Evidence for Global Terrorism of the Islamic Regime Ruling Iran
A Submission to
Australian Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee:
Human rights implications of recent violence in Iran
Terms of Reference:
a) the recent violence against women and girls by Iranian authorities
b) opportunities for nations that value human rights to support those being persecuted and oppressed in Iran
c) the potential application of sanctions on those responsible for the widespread violence and killing of women, girls and protesters in Iran
d) the appropriateness of Iran’s ongoing status on the UN Commission on the Status of Women
e) other actions available to the Australian Government and other like-minded nations to respond to human rights abuses in Iran; and
f) any other related matters.
Contents
1. Introduction.
2. Author’s opinion.
3. Evidence criteria.
4. Evidence for global terrorism of the Islamic Republic.
4.1 War engagements.
4.1.1 Russia vs Ukraine (present)
4.1.2 Yemen Houthis vs Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (2017-2022)
4.1.3 Hezbollah, Hamas vs Israel (present)
4.1.4 Syrian civil war (present)
4.1.5 Iraq (present)
4.2 Assassination of non-Iranians.
4.2.1 Saudi ambassador to US.
4.2.2 Iraqi officials.
4.2.3 Former US officials - Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook, John Bolton.
4.3 Assassination of Iranian opposition.
4.3.1 Shapour Bakhtiar (1991)
4.3.2 Kurdish opposition (Mykonos restaurant massacre – 1997)
4.4 Abduction.
4.4.1 Masih Alinejad (2021)
4.4.2 Ruhollah Zam (2020)
4.5 Bombing.
4.5.1 MEK rally in Belgium (2018 – failed attempt)
4.5.2 Israeli embassies in Thailand (2013 – failed attempt), India, and Georgia.
4.5.3 Israel embassy (1992) and Jewish Center (1994) in Argentina.
4.6 Hostage-taking.
4.6.1 Ahmadreza Jalali (2016-present)
4.6.2 Fariba Adelkhah (2019-present) and Ronald Marchal (2019-2020)
4.6.3 Richwhite and Thackwray (July-October 2022)
4.6.4 Zaghari-Ratcliffe (2016-2022), Ashoori, Tahbaz.
4.6.5 Kylie Moore-Gilbert (2018-2020)
4.6.6 Jolie King and Mark Firkin (July-October 2019)
4.6.7 Clotilde Reiss (2009-2010)
4.6.8 Donald Klein (2005-2007)
4.6.9 Zahra Kazemi (2003 – died under torture)
4.7 Financial and trade crimes.
4.7.1 FATF blacklist: Money laundry and terrorism financing.
4.7.2 Drug trafficking.
4.7.3 Oil smuggling.
4.8 Cyber-attacks.
4.8.1 Australia.
4.8.2 Albania.
4.8.3 US government intelligence.
4.9 Advocacy for terror
4.9.1 Destruction of Israel
4.9.2 Fatwa on Salman Rushdie.
1. Introduction
This submission aims to provide a historical summary of human rights abuses perpetrated by the Islamic Republic regime of Iran, both within the boundaries of Iran and across the world, with a special focus on the international outreach of these violations. Provided examples range from mobilising armies of enslaved Afghan refugees to fight in wars, to using its embassies as command centres of bombing operations; from kidnapping journalists overseas and executing them in Iran to taking foreign nationals on Iranian soil hostage and swapping them for terrorists caught and convicted abroad. The submission also covers aspects of the financial corruption, money laundering and cyber-crime committed by Iran’s ruling regime.
With this submission, I intend to support the following conclusion:
The Islamic Republic regime is, in its entirety, a terrorist organisation and a worldwide violator of human rights. It must be dealt with accordingly:
- It, and its key military force, IRGC[1], must be recognised as terrorist organisations.
- Its embassy in Canberra must be shut down.
- The money its officials and their dependents have brought to Australia, and any gains they have made through investment in Australia must be tracked and frozen in line with the Australian Magnitsky act.
