Iran diplomat on trial over plot to bomb opponents in France

bomb was meant to explode in a Paris suburb during a huge rally being held by an exiled Iranian opposition group. It could have caused carn.

Inste, explosion ripped apart robot that army specialists were using to defuse bomb after it was found in car of a couple arrested in a Brussels suburb.

More than two years after last-minute, cross-border operation that thwarted planned attack, couple go on trial Friday alongside two Iranian citizens, including a diplomat believed to be plot’s mastermind.

court case in city of Antwerp has potential to embarrass Iran. According to legal documents from two-year investigation obtained by Associated Press, Belgium’s intelligence and security ncy (VSSE) says diplomat, Assollah Assi, operated on orders of Iran’s authorities and brought explosives to Europe himself.

In a te to Belgium’s federal prosecutor, ncy argued that “ planned attack was conceived in name of Iran and at its instigation.”

prosecutor’s office did t comment on case because trial h yet to start.

On June 30, 2018, Belgian police officers tipped off about a possible attack against annual meeting of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, stopped couple’s Mercedes car. In ir lugg, y found 550 grams of unstable TATP explosive and a detonator. In its report, Belgium's bomb disposal unit said device was of professional quality.

TATP has been used in several attacks in Europe in recent years, including in 2016 when suicide bombers killed 32 people on Brussels subway and at an airport. It could have caused a sizable explosion and panic in crowd, estimated at 25,000 people, that h gared that day in French town of Villepinte, rth of Paris.

Regarded by investigators as “operational commander” of attack, Assi is suspected of having hired couple years earlier.

According to a VSSE te, Assi, 48, is an officer of Iran’s intelligence and security ministry who operated under cover at Iran's embassy in Vienna. Belgium’s state security officers believe he worked for ministry’s so-called Department 312, directorate for internal security, which is on European Union’s list of organizations regarded as terrorist.

Assi's lawyer, Dimitri de Beco, told AP his client contests all charges against him.

“His defense will raise a number of procedural issues, including question of his diplomatic immunity, since it is t disputed that he h diplomatic status, at least at time of facts," de Beco wrote in a short mess, expressing his hope that court case won't be a “political trial."

MEK, once an armed organization with a base in Iraq, is most structured among exiled Iranian opposition groups, and is detested by Iranian authorities. It was removed from EU and U.S. terrorism lists several years ago after deuncing violence and getting western politicians to lobby on its behalf. MEK supports U.S. President Donald Trump’s hard line on Iran and backs U.S. sanctions on country.

Among dozens of prominent guests at rally that day were Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani; Newt Gingrich, former conservative speaker of U.S. House of Representatives; and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

organization’s leer, Maryam Rajavi, has alleged without offering evidence that Assi received his orders from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iran’s Supreme Leer Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“ regime’s leers must be prosecuted and face justice,” she said last month during a video conference with journalists.

Assi allegedly recruited couple — Amir Saouni and Nasimeh Naami, who were of Iranian herit but lived in Antwerp — to obtain information about Iranian opposition. fourth suspect, Mehrd Arefani, is a Brussels resident suspected of traveling to Villepinte on day of planned attack. Investigators found that he was in possession of a phone with Assi’s number.

Travel records obtained by AP show Assi me several trips to Iran in months leing up to rally, returning from last one little more than a week before thwarted attack. According to a te from prosecution’s files, Assi carried explosives on commercial flight to Austria. He allegedly handed bomb over to Saouni and Naami during a meeting in a Pizza Hut restaurant in Luxembourg just two days before y were arrested.

Both have denied y were aware that diplomat — whose code name was Daniel — h given m a bomb. Naami said she believed parcel contained fireworks.

Belgium’s bomb disposal unit said triacetone triperoxide charge in couple's Mercedes car was rey to use. It was “wrapped in plastic and concealed in lining of a vanity case.” y also found a digital remote trigger in a small bag belonging to Naami that contained feminine hygiene items.

Upon his arrest, investigators also found a red tebook in Assi’s car with instructions on how to use bomb. analysis of suspects’ text messs and emails revealed y used code langu to communicate, with “PlayStation 4” alleged name for explosive device.

French side of investigation also established that Assi visited Villepinte during 2017 MEK rally, possibly on a reconnaissance trip.

If convicted, four suspects face between five years and 20 years in prison on charges of “attempted terrorist murder and participation in activities of a terrorist group.” Hearings will last between two and three days and a verdict is expected be delivered by end of next month.
(Im Credit: AP)