On March 11, 2025, the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, comprising members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, held a hearing chaired by Lord Alton. The session featured testimony from Hossein Abedini, Deputy Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the UK and a survivor of an assassination attempt by the Iranian regime. The session aimed to examine the regime’s transnational terrorism and its implications for human rights and security.
Hossein Abedini recounted the assassination attempt on his life in Istanbul on March 14, 1990. He had traveled to Turkey to assist Iranian political refugees who had fled the regime’s persecution. Shortly before departing for the airport, his vehicle was ambushed by armed Iranian operatives who had blocked the highway. The attackers opened fire, and Abedini was shot in the chest and abdomen. One bullet narrowly missed his heart by millimeters. While the assassins attempted to fire a final shot to ensure his death, their weapon jammed, allowing Abedini to survive. He suffered severe internal bleeding, spent nearly 50 days in a coma, and underwent multiple surgeries.
Despite his critical condition, Iranian operatives made two additional attempts to assassinate him while he was in the hospital. On one occasion, individuals posing as police officers tried to gain access to his room. On another attempt, two individuals claiming to be university friends attempted to approach him but were confronted and forced to flee. These incidents underscored the regime’s persistent efforts to silence opposition voices abroad.
Yesterday, we heard about risks faced by activists in the UK from hostile actions by foreign governments.
Pro-democracy activist, Chloe Cheung, and Deputy Director of the National Council of Resistance in Iran, Hossein Abedini, gave evidence.
Read more: https://t.co/rkUl2jkzSR pic.twitter.com/SFQajmHFXl
— UK Parliament Human Rights Committee (@HumanRightsCtte) March 13, 2025
Abedini emphasized that the Iranian regime’s external terrorism mirrors its brutal repression inside Iran. He pointed out that in 2024 alone, the regime executed over 1,000 prisoners, the highest recorded number in the past three decades. He warned that such acts of terror and suppression intensify whenever the regime faces internal crises and widespread unrest.
He further highlighted the Iranian regime’s use of diplomatic cover for terrorist operations. He noted that the Iranian ambassador to Turkey at the time, Manouchehr Mottaki, later became the country’s foreign minister and had previously orchestrated the attempted abduction of an NCRI member. This practice of embedding intelligence and terrorist operatives within embassies and cultural centers remains a core strategy of Tehran’s global terror network.
Abedini urged the UK government to take decisive action against the Iranian regime’s terror apparatus. He called for the designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ministry of Intelligence as terrorist organizations, emphasizing that these entities have been responsible for numerous assassinations and plots against dissidents abroad. Additionally, he recommended shutting down Iranian embassies and so-called cultural and religious centers that serve as operational hubs for regime operatives.
This weeks's @HumanRightsCtte heard profoundly disturbing first hand personal evidence of transnational repression by China & Iran – the long arm of dictatorship extending its brutality & intimidation into democratic nations. @Chloe_chc_25 @HoAbedini
Full: https://t.co/xWHrA7WZHo pic.twitter.com/32JdC3uJgT— Lord (David) Alton (@DavidAltonHL) March 14, 2025
He also stressed the need for the UK to expel Iranian agents who misuse refugee status or citizenship to carry out espionage and terrorist activities on behalf of Tehran. He cited examples of the regime’s systematic harassment of Iranian dissidents by targeting their families in Iran, seizing their assets, and coercing them through threats and intimidation.
During the session, members of the UK Parliament raised concerns about Iran’s transnational repression. Baroness Kennedy inquired about the ongoing threats against Abedini and other dissidents, to which he responded that the regime continues to target his family, leading to his father’s death due to immense pressure.
Lord Alton asked about the impact of the Iranian regime’s extraterritorial repression on Abedini’s ability to travel and conduct activism. Abedini acknowledged the constant risks but emphasized that the struggle for a free Iran requires persistence and courage, stating, “We know that freedom will not be handed to us on a silver platter.”
"I was shot in the chest & abdomen…The bullet narrowly missed my heart"@HoAbedini testifies at UK @HumanRightsCtte hearing on Iran's transnational repression about how he miraculously survived an assassination by Iranian terrorists
CC: @DavidLammy @DanJarvisMBE #BlacklistIRGC https://t.co/5r64TXb29b pic.twitter.com/HMSeYjSqp9
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) March 13, 2025
MP Alex Sobel highlighted that Iran’s regime has conducted nearly 500 terrorist operations over the past four decades, with at least 300 dissidents assassinated. He underscored the necessity of taking stronger measures against the IRGC and shutting down Iranian regime-affiliated institutions in the UK.
The hearing underscored the Iranian regime’s systematic use of terrorism as a tool for silencing opposition both inside and outside Iran. Abedini’s testimony reinforced the urgency of implementing stronger measures to counter Tehran’s threats. The session concluded with calls for the UK government to adopt a firmer stance by designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization, shutting down regime-affiliated centers, and expelling Iranian operatives from British soil.
The discussion reflected growing concern among UK lawmakers about Iran’s global terror network and the need for coordinated international action to hold the regime accountable for its crimes.