The rest of this submission is organised as follows: section 2 describes my analysis of the reasons, extent, and consequences of human rights violations of the Islamic Republic regime. This section also addresses questions specifically asked in the ‘terms of reference of the inquiry. Section 3 outlines the basic criteria considered for selecting the evidence. Section 4 contains all the evidence.
2. Author’s opinion
Problem
Throughout its 44 years of existence, the Islamic Republic has consistently been a source of international instability. While destabilisation of economic and political rival powers is not in itself a crime, Islamic Republic does it through criminal means (such as spreading financial corruption in Afghanistan; secretarial violence in Iraq) and for criminal purposes (such as enslaving refugees that result from destabilisation).
Global terrorism is enshrined in the constitution of the Islamic Republic. In its preamble, we read:
“the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps […] will be responsible not only for guarding and preserving the frontiers of the country, but also for fulfilling the ideological mission of jihad in God's way; that is, extending the sovereignty of God's law throughout the world (this is in accordance with the Qur'anic verse "Prepare against them whatever force you are able to muster, and strings of horses, striking fear into the enemy of God and your enemy, and others besides them" [8:60]).”
This submission presents several examples that demonstrate how the Islamic Republic exercises its constitutional principle of world dominance by force and fear.
Through these acts of terrorism, the Islamic Republic violates the following articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with reference to examples of each violation in section 4 - evidence):
- Article 3: sections 4.1 through 4.9.
- Article 4: section 4.1.1.
- Article 5: Section 4.4.2 and all items of section 4.6.
- Article 9: section 4.6.
- Article 10: section 4.6.
- Article 11: section 4.6.
- Article 12: section 4.6.
- Article 13: sections 4.4 and 4.6.
- Article 20: sections 4.5.1, 4.5.3, 4.6.7 through 4.6.9
- Article 28: all items under section 4.
It is notable that IRGC is, for all practical purposes, equivalent to the Islamic Republic regime. It dominates the army and police, cabinet, parliament, strategic industries, telecommunications, and much of the rest of the economy.
Solution
The first step is to recognise the problem and call it what it is. The US government designated IRGC as a terrorist organisation in 2019.
In Australia, a terrorist organisation is defined as an organisation that is:
“… engaged in preparing, planning, assisting or fostering the doing of a terrorist act, or advocating the doing of a terrorist act”[2],
if Minister for Home Affairs is satisfied with the above.
Section 4 of this document presents evidence showing the Islamic Republic regime is, in its entirety, a terrorist organisation according to the standard set out by law. If this evidence is not adequate for the minister to declare the Islamic Republic a terrorist organisation, I ask what level of evidence is required.
Recognition of the Islamic Republic and IRGC as terrorist organisations, shutting down its embassy, and application of the Australian Magnitsky sanctions on them will: 1) deprive the regime of vital resources that it needs to continue the criminal activities, and 2) send a clear message to the top officials of the regime that their window of escape to wealthy, democratic countries is about to close. This would encourage them to desert the regime sooner.
Above all, I believe this is our ethical obligation to stop doing “diplomacy” or trade with terrorists and human rights abusers. Only firm, prompt action can minimise the pain and suffering terrorists cause in the world, not empty words.
3. Evidence criteria
In selecting supporting evidence, I have adhered to the following criteria:
- European, US or Australian law, court rulings, government investigations and statements as the highest standard
- Mainstream media news articles. Opinion and analysis-centred pieces are avoided
- Majority of cases are referenced using media outlets known as centre-left. This is because historically, left-leaning politics has favoured dialogue with the Islamic Republic and recognition of it as an equal
- Right-leaning media are referenced occasionally. Any outlet or organisation described as far-right are strictly avoided
- Israeli and Arab sources are not used to avoid “anti-Iran bias”.
