France has blamed the Islamic Republic of Iran for a failed bombing plot in Paris at an Iranian opposition rally in June, claiming there is no doubt the rogue nation was behind the incident.
A French source said yesterday that Iran’s intelligence ministry was responsible for the attempted attack at the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) event in the capital on June 30, where attendees included US president Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
The findings will add credence to Mr Trump’s continued pressure on Iran and associated claims the state sponsors terror and has designs on becoming a nuclear-armed power.
The source accused Iranian nationals Saeid Hashemi Moghadam, a top official from Iran’s intelligence ministry, and Assadollah Assadi, a diplomat based in Austria, of being involved the plot. France said it has frozen the assets of the pair in retaliation.
Assadi is expected to be extradited to Belgium for prosecution, having been arrested in Germany.
The French source said: “Behind all this was a long, meticulous and detailed investigation by our (intelligence) services that enabled us to reach the conclusion, without any doubt, that responsibility fell on the Iranian intelligence ministry.”
And a joint statement from France’s foreign, interior and economy ministries, said the incident could not be ignored.
The statement said: “A planned bomb attack was foiled at Villepinte on June 30. This extremely serious attack that was to take place on our territory cannot go without a response.
But Iran has denied involvement in the bombing attempt.
According to state news agency IRNA, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said: “We deny once again the allegations against Iran and demand the immediate release of the Iranian diplomat.”
He added that the incident was “designed by those who want to damage Iran’s long-established relations with France and Europe”.
It comes at a time when Europe is battling to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, after Mr Trump pulled the US out of the accord in May this year, branding it “decaying and rotten”.
The deal was agreed between Iran and the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany.
It was designed to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions against the country being lifted.
Mr Trump reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran after taking the US out of the agreement, fuelling tensions between the two countries.
Source » express