in Washington earlier this month by eight prominent dissident activists, they have been traveling to events around the world to make the voice of the Iranian opposition heard. Such events signal the emergence of a leadership council in the diaspora to campaign for international support in favor of Iran’s protest movement.
On Monday, an estimated crowd of about 20 to 30 thousand people held a rally in Brussels outside the European Council to call on EU countries to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Thousands of Iranians from all over Europe held a massive rally in Strasbourg in January for the same purpose.
Also on Monday, the EU sanctioned 32 Islamic Republic officials, including culture and education ministers, deputy IRGC commander, and several MPs. The move can be seen as a measure to justify the fact that the EU is not yet ready to designate the entirety of the IRGC.
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Ali Majedi, Iran’s former ambassador in Germany wrote in an article in Etemad newspaper in Tehran that "The fact that neither Iran, nor Russia were invited to the conference clearly shows where the pressure on Iran is coming from and what impact Iran's support of Russia in the Ukraine war has left on Tehran's foreign relations.
Russia has been using Iranian supplied Kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine since October, and the West is concerned about further Iranian involvement, including supplying missiles to augment Russia’s declining stocks.
The former ambassador said that supporting Russia in the Ukraine war was perhaps Iran's biggest mistake during the past year. He added that Iran's behavior has united Europe and the United States against Iran. Tehran has also missed the chance of reviving the nuclear agreement with world powers because of this.
Western countries are now focused on delegitimizing the Iranian government and Iran is now only counting on countries such as China, Majedi said and asked if Tehran could count on Beijing when in past the Chinese supported international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Majedi said Germany has always been Iran's biggest trade partner in Europe and Berlin's stances has always been more favorable toward Iran in the nuclear negotiations. The Iranian foreign ministry should now answer why Germany has adopted a tough position against Iran and has become more radical than France and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, international relations expert Mehdi Motaharnia told Khabar Online website that the Munich Security Conference's decision had an obvious message for Tehran which should not be ignored.
Referring to the recent meeting of Iranian opposition figures at Georgetown University in Washington, Motaharnia said that inviting them rather than Iranian government officials makes the decision even more meaningful.
Motaharnia said although the Munich Security Conference is a non-governmental international forum, it is the world's most important security conference, and its impact goes beyond governments and political activists. Entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk also take part in it next to kings and presidents. Previously Foreign Ministers Javad Zarif and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian represented Iran at the conference.
"When Iran makes claims about destroying the world order, the other side will also mobilize its forces against the Islamic Republic," he added.
He said, "The rhetoric taking shape against Iran is creating a meaningful atmosphere for designating the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) as a terrorist group in Europe which is in a way an expansion of the IRGC's designation by the US government."
At the same time, Iran's former ambassador to London Jalal Sadatian predicted in an article in Etemad that "Diplomatic pressures on Iran will increase." He wrote: "Within the current frameworks, the Western side is increasing its pressures on the Islamic Republic and channeling it toward internal developments to drag the situation to regime change."
Other pundits in Tehran have been arguing that Iran’s international isolation directly impacts its already fragile economy and also emboldens the opposition. It also creates a widespread impression within the country that the government’s foreign policy is disastrous for the country.
Sadatian added that the United States is the world's leader and when Iran rejects the United States' supremacy, this is unacceptable for the United States.
When Iran chooses to resort to a language other than dialogue and tells the world that it has drones and missiles as tools for diplomacy, pressures will naturally mount and Tehran will be cornered, Sadatian said.
While Iran has been overwhelmed by street protests for more than five months, Ahmad Khorram, a cabinet minister in the late 1990s and early 2000's reformist government said in an interview with moderate news website Rouydad24 that Iranian officials are reluctant to listen to the people as they have lost their sensitivity to their expectations.
Pointing out that the use of violence is the government's first and often only response to people's demands and protests, Khorram said that violent approaches have not worked elsewhere in the world, and they will not work in Iran either.
He observed that what is happening today is extremely different from what was meant to happen after the 1979 revolution. He said the government responds with insult and violence to anyone asking why this has happened. This approach, Khorram said, has eroded people's trust in the government.
The turnout in the latest elections in Tehran was around 26 percent, Khorram observed, adding that the government's own opinion polls show that its popularity has plummeted to less than 20 percent in recent months.
