“Today, the Iranian Quds Force conducts covert assassination operations in the heart of Europe.”

Mike Pompeo — US Secretary of State (May 21 2018)

June 28 2018 — Mike Pompeo’s claim that the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is carrying out “assassination operations in the heart of Europe” [See video below at the 9:28 mark] has bewildered security experts and Iranian exiles, who are unaware of any evidence. Of course, Pompeo could be lying as he did repeatedly when he was CIA Director. But, in this case, we do not even know what story he has been spinning? Explanation. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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“It’s unlikely to be true. There is no evidence to back the claim that currently they are carrying out such operations in Europe.”

Iraj Mesdaghi — Sweden-based Iranian political activist (May 21 2018)

UPDATE (June 28 2021) — Most experts concluded that Mike Pompeo’s claim was simple not credible.

And the fact that the State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, knew nothing about the allegation was certainly not helpful. And yet…

From his first day in office as Director of the CIA, I have pointed out the many lies of Mike Pompeo. Obviously, I was fully aware that Pompeo is not very credible.

However, as I explained in this post written three years ago, this fact was not in itself a reason to dismiss this specific claim.

Such behavior is totally childish. I do not expect better from most journalists, but a serious analyst should certainly do more serious research…

Right from the start, I told you that the murder of Mohammad Reza Kolahi was probably the event Pompeo was referring to. I was not wrong….

On January 8 2019, the Netherlands accused Iran of two killings on its soil. One of the two men killed in 2015 was named as Mohammad Reza Kolahi, 56,.

Mohammad Reza Kolahi had previously been sentenced to death in Iran after being accused of planting a bomb at the Islamic Republic party’s headquarters on June 1981, killing 73 people.

This terrorist massacre is known as The Hafte Tir Bombing.

END of UPDATE

“I suspect that the murder of Mohammad Reza Kolahi is the background of Pompeo’s surprising allegation.”

Intel Today (June 28 2018)

Asked about Pompeo’s statement, the State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said:

“He has information and access to information that I do not. I am not able to comment on that in particular but I can tell the secretary has assured me that there is a basis for that point in his speech and he stands firmly behind that.”

The fact of the matter is that there have been no recent killings in Europe officially attributed to the Iranian state.

Iran’s last prime minister under the Shah, Shapour Bakhtiar, was assassinated in France in 1991, and four Iranian Kurdish dissidents were gunned down in a Greek restaurant called Mykonos in Berlin in 1992.

Pompeo’s remarks, however, appeared to refer to current rather than past events and singled out the Quds force.

And therefore, quite logically, many experts have simply dismissed the comment as disinformation. Here is an alternative explanation.

The Hafte Tir Bombing

On June 28 1981, a powerful bomb went off at the headquarters of the Iran Islamic Republic Party in Tehran, while a meeting of party leaders was in progress.

Seventy-three leading officials of the Islamic Republic were killed, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti who was at the time the second-most powerful figure in the revolution after Ayatollah Khomeini.

The People’s Mujahedin of Iran [Mujahideen al-Khalq] is thought to have been responsible for the attack.

The Mujahedin never publicly confirmed or denied any responsibility for the deed, but stated the attack was “a natural and necessary reaction to the regime’s atrocities.”

The bomber was identified as a young student and Mujahedin operative by the name of Mohammad Reza Kolahi, who had secured a job in the building disguised as a sound engineer.

He was never found and no group or person has ever accepted the responsibility or been put on trial for this bombing. [Wikipedia]

Back in the Netherlands

In December 2015 , a man known as Ali Motamed was gunned down in front of his home in the Dutch town of Almere.

Two men suspected of killing Ali Mo’tamed have been identified as 28-year-old Anouar A.B. and 35-year-old Moreo M.

Both suspects have a criminal record and come from the same Bijlmer neighborhood of Amsterdam.

Court documents — cited by the Dutch daily Het Parool — reveal that the man’s true identity was Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi.

Dutch officials are  investigating whether or not the killing could have been a political assassination ordered by Iran.

CIA Spin Doctors Working Hard?

I suspect that the murder of Mohammad Reza Kolahi is the backround of Pompeo’s surprising allegation. But where did he learn about this?

I suspect that the CIA ‘Iran group’ led by Mike D’Andrea is trying to put the blame on the Quds Force in order to influence European leaders to accept Trump’s agenda for Tehran.

And the agenda is clear and simple: sanctions, more sanctions, oil boycott, crisis, social unrest, regime change and eventually war.

Secretary Pompeo Delivers a Speech on a New Iran Strategy

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Delivers a Speech: “After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy” at the Heritage Foundation on May 21, 2018.  A full transcript is available online.

UPDATE (January 9 2019) — On Tuesday (Jan 8 2019), the Netherlands accused Iran of two killings on its soil and the EU froze the assets of an Iranian intelligence unit and two of its staff.

The two murders are alleged to have taken place in broad daylight in 2015 in Almere, a city east of Amsterdam, and in 2017 on a street close to the Dutch foreign ministry in The Hague.

The man killed in 2015 was named as Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi, 56, who had previously been sentenced to death in Iran after being accused of planting a bomb at the Islamic Republic party’s headquarters in 1981, killing 73 people.

Ahmad Molla Nissi, 52 — the Iranian activist who founded an Arab nationalist group seeking an independent state inside Iran — was also shot in the head as he walked through The Hague in 2017.

The Dutch government stated that the expulsion in June 2018 of two diplomats from the Iranian embassy in the Netherlands had been in retaliation for these murders.

On Tuesday, the EU imposed sanctions against two Iranians and the country’s military intelligence service in response to these two assassinations.

This news confirms the analysis that I posted on June 28 2018 to remember the anniversary of the Hafte Tir bombing (June 28 1981).

Please, keep in mind that ‘The People’s Mujahedin of Iran’ [PMOI in English or MeK in Farsi] was once officially listed as a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union. Now, the Trump Administration wants them to run Iran.

RELATED POST: People’s Mujahedin of Iran : From Terrorist Group to US Best Friends

The Dutch government said that while it had intelligence evidence of Iran’s involvement, it did not have evidence of Iran’s involvement that could be used in court.

Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, did not directly address the allegations but accused the Netherlands, France, and Denmark of harbouring terrorists.

“Accusing Iran won’t absolve Europe of responsibility for harboring terrorists,” he said.

The EU sanctions are imposed on a unit within the Ministry of Intelligence as well as Saeid Hashemi Moghadam, the deputy intelligence minister, and Assadollah Asadi, an Iranian spy already in prison for alleged involvement in the bomb plot at a MeK rally near Paris in 2018.

END of UPDATE

REFERENCES

Hafte Tir bombing — Wikipedia

Another Twist In Mysterious Murder  Of 1981 Tehran Bombing Suspect  — Radio Farda

Mike Pompeo claims Iran carrying out ‘assassination operations’ in Europe — The Guardian

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Pompeo, Tehran and a Mysterious Murder in the Netherlands [Hafte Tir Bombing – June 28 1981]

40 Years Ago — The Hafte Tir Bombing (June 28 1981) [Pompeo, Tehran and a Mysterious Murder in the Netherlands]