France limits diplomat travel to Iran

French and European flags flying half-mast at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris, France

By PMOI/MEK

August 28, 2018 - France is ordering its diplomats and foreign ministry officials to indefinitely postpone all non-dire travel to Iran, citing a thwarted bomb plot targeting the Iranian opposition NCRI annual event in Paris back in June and a toughening of the mullahs’ attitude towards Paris, according to an internal memo seen by international media outlets.

“The memo cites a foiled plot to bomb a rally held by an exiled Iranian opposition group near Paris that was attended by Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani as a sign of Tehran’s more aggressive stance towards France,” according to Reuters.

The Iranian regime maintains it had nothing to do with the terror plot targeting the NCRI rally on June 30. Germany has apprehended a Vienna-based Iranian diplomat who stands accused of actually providing the explosives to a Belgian-Iranian couple missioned to carry out the attack. Belgium, where the plot was uncovered, is seeking the diplomat’s extradition.

“The behavior of the Iranian authorities suggests a hardening of their position vis-a-vis our country, as well as some of our allies,” Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, the ministry’s secretary general wrote in the Aug. 20 notice.

“Given the known security risks ... all departmental officers, whether from headquarters or (overseas) posts, are required to defer until further notice, except for urgent work, any travel plans in Iran,” Gourdault-Montagne added.

This hardening of relations comes from France, a country the Iranian regime desperately needs to maintain close relations with in its desperate effort to salvage the highly flawed 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

French oil/gas giant Total, carmakers PSA and Renault have all exited Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump departed his country from the Iran deal. This launched an exodus by European companies from Iran, all fearing the impact of Washington’s sanctions.

Reports indicate if the Iranian regime’s involvement with the Paris plot were proven, it would render quite a difficult task for France not to react strongly.

MESSAGE BY MARYAM RAJAVI TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE PARIS 1ST DISTRICT EXHIBITION ON THE MASSACRE OF 30,000 POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988

exhibition of 1988 massacred political prisoners in Paris

Mayor Legaret, distinguished mayors, Governor Yves Bonnet, and Mr. Struan Stevenson,

Dear friends,

I salute all of you. Your presence in this exhibition means that the restless conscience of humanity has not caved in to the mullahs’ demands over the massacre of political prisoners in Iran. The mullahs want indifference. They want you to close your eyes and ears and remain silent.

Since the inception of their rule 38 years ago, the mullahs’ demands can be summarized in the following sentences:

Here you are; this is our market and here is our oil and gas. Just when it gets to human rights and freedom of the people of Iran, turn your head away.

This is how they hanged our 30,000 political prisoners in Iran in days such as these in summer 1988, without any reactions by Western governments.

Those who remained silent over this tragedy, betrayed humanity because the mullahs found out that their crimes had no consequences. So, they continued by exporting their terrorism and fundamentalism abroad and drenching the Middle East in blood.

If in those days, the massacre had not been met with silence, today, the mullahs could not sink Syria in a whirlpool of blood.

Fortunately, the movement calling for justice for the victims of the massacre in Iran has expanded since last year. Today, even youths born after the massacre have risen up to call for justice for the victims.

The people of Iran want to end the impunity of those in charge of the massacre and hold them accountable. This has turned into the Iranian people’s most important political demand from the clerical regime.

The campaign calling for justice obtained new information about the slaughter, including a large number of names of the victims, as well as the locations of numerous mass graves which the mullahs had previously concealed. The people of Iran demand that the perpetrators of the massacre be held accountable and their impunity ended.

The Justice seeking movement in Iran managed to corner the mullahs.

Khamenei intended to put a member of the 1988 massacre’s Death Commission in the office of president, but the nationwide campaign calling for justice foiled his plans.

Nevertheless, the mullahs from either faction cannot and do not want to distance themselves from the massacre.

Over the past four years, the mullahs’ president Hassan Rouhani had appointed Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, one of the key officials in charge of the 1988 massacre, as Minister of Justice. He has now decided to appoint a new Justice Minister for his second term, but the new minister, too, is another one of the perpetrators of the massacre, by the name of Avaii who has been already designated as a violator of human rights by the European Union.

Rouhani’s cabinet includes the largest number of officials from the regime’s security and intelligence agencies. Several of the most senior officials of the Intelligence Ministry are among his cabinet ministers.

We have urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to set up an independent committee to investigate the 1988 massacre.

The UN Security Council must set up a special tribunal or refer the issue to the International Criminal Court to arrange for the prosecution of the leaders of the Iranian regime.

I urge all governments to make their relations and trade with the religious fascism ruling Iran contingent on end to executions and torture.

And I call on all democrats and advocates of human rights in France and the world to join the Iranian Resistance to help it advance its cause by calling for an independent investigation to bring justice to the officials in charge of the 1988 massacre.

Thank you all very much.

The Justice seeking movement in Iran managed to corner the mullahs.