Critics say that amid sanctions and economic hardship, the regime decided that loyal hardliners should take over the parliament in 2020, and then using its veto power over candidates, arranged for an ill-prepared hardliner become president in 2021.
He said that inquiries by reformists during a meeting with the country's top officials has revealed that they are aware of the crisis, but they are reluctant to address it properly and that they have no plans to tackle the existing dissent.
Earlier, former diplomat Jalal Sadatian had said that the government routinely resorts to violence instead of relying on its social capital. As a result, the unity and coherence of the Iranian society has been lost, he said.
Sadatian suggested that the "sources of emulation," or Iran's highest ranking Shiite clerics should try to hold meetings with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and communicate people's demands to him. The suggestion by Sadatian, a pragmatist politician, indicates that Khamenei has lost touch with realities on the ground and as it was evident in his latest meeting with officials on February 18, he is under the illusion that the regime enjoys tremendous support.
Meanwhile, Sadatian charged that the government has failed to understand why recent protests have taken place. He argued that economic and social demands have been the main driving forces behind the protests. However, inefficient management, wrong decisions, and insisting on non-democratic political processes have also played major parts in the situation that led to Iran's biggest nationwide protests in 44 years.
Sadatian added that embezzlement, corruption and ignoring people's dire financial situation were among other factors that led Iranians to take to the streets in protest. He added that giving key posts to incompetent officials has been one of the main reasons why this situation has occurred.
In such a situation holding a dialogue between the government and academics and experts can be helpful but the current all-conservative government in Iran ignores experts' views and therefore, cannot find a way out of the crisis.
Sadatian said that the situation is so critical that some embassies in Tehran have called on foreign nationals to leave the country because the diplomats are concerned about their safety and well-being, "but it is doubtful if I can tell you about the real reasons for that or if you can publish it if I talk about them!"
“The Home Secretary and I absolutely condemn this outrageous violation of our sovereignty, and the attempted violation of the human rights of those journalists,” he said, after the British government determined credible threats to the Persian news network emanating from the government of Iran.
The network announced on Saturday that it decided to move its studio and broadcast operations to its office in Washington DC after more than three months of threats the British police reported against its journalists.
Tugendhat told parliament that “In response, we have put in place an extremely robust range of security measures, including armed policing.” A suspect was arrested February 11 in the vicinity of Iran International’s headquarters in London. He was later arraigned at court on suspicion of terror-related activities.
He explained that despite the security measures put in place and considering the “severity of the threat and the particularities of this site, Counter Terrorism Policing have advised Iran International to move to a more secure location in the United Kingdom.” Until then, he added, the network has “chosen to continue their broadcasting from existing studios in the United States. I can assure the House that this measure will be temporary.”
Tugendhat also announced that UK officials are looking to find a temporary location for the UK operations until a permanent and secure headquarters can start operations for the network.
During the session, Labour MP Holly Lynch said: We should be appalled that Iran International felt the need to close its office after a series of threats made against their brave journalists…IRGC is so free to establish support in UK. We have to stop it. Why are Supreme Leader’s [Ali Khamenei] representatives still here.” Lynch was referring to the Islamic Centre of England and an individual carrying the title of Khamenei’s representative.
The security minister in his speech mentioned this issue and said the government is looking into it, since the outfit is apparently registered as a charity.
Tugendhat said, “Tehran’s efforts to silence Iran International are a direct attack on our freedoms and an attempt to undermine our sovereignty.
They will fail.
Democracy is as much about journalists and civic activists as it is about politicians.”
He pledged that the government will take further action in response to to these threats and said that it has set up the Defending Democracy Taskforce.
“The Government, police, agencies, and our allies are working together to ensure Iran International’s UK operations will resume. These threats will not silence us – nor them,” he insisted.
The security minister told the parliament that Iran’s clandestine operations in the United Kingdom are not new. “Between 2020 and 2022, Iran tried to collect intelligence on UK-based Israeli and Jewish individuals. We believe this information was a preparation for future lethal operations.”
As the session was taking place, the government announced that it summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in London to protest at what were serious threats against journalists living in Britain.
"I am appalled by the Iranian regime’s continuing threats to the lives of UK-based journalists and have today summoned its representative to make clear this will not be tolerated," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.
Citing the great cultural and literary heritage of Iran, Tugendhat said that today “the tyrants in Tehran have betrayed those great pillars of Persian civilization and are trying to silence those words and their own people.”