30.10.2008

Contact: Diana Gregor  +44 20 71 93 85 12   diana.gregor@realite-eu.org

Iranian Official Threatens Terror Attacks in London

The head of the Europe and US Department in the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Wahid Karimi, has suggested that Iran should target London in order to deter the US from attacking Iran. "The most appropriate means of deterrence that Iran has, in addition to retaliatory operation in the [Gulf] region, is to take action against London," the Iranian official said. [1]

Furthermore, Seyed Safavi, head of the Research Institute of Strategic Studies in Tehran and advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned foreign diplomats in London that a preemptive strike on Israel was being lobbied as an option in order to neutralize any Israeli attempt to bomb Iran’s alleged nuclear facilities. [2]

The world powers have been pushing for diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program. But they know diplomacy may fail. The tone in the war of words is sharpening and these words are taken seriously. [3] Claude Moniquet, Director of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center said that: "We have serious signals that something is under preparation in Europe… Iranian intelligence is working extremely hard to prepare its people and to prepare actions." He added that there is evidence of increased numbers of Iranian agents at work in Europe, possibly planning to target "British citizens on the streets of London." [4]

Iran is recognized as the world’s leading state sponsor of international terrorism. Hizballah – "Party of God" – was established by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [5] (IRGC) and receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, politic, diplomatic and organizational aid from Iran. [6] Since 1984, Iran has created branches of Hizballah in more than 20 countries. [7] Besides its support for Hizballah in Lebanon, Iran has strong ties to Hamas, the main Islamist movement in the Palestinian territories as well as to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). [8]

Numerous UN resolutions (1835 [9] (September 2008), 1803 [10] (March 2008), 1747 [11] (March 2007), 1737 [12] (December 2006), 1696 [13] (July 2006)), repeatedly imposed sanctions by the EU [14] and the latest IAEA report [15] (September 2008) demonstrate Iran’s non-compliance with international actions regarding its nuclear program.

References

[1] Paul, Jonny: „Iranian official calls for attack on UK,“ Jerusalem Post, October 25, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017624184&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[2] Heywood, Cherrie: „Iran Turns Tables, Threatens Strike on Israel,“ Middle East Times, Ocotber 24, 2008, http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/10/24/iran_turns_tables_threatens_strike_on_israel/9743/

[3] Donovan, Jeffrey: „Iran: As Tensions Rise, So Does Rhetoric,“ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, September 28, 2007, http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1078822.html

[4] „Iran „Targets European Nuclear Centres,“ EURSOC, May 2007, http://www.eursoc.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/1622/Iran__Targets_European_Nuclear_Centres_.html

[5] Westcott, Kathryn: „Who are Hezbollah?,“ BBC News, April 4, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1908671.stm

[6] http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hizballah.htm

[7] Taheri, Amir: „God’s army has plans to run the whole Middle East,“ Times Online, July 23, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article691244.ece

[8] Mahjar-Baducci, Anna: „Fatal attraction: The Hamas-Iran alliance,“ The Daily Star, May 8, 2006, http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=24228

[9] http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/525/12/PDF/N0852512.pdf?OpenElement

[10] http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/257/81/PDF/N0825781.pdf?OpenElement

[11] http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N07/281/40/PDF/N0728140.pdf?OpenElement

[12] http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/681/42/PDF/N0668142.pdf?OpenElement

[13] http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/450/22/PDF/N0645022.pdf?OpenElement

[14] „EU states back new sanctions on Iran,“ Reuters, June 23, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2360751820080623?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

[15] http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Board/2008/gov2008-15.pdf