   The Justice seeking movement in Iran managed to corner the mullahs.

  The campaign calling for justice obtained new information about the slaughter, including a large number of names of the victims, as well as the locations of numerous mass graves which the mullahs had previously concealed

   The campaign calling for justice obtained new information about the slaughter, including a large number of names of the victims, as well as the locations of numerous mass graves which the mullahs had previously concealed

The UN Security Council must set up a special tribunal or refer the issue to the International Criminal Court to arrange for the prosecution of the leaders of the Iranian regime.

   The UN Security Council must set up a special tribunal or refer the issue to the International Criminal Court to arrange for the prosecution of the leaders of the Iranian regime.

Newt Gingrich: Trump Will Work with Democrats to Shut Down Iran’s ‘State Terrorism’

PARIS, France, Breitbart, 6 Jul 2017 – Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich says he sees “a new round of resistance” on the horizon for Iran during Donald Trump’s presidency

PARIS, France, Breitbart, 6 Jul 2017 – Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich says he sees “a new round of resistance” on the horizon for Iran during Donald Trump’s presidency.
“I think that what’s happening is the [Iranian] regime is getting weaker,” Gingrich told Breitbart News at the annual “Free Iran” rally, organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ) near Paris on Saturday.

“I think it’s getting more desperate, I think it’s alienating more and more young people, and I would not at all be surprised to see a new round of resistance in the next three to four years.”
He added, “You’re going to have a Trump administration [that is] eager to be helpful. And with people like Secretary [James] Mattis and National Security Advisor McMaster–people who understand in a realistic way the nature of the Iranian dictatorship.”

Earlier in his speech to the crowd at the Free Iran rally, Gingrich said, “I think it’s safe to say that the Trump administration has much fewer illusions about the nature of the Iranian dictatorship.”
Gingrich said he believes the Democrats will work with Trump on Iran. “I think a lot of Democrats will work with him. I think there’s a general recognition, even under the Obama administration, they admitted and kept saying that Iran was the leading supporter of state terrorism in the world. There’s no question that that’s still true.”

He added, “Not even worrying about the nuclear program, you have to worry about the state terrorism.” He expressed little doubt that the Iranians are working with the North Koreans and that the Iranians are cheating on the nuclear deal.

Asked to respond to reports in the mainstream media suggesting the Mujaheddin e Khalq (MEK)–which is part of the NCRI—does not have a large following in Iran, Gingrich laughed and said, “Are they just nuts? Iran is a dictatorship.

“If you stood up and said, ‘hi, I support the MEK,’ they kill you. You have a justice minister who presided over killing 30,000 people. So when western journalists say, ‘hi, do you see anybody around here who is for the MEK?’ that’s so childish it’s unbelievable.”
The MEK is also known as the Organization of the People’s Holy Warriors of Iran, the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA), the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), and Sazeman-e Mujahedin-e Khalq-e Iran.

The State Department, under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, delisted the MEK as a terrorist organization. They were initially placed on the terrorist list under President Bill Clinton in 1997, a move that some suggested was highly politicized by the administration in an attempt to garner favor with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

So far, they are the only organized Iranian opposition group and have been responsible for providing highly important and valuable intel about the Iranian regime’s internal dealings to the U.S. government.
In 2002, the MEK uncovered and exposed that the Iranian regime was cheating on the nuclear deal, they have provided intel that allegedly shows the locations of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s terrorist training centers, and North Korea’s aid to the Iranians for their missile program.
On that note, Gingrich added, “In terms of intelligence, they have consistently gotten good intelligence out of Iran, because they actually do have sources that are real.”

Surprise: Trump and France’s Macron may wind up allies after all

 Trumps surprise Paris visit marks shrewd political calculation World · Frances Macron ...

AFP ,  July 4, 2017 -- The catalyst for a blossoming friendship between President Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron could well be a mutual desire to rein in Iran.

There are signs of an early thaw: Macron just eagerly joined Trump by vowing French jets will bomb Syria alongside American ones if Bashar al-Assad’s forces use chemical weapons again.
Plus, Macron invited Trump to attend the Bastille Day festivities on France’s national holiday July 14. And Trump accepted.

Not everyone is cheering, though. Syria is Iran’s client, and Trump is building a regional coalition against Tehran while Congress tries to push through new sanctions. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was in Paris over the weekend to try to preempt Macron from joining the pile-on.
Europeans and former Obama officials fear the toughening of Iran policies as well. Last week, former State Department official Jeff Feltman, now heading the United Nations’ political department, gave the Security Council a glowing review of Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal. That was echoed by top European Union diplomats.

America’s UN Ambassador Nikki Haley

America’s UN Ambassador Nikki Haley spoiled the party by listing Iranian violations of Security Council resolutions, from missile launches and manufacturing to arms sales and the spreading war and terrorism across the Mideast. “We won’t turn a blind eye to the Iranian regime’s behavior and will work with the global community to enforce sanctions,” Haley said.
So which way will France swing? “On this, we’re somewhere in the middle between the EU and America,” a French diplomat told me over coffee here.
It’s a fair assessment. While Zarif tried his charm on Macron, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MeK), an anti-regime group, held its annual rally in a Parisian suburb. The group’s leader Maryam Rajavi’s top applause line was a promise that regime change in Iran is “within reach.”
Well, maybe. But here’s the point: France hosted Rajavi and her disciples, conferring sort of legitimacy on the anti-mullah group for decades — even as the State Department listed the MeK as a terrorist group. Former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner addressed the group Saturday. As did some of Trump’s closest allies — Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, John Bolton — who came as close as possible to saying Trump, too, supports regime change, without quite declaring it in so many words.
You don’t have to support the MeK, or regime change for that matter, to notice the tug of war going on here: Once European leaders are done trying to change Trump’s mind on climate and immigration, they’ll try to influence his Iran policy, begging him not to be too harsh with the mullahs.
It isn’t all so cut-and-dried, though. When questioned about French companies’ push to do more business in Iran, officials point out that in some cases they’re being beaten to deals by major American firms — Boeing, for one, is strong-arming their Airbus out of the Iranian market.

Trump and Macron ought to hash that out this weekend at the G20 and in Paris on July 14. The end of the Obama era has left both countries wondering what their roles are. After all, France took a tougher line on Iran during the runup to the nuclear deal than Team Obama did. Macron — and Trump, for that matter — should follow the example set by Macron’s predecessor.
Perhaps a renewed effort to punish and isolate Iran to better address the nuclear threat will even, eventually, spell the end of a regime that for decades has oppressed Iranians and wreaked havoc on the Mideast and beyond.
If so, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And more peaceful handshakes.

Time to double down on Iranian resistance against Khamenei

NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi told the crowd showed up to hear her speak on Saturday “(Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei’s representatives were saying the resistance has resurfaced in the country

4 July 2017 -- I had the opportunity to sit down with the National Council for Resistance in Iran ( NCRI ) this week during its annual conference in Paris, which attracts many participants every year. Diplomats and dignitaries from all over the world attended, including US politicians such as Sen. Joe Lieberman and American military notables such as retired Gen. Jack Keane, who are major supporters of regime-change in Tehran.
It was my first time directly interacting with senior NCRI leaders, despite the many years I have spent following and writing about their activities. The council is by far the largest network of anti-regime activists, and is widely feared by Tehran.
There have been numerous documented instances in which Tehran has insisted that any Western diplomatic effort to normalize relations with it would necessitate declaring the NCRI a terrorist entity.

The fact that the NCRI has consistently publicized detailed intelligence on Iran’s nefarious weapons-smuggling and inside information on its covert nuclear weaponization program has made the council the most potent and active threat to the regime’s ambitions.
NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi told the crowd showed up to hear her speak on Saturday: “(Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei’s representatives were saying the resistance has resurfaced in the country.

Intelligence and security officials repeatedly boast of the arrest of resistance members… The conclusion is what the Iranian resistance has emphasized since the outset and what many in the world have reached today: The only solution is regime-change.”
The conclusion is simple: If Tehran remains committed to destabilizing the region by funding, arming and indoctrinating terror groups, the only real inoculation to its radical designs is regime-change.

What made the gathering of Iranian resistance so unique was its ethnic and ideological diversity. Persians and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites, secular and religious people were all present, united on behalf of a common goal.

If Tehran remains committed to destabilizing the region by funding, arming and indoctrinating terror groups, the only real inoculation to its radical designs is regime-change.

Oubai Shahbandar

Shahin Gobadi, a member of the NCRI foreign affairs committee, told me: “The issue is not Arabs versus Persians or Sunnis against Shiites; this is what the mullahs in Tehran want to depict. The Iranian resistance meeting showed that there’s a growing understanding that the regime and its proxies are on one side, and the Iranian people and the nations of the region are on the other.”

Much like the Syrian regime, Khamenei tries to normalize his regime to the international community by attempting to convince it that there is no credible alternative, so his regime and its radical Islamist ideology must be accepted by all.

No international effort to date has had any meaningful impact in moderating Tehran’s external aggressions and horrific domestic repression. If anything, the more Iran has sought recognition by the EU and US as a legitimate power, the further its terror proxies have spread throughout the Middle East.

Neither “elections,” nor the millions of dollars that have resulted from the nuclear deal, have had any tangible moderating influence on Tehran. Dialogue with it has come to its inevitable conclusion: A stubborn impasse.

So perhaps now is the time to invest real resources, time and diplomatic capital to helping the Iranian resistance grow and push back against Khamenei’s maximalist designs.
What better way to respond to Tehran’s malign meddling than with a dose of its own medicine?

• Oubai Shahbandar is a former Department of Defense senior adviser, and currently a strategic communications consultant specializing in Middle Eastern and Gulf affairs.