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Germany extradites Iranian official to Belgium

Iranian official Assadollah Assadi, 46, who worked in disguise as a diplomat, was extradited to Belgium to face trial for his role in a thwarted terrorist plot to bomb a political rally in France on June 30.

Asadollah Assadi. Credit: Screenshot.
Asadollah Assadi. Credit: Screenshot.

Germany announced the extradition on Tuesday of 46-year-old Iranian official Assadollah Assadi, who worked in disguise as a diplomat, to Belgium to face trial for his role in a thwarted Iranian terrorist plot to bomb a political rally in France on June 30.

The rally in suburban Paris was attended by some 25,000 Iranians opposed to the Iranian regime. Also in the crowd was former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is currently U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer.

“A Belgian special unit stopped the couple in their car in Brussels allegedly before they could carry out the attack,” according to Radio Free Europe. “German police arrested the diplomat the next day at a highway service station near the town of Aschaffenburg.”

The United States applauded the move.

“The scale of this plot, which involved arrests of numerous suspects across Europe, including in Belgium, France and Germany, reminds us that Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement. “This plot also lays bare Iran’s continued support of terrorism throughout Europe. We support our European allies in exposing and countering the threat that Iranian-backed terrorism poses around the world.”

Rep. Andrew Garbarino said that the mission to protect the United States from terrorists “requires persistent vigilance and adaptation to keep pace with the contemporary threat environment.”
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