Iranians Continue Rallies In Europe, Australia To Support Protesters
Iranian communities in several European cities held rallies Friday in support of protests in Iran and to demand the closure of Islamic Republic’s missions in Europe.
Iranian communities in several European cities held rallies Friday in support of protests in Iran and to demand the closure of Islamic Republic’s missions in Europe.
Iranian Australians also held a protest in Brisbane outside the regional parliament of Queensland. The crowd sand protest songs and displayed photographs of civilians killed by government forces since September, when nationwide protests began after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini who was arrested for ‘improper hijab’.
In Europe, Iranians gathered in Stockholm and Frankfurt demanding freedom for imprisoned journalists in Iran and urging European countries to cut ties with the Islamic Republic.
Iranians who have settled in Europe hold regular protests for three months. The community in Stockholm is one of the most active. Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström visited the rally expressing support for rights of protesters in Iran and condemning the execution of young people by the clerical regime.
Iranians in Frankfurt gathered outside Islamic Republic’s consulate demanding that Germany expel all regime diplomats. A group of protesters have camped at the location for the past 24 days and have gone on a hunger strike. German media covered the Frankfurt rally.
The Italian Senate in Rome was the venue of a conference Friday in support of protesters in Iran, with the participation of Italian Iranians. The foreign affairs committee of the Italian Senate was the organizer of the event to hear the views of the Iranian community.
Iranian in Britain had held rallies and protests on Thursday in Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow and London.
Hacktivist group Backdoor (3ackd0or) provided Iran International with documents that proves Mohammad-Reza Ansari, was one of the commanders of the Quds Force unit 840 based in Syria who led the operation to assassinate former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former national security advisor John Bolton, apparently in retaliation for the US targeted killing of top IRGC commander General Qasem Soleimani.
Soleimani was killed in Baghdad along with nine others in January 2020 by a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump, a huge blow to the regime, which was heavily dependent on him to lead its proxies across the region. Many Islamic Republic officials and military commanders have vowed revenge for Soleimani, and every year around the time of his death anniversary, such threats are echoed by the regime.
According to the leaked documents, an IRGC envoy went to Washington January 16, 2022, to carry out the plan, but the IRGC was not unaware that an individual hired to kill Bolton in exchange for $300,000 was actually an FBI informant.
The planner of the botched plot, who had recruited agents in the United States, was Shahram Poursafi, who was charged by the Department of Justice in August with plotting to assassinate Bolton. Poursafi is a 46-year-old Quds Force officer operating under the pseudonym "Mehdi Rezaei".
The Justice Department statement cited court documents suggesting Poursafi launched the plan to kill Bolton, either in Washington, the District of Columbia, or Maryland in October 2021 by asking an unnamed individual – whom he met online – to take photographs of Bolton, ostensibly for a book Poursafi was writing. The individual concerned introduced Poursafi to a second person whom he offered $250,000, later increased to $300,00, to eliminate the ex-presidential advisor.
Poursafi, who is at large, had told the hired “killer” about the job that it did not matter how the murder was carried out but that he would need video confirmation of Bolton’s death. He had emphasized that it is better to assassinate Bolton before the second anniversary of Qassem Soleimani's death. Poursafi also promised the person to pay $1 million for his next target, who was supposed to be Pompeo. Poursafi is now apparently in Iran and participates in clubhouse chat rooms with his photo and under the name of "Mehdi Rezaei," defending the policies of the IRGC and the Islamic Republic.
Poursafi, along with Mohammad Hossein Shahmoradi an intelligence commander in Tehran and Abolfazl Alizade, is a member of the team headed by Mohammad Reza Ansari, who is one of the commanders of Unit 840 of the Quds Force and is stationed in Syria.
Unit 840 is a very secretive group within the Quds Force and there are usually no photos of its members available. The unit’s mission is to conduct operations against Western targets and Iranian opposition groups and individuals. There is no mention of Unit 840 in Iranian media. The existence of such a unit has only been reported by Israeli media which in November 2020 reported that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had accused Unit 840 of placing explosives at the Syrian border. Colonel Hassan Sayyad-Khodaei, who was shot dead behind the wheel of his car outside his home in Tehran on May 2022 was one of the previous commanders of the elite Qods Unit 840.
