Pompeo Emphasizes Strong U.S. Support for New European Sanctions Against Iran

On Tuesday, January 8, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the new European Union sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran due to 'planning terrorism on European soil,' stating that Washington 'strongly supports' Europe's new actions against Iran. Earlier that day, the Danish Foreign Minister announced that the EU had agreed to impose sanctions on an Iranian intelligence entity for 'planning terrorism on European soil.' According to Reuters, under these new sanctions, the assets of one unit of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and two individuals, including an Iranian diplomat, will be frozen by the EU. In response to this EU action, Pompeo tweeted: 'Today, the EU issued its first sanctions against the Iranian regime since the Iran deal (JCPOA), and the Netherlands revealed that Iran orchestrated the assassinations of two Dutch citizens in 2015 and 2017. This follows the thwarting of two Iranian terrorist attacks by Denmark and France in 2018.' Pompeo added: 'Iran and Hezbollah have been terrorizing Europe since 1979. European countries today sent a clear message to Iran that terrorism will not be tolerated. The United States strongly supports the new sanctions and stands with our European allies as we confront this shared threat.' Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister reacted to the EU's new actions, accusing the bloc of harboring terrorists. Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted in response to the EU sanctions, stating: 'Europeans, including Denmark, the Netherlands, and France, have sheltered those who killed 12,000 Iranians and participated in Saddam's crimes against the Kurds, as well as other terrorists currently plotting to kill innocent Iranians. Europe cannot evade responsibility for harboring terrorists by condemning Iran.' On November 8, Denmark accused Iran's Ministry of Intelligence of attempting to assassinate an activist opposed to the Islamic Republic. Simultaneously, reports emerged that the Dutch government accused the Iranian regime of assassinating two of its opponents on its soil. The Netherlands stated that the Islamic Republic was involved in planning two assassinations on Dutch territory. France also announced on September 30 that it had seized assets belonging to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and two Iranian citizens due to their connection to an unsuccessful attack on an opposition gathering in Paris. France also stated that an Iranian diplomat had been expelled from its territory. The gathering of the People's Mujahedin Organization took place on June 30 in the suburbs of Paris, and following that, French officials reported thwarting a plot to attack this gathering. Following news of the new EU sanctions against part of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, informed sources in the EU told Radio Farda on Tuesday that the sanctioned entity is the Internal Security Office of the Ministry of Intelligence and the two sanctioned individuals are 'Saeed Hashemi Moghaddam and Assadollah Assadi.' Assadollah Assadi is an Iranian diplomat who was arrested in Germany in July in connection with charges of attempting to bomb the People's Mujahedin gathering in Paris. Saeed Hashemi Moghaddam is also the Deputy Minister of Intelligence in Iran, accused of ordering the bombing at the Iranian opposition gathering in the Paris suburbs. This informed source told Radio Farda that during the Tuesday meeting of the EU's General Affairs Council, which usually includes EU ministers and sometimes foreign ministers of member countries, the list of individuals and terrorist groups known as number 931 was reviewed.