![\"iranians-belgian-iran-treaty\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/iranians-belgian-iran-treaty.jpg\" "\\"iranians-belgian-iran-treaty\\"")
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Despite the international outrage over the Tehran-Brussels treaty<\/a>, Belgium has refused to back down from its wrong decision.\u00a0 The treaty in question was reportedly negotiated in March, but its existence was not publicly revealed until the end of June. The secrecy is a testament to the backlash that was expected against a treaty that is clearly intended to facilitate the release of an Iranian diplomat-terrorist who was very nearly responsible for the worst modern terrorist attack on European soil.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2018, Assadollah Assadi was serving as the third counselor at the Iranian embassy in Vienna when he smuggled more than 500 grams of the high explosive TATP and a detonator into Europe on a commercial flight. He then drove the Iranian-made bomb<\/a> to Luxembourg in a rental car and handed it off to two co-conspirators, along with instructions on how to use it and where to place it. The intended target of the plot was an international gathering of Iranian expatriates, as well as Western lawmakers and foreign policy experts, which had been organized near Paris by the National Council of Resistance of Iran.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fortunately, the plot was thwarted, and the explosives were confiscated before Assadi\u2019s agents could cross from Belgium into France. The bomb was then partially detonated, and although a safe perimeter had been established, a Belgian police officer was still injured on the scene. Details of the bomb\u2019s destructive power were later laid out when Assadi was placed on trial, and experts indicated<\/a> that there had been definite potential for an explosion at the target venue to kill hundreds, including some of the Western dignitaries who were seated near the planned detonation site.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The trial also clearly established that Assadi had not been acting on his own initiative or as some kind of rogue agent. Rather, his plan had its roots in Tehran, specifically in the Supreme National Security Council, an entity whose decisions routinely involve input from both the regime\u2019s president and its supreme leader. These facts underscored the importance of holding Assadi accountable for his actions, but they also fueled calls for Belgium and other Western governments to pursue accountability at a higher level. But these calls to action were never heeded, and this inaction began emboldening Tehran.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Western strategy for dealing with the Iranian regime has long been \u201cappeasement,\u201d typically based on the mistaken assumption that there is nothing to be gained by confronting the regime directly because there is no viable alternative to the theocratic dictatorship. This mistake is well-recognized by the policymakers who were in attendance at the NCRI\u2019s 2018 rally<\/a>, and they have earnestly criticized their own governments for being insufficiently assertive in dealing with Tehran.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Belgian judiciary should be applauded for pursuing its case against Assadollah Assadi and ultimately handing down the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison in February 2021. At the time, it was understood that his case could set the stage for the pursuit of similar accountability from other agents of the Iranian regime, especially in light of the fact that there was already a case then pending in Sweden against an Iranian accused not of terrorism abroad, but rather of crimes against humanity inside Iran.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 1)Kharrazi and Larijani both confirmed #Iran<\/a>\u2019s regime is ready to build nuclear bombs. Khamenei is counting on the weak policies of the West. Endless rounds of negotiations and the disgraceful deal with Belgium have encouraged the regime\u2019s provocative behavior. — Mohammad Mohaddessin (@Mohaddessin) July 18, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
#No2Appeasement<\/a><\/p>\n