Dutch Prosecutor Reports Arrest of Two Suspects in Attempted Assassination of Iranian Activist

The Dutch prosecutor's office has announced that two armed men recently arrested in the country are suspected of attempting to assassinate an Iranian activist. On Wednesday, June 26, the public prosecutor stated that a 38-year-old Tunisian citizen, arrested on June 6 in Haarlem, Netherlands, along with another man, is suspected of planning to assassinate an 'activist and journalist' of Iranian descent residing in the Netherlands. The Dutch prosecutor had previously indicated that this Tunisian man is also suspected of attempting to assassinate a Spanish politician. The French newspaper Le Monde identified this politician as Alejo Vidal-Quadros Roca. The second individual arrested alongside the Tunisian is a 27-year-old Colombian man. According to the Dutch prosecutor's statement, the police responded to reports of a suspicious situation and arrested two individuals who appeared to be armed after a foot chase. The statement indicated that investigations into this case are ongoing. Le Monde reported on Wednesday that the Iranian individual who was the potential assassination target is Siamak Tadin Tahmasbi. Mr. Tadin Tahmasbi, who identifies himself as an artist and civil activist on social media, wrote on Wednesday on X: 'The Islamic Republic has reached a point where international fugitives are sent with machine guns against opponents.' The Spanish politician who was targeted in Madrid identified Iran as the 'agent of the assassination' against him. Le Monde noted that one of Mr. Tadin Tahmasbi's friends, an Iranian rapper living in Denmark, has been moved to a safe house following the discovery of this plot. Both individuals were mentioned in a statement from the Ministry of Intelligence last year, which claimed they were connected to a group described as 'terrorist' that was arrested in July of the same year - a matter that could indicate they were targets of Iranian security agencies. According to Le Monde, the suspect was linked to a Moroccan criminal group known as the Moroccan Network, which has been prosecuted for security offenses in the Netherlands since 2019 and was involved in the assassination attempt on the Spanish politician. Alejo Vidal-Quadros, the Spanish politician who was targeted on November 9 last year in central Madrid, accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of being behind the attempt on his life. This 78-year-old politician served as Vice President of the European Parliament in 2009 and 2014 and is known to be a supporter of the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran. The Islamic Republic, which has a history of physically eliminating its opponents at various historical periods both inside and outside the country, has recently threatened numerous journalists and political activists abroad with physical elimination through social media or pressured their families inside the country. In recent years, many human rights activists and journalists outside Iran, including those at Radio Free Europe, have published evidence in this regard in the media and social networks. The use of criminal groups to act against opponents abroad is not unprecedented, as a recent investigative report by Radio Free Europe revealed that the Islamic Republic used a criminal group in Azerbaijan to physically eliminate Masih Alinejad, a political activist opposed to the Islamic Republic in the United States.