4. Evidence for global terrorism of the Islamic Republic
4.1 War engagements
4.1.1 Russia vs Ukraine (present)
Whilst claiming to back peace, Islamic Republic is proven to be providing Russia with armed drones, missiles, and US-trained Afghan soldiers who seek asylum in Iran (some at the threat of deportation, which means execution by the Taliban).
· Russia Ukraine update: Iran preparing to send additional weapons to Russia, Western officials say (9news.com.au) – including ballistic missiles, per report.
· Russia recruiting Afghan special forces who fought with US to fight in Ukraine | The Guardian
4.1.2 Yemen Houthis vs Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (2017-2022)
The Islamic Republic has been an active player in Yemen civil war since its inception. Its role includes the provision of ballistic missiles used by Houthis to strike Saudi (2017-2022) and UAE (2022) oil fields, conventional missiles and rockets, small arms, and training to Houthi rebels, disguised as humanitarian aid.
· Iran giving Houthis ‘significant’ and ‘lethal’ support: US envoy | Houthis News | Al Jazeera
· Yemen's Houthis fail in second missile attack on UAE | Reuters
4.1.3 Hezbollah, Hamas vs Israel (present)
The Islamic Republic has been a major and consistent funder of Hamas and Hezbollah, both recognised in their entirety as terrorist organisations by the Australian governments. Both groups are responsible for numerous rocket and missile attacks on Israeli cities, operating suicide bombings and various forms of random attacks on civilian populations as well as full-scale military strikes on Israel.
· Hezbollah Vows That 'As Long As There Is Money in Iran, We Will Have Money' (businessinsider.com)
On a grander scheme, Islamic Republic defines itself as the liberator of Palestine. It is the only UN member-state that openly calls for the complete elimination of another member, Israel, from the face of Earth. See section 4.9.1.
4.1.4 Syrian civil war (present)
Merely 2 months after the beginning of the Syrian uprising against the Assad regime (March 2011), IRGC was involved in the crackdown on protests. Human Rights Watch reports IRGC recruited Afghan refugees, including children, to fight in Syria. IRGC calls its involvement of a “consultative” nature. Contrary to other Arab countries that underwent revolutions and reached relative stability, in Syria, nearly 200,000 were killed and millions fled into Europe. 11 years later, the conflict is still ongoing.
· Iran helping Syrian regime crack down on protesters, say diplomats | Syria | The Guardian (article from May 2015)
· Iran: Afghan Children Recruited to Fight in Syria | Human Rights Watch
· Iran-backed militias recruiting Pakistanis, Afghans to fight in Syria (asia-news.com)
4.1.5 Iraq (present)
Apart from the contentious origins of the 8-year Iran-Iraq war and the reasons for its prolongation, Islamic Republic has openly bombarded Iraq’s Kurdistan region many times in recent years. One of the last rounds of unprovoked artillery attacks on Kurdistan took place in September 2022, right after the uprising of the Iranian people following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. It resulted in dozens of civilian deaths including pregnant women and children.
· Iraq: Iran Attacks Kill Civilians in Kurdistan Region | Human Rights Watch
4.2 Assassination of non-Iranians
4.2.1 Saudi ambassador to the US
IRGC plotted and recruited a car salesman with close contacts in the narcotics business to kidnap and kill the Saudi ambassador to the US (2011).
4.2.2 Iraqi officials
Two reports outline Iran’s alleged suicide bomb attacks on Iraq’s Green Zone (administrative and diplomatic area of the capital Baghdad) in 2006-2008 with reference to intelligence logs obtained by the Guardian, as well as a 2021 drone attack at Iraq’s PM residence which Iraqi officials believed was backed by Iran militia.
· Iran-backed militia staged drone attack on Iraqi PM - officials | Reuters
4.2.3 Former US officials - Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook, John Bolton
In March 2022, the United States government revealed that it spends $2M a month to protect former officials from credible death threats from the Islamic Republic regime. Mike Pompeo (former secretary of state), and Brian Hook (Pompeo’s senior advisor and special representative on Iran) are particularly under threat due to the active role they played in tightening the economic sanctions on IRGC.
· Security for Pompeo costing $2 million per month amid threats from Iran: report (yahoo.com)
· US uncovers Iran 'plot' to kill ex-White House official John Bolton (france24)
4.3 Assassination of Iranian opposition
4.3.1 Shapour Bakhtiar (1991)
Bakhtiar, the last Prime Minister of the Shah of Iran prior to the Islamic revolution of 1979 was murdered at his residence in Paris in 1991 by an Islamic Republic agent, Ali Vakili Rad. He received a hero’s welcome in Iran after he was ‘unofficially’ swapped with a French scholar, Clotilde Reiss, whom the Islamic Republic had arrested on the charge of espionage. See section 4.6 for details on Iran’s hostage diplomacy.
· Ali Vakili Rad: The perfect murder and an imperfect getaway (france24.com)
· Killer Of Shah's Last PM Gets Hero's Welcome In Tehran (rferl.org)
4.3.2 Kurdish opposition (Mykonos restaurant massacre – 1997)
“A German court found today that the highest levels of Iran's Islamic fundamentalist government gave orders to carry out the gangland-style slaying of three Kurdish dissidents and their translator […] nearly five years ago.” – Washington Post reported on 11 April 1997. Kazem Darabi, the operative who led the assassination, was released in 2007 in a prisoner swap deal in return for the release of Donald Klein, a fisherman who allegedly entered Iranian open waters in a fishing expedition in 2005.
· Refworld | Patterns of Global Terrorism 1996 - Iran
· 1997 Global Terrorism: State-Sponsored Terrorism
· CNN - German court implicates Iran leaders in '92 killings - Apr. 10, 1997
· German court: Tehran ordered exile killings - Washington Post
· Mykonos Murderer Walks – DW – 10/11/2007
4.4 Abduction
4.4.1 Masih Alinejad (2021)
Islamic Republic attempted to kidnap prominent journalist, Masih Alinejad, from the US and transfer her to Iran. Masih is a well-known figure who has led women’s fight against compulsory hijab in Iran and also reported for many years from families of other victims of the Islamic Republic’s domestic atrocities.
4.4.2 Ruhollah Zam (2020)
Zam was a journalist who ran a news outlet called ‘AmadNews’ from France. He published aspects of the corruption of the key officials of the Islamic Republic. The circumstances of his arrest are not clear, but it is reported that he was lured to Iraq to meet a high-ranking religious leader, kidnapped and transferred to Iran. He was executed 4 days after Iran TV aired his “confession” interview.
· One year on, Iranian dissident's execution rattles exiles (france24.com)
· Iran executes dissident journalist, accusing him of inciting | CNN
4.5 Bombing
4.5.1 MEK rally in Belgium (2018 – failed attempt)
Assadi, an Islamic Republic diplomat is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence in Belgium for plotting a bombing attack on an opposition rally in 2018.
· Iranian diplomat convicted of planning attack on opposition | AP News
4.5.2 Israeli embassies in Thailand (2013 – failed attempt), India, Georgia
In 2013, two Islamic Republic operatives were convicted for the failed bomb attack on Israeli diplomats in Thailand. Similar bombs were used successfully 1 day earlier in India and Georgia to attack Israeli embassies. The attackers were released in 2020 with pressure from Australian governments, in return for the freedom of Moore-Gilbert.
· Iranians convicted over Bangkok bomb plot | Thailand | The Guardian
· Israel says Iran behind New Delhi, Georgia attacks | Reuters
4.5.3 Israel embassy (1992) and Jewish Center (1994) in Argentina
“Iranian-backed Lebanese militants claimed responsibility for one of the year's terrorist ``spectaculars''--the March 1992 car-bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, in which 29 people died and 242 were injured.” US Department of States asserts in its 1992 Patterns of Global Terrorism report.
· 1992 Global Terrorism: Middle East Overview (fas.org)
In 1994, AMIA, the Jewish community centre of Buenos Aires was blasted by a suicide car bomb. In 2006, attorney general, Nisman, charged the highest officials of the Islamic Republic and Iranian diplomats for the attack. In 2015, he brought forward a case accusing the Argentinian ex-president of covering up the role of the Islamic Republic. Nisman was murdered hours before testifying on the cover-up case.
· 2006-Nisman-indict-AMIA-full-ENG_.pdf (albertonisman.org)
· https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115sres354is/html/BILLS-115sres354is.htm
4.6 Hostage-taking
Islamic Republic dwarves all other perpetrators of hostage diplomacy based on the number of detentions. Over the years, it has arrested and imprisoned over 140 foreign nationals and residents on baseless and highly disputed charges. Next in this line is China with only a handful of hostage-taking acts.
Hostages generally report torture, forced confessions, sexual assault, denial of medical attention, denial of access to lawyers, and other forms of mistreatment. In 2003, Canadian photographer, Zahra Kazemi, died in custody under torture.
The following section presents only a small sample of these hostage stories.
4.6.1 Ahmadreza Jalali (2016-present)
Jalali is a Swedish-Iranian expert in emergency and disaster medicine. In 2016, he was arrested in Iran, and charged with espionage, while he was on an invited visit to participate in a series of workshops. He is now sentenced to death. Despite that, his wife, Vida, rejected the idea of him being swapped with Hamid Nouri an Iranian official who has been convicted in Sweden for a massacre crime.
· Ahmadreza Djalali, Iran | ScholarsAtRisk.org
· Ahmadreza Djalali, MD, PhD is Dying | Prehospital and Disaster Medicine | Cambridge Core
· ویدا مهراننیا به صدای آمریکا: نمیخواهم همسر بیگناهم با حمید نوری معاوضه شود (voanews.com)
4.6.2 Fariba Adelkhah (2019-present) and Ronald Marchal (2019-2020)
A French-Iranian sociologist and anthropologist, Farbia Adelkhah was arrested in Iran on the charge of espionage and is still in detention. In 2020, When her colleague, Ronald Marchal, travelled to Iran to visit her in prison, he too was arrested and later released in a prisoner swap deal.
· France demands Iran release two of its citizens held since June | Reuters
· The facts about Fariba Adelkhah | Sciences Po
4.6.3 Richwhite and Thackwray (July-October 2022)
Instagram influencers Christopher Richwhite and Bridget Thackwray entered Iran in July 2022 and went offline shortly after. They were released in October 2022, a few days after the news of their disappearance went viral.
· New Zealand couple detained in Iran for months leave the country | New Zealand | The Guardian
4.6.4 Zaghari-Ratcliffe (2016-2022), Ashoori, Tahbaz
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliff is a dual national British-Iranian who was arrested for the charge of conspiracy to topple the Islamic Republic while she was holidaying in Iran. According to BBC, “Ms Truss [UK foreign affair minister] has announced the UK settled the IMS debt [£393.8M] "in parallel" to the prisoner release”. The British government insists these are completely separate issues.
· How is a UK debt to Iran connected to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe? - BBC
· Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Iran offers prisoner swap - BBC
· Who are Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz?
| The Guardian
4.6.5 Kylie Moore-Gilbert (2018-2020)
Kylie was arrested in Iran while she was there on invitation from a public university (Al-Zhara). She was charged with espionage, tried, imprisoned for 804 days, assaulted and tortured. She describes herself as a ‘recovering academic’ but she makes clear by her activism that she does not want to move on. She was swapped with convicted terrorists of the Thailand bombing (section 4.5.2).
· Kylie Moore-Gilbert says she was subjected to 'psychological trauma' in Iranian prison - ABC News
4.6.6 Jolie King and Mark Firkin (July-October 2019)
Australian blogger, Jolie King, