The Iranian regime’s Head of the Atomic Energy Organization and former Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi has acknowledged that Tehran’s diplomacy and terrorism activities are indistinguishable, as all of the regime’s ministries and agencies are involved in exporting terrorism internationally.
In an interview with the state-run Akharin Khabar website on January 1, ahead of the second anniversary of the elimination of the former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, Salehi made his admission.
He stated that the regime previously appointed ‘special’ ambassadors to Libya and Tunisia, who served as diplomats, but also had experience in carrying out the regime’s terrorist activities.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said, “Salehi also acknowledged how the regime used various tactics and covers to meddle in Arab countries, including Iran’s Red Crescent.”
In an interview in 2019, it came to light that former IRGC top commander, Saeed Ghasemi had visited Bosnia in the 1990s to train Muslim fighters against the Serbs, all while wearing the Iranian Red Crescent uniform.
Salehi claimed, “When we speak of the Quds Force, everyone thinks that it is just a military force. But in fact, the Quds Force is a cultural force and a helping hand. The Quds Force has a military section, but it focuses more on cultural activities and humanitarian aid.”
The NCRI said, “The IRGC Quds Force modus operandi for pursuing its ‘cultural and humanitarian goals’ consists of using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) or suicide bombings to ‘surprise’ people. The heart-wrenching scenes of butchered Syrian children and decapitated innocent Iraqis by the Quds Force are quite telling of this terrorist force’s endeavors to provide humanitarian aid.”
During his interview, Salehi acknowledged Soleimani’s destructive role in Iraq and stated that the use of proxy terrorist groups in the Middle East was to put into practice the regime’s ‘doctrine of exporting revolution to the region’.
Salehi stated, “Soleimani had a unique character due to his field experience. Therefore, many of those who assumed offices in Iraq were close friends of Soleimani and in contact with him. His achievements in Iraq are due to his previous relations with these people and their mutual trust.”
The NCRI said, “It is worthy of note that these so-called ‘Iraqi officials’ were the regime’s operatives and part of 32,000 agents the Iranian Resistance revealed to be on the regime’s payroll in the early 2000s in Iraq.”
Another shocking confession made by Salehi was that Soleimani had a very close relationship with ISIS, and became involved with a number of crises in the region. Apparently, ISIS leaders also consulted Soleimani before making any decisions to relocate its forces across the Middle East.
The NCRI said, “During his hearing confirmation at the regime’s Majlis (parliament), current Foreign Minister, Hossain Amir Abdollahian, said he will continue ‘Soleimani’s path’.”
The Iranian regime’s practice of using their diplomats to help export terrorism across the globe came to light when one of their diplomats based in Vienna, Austria was arrested by German authorities in 2018. Assadollah Assadi, and his three accomplices, were put on trial in early 2021 for their plot to bomb the Iranian Resistance rally in France three years earlier.
The trial uncovered not only their plot, but the extent of Iran’s terror network across Europe, with the regime’s diplomatic outposts being used as hubs for terrorist activities. While they may have put the ringleader in prison for a lengthy sentence, the network is likely still active. Now is the time for Western powers to dismantle this network once and for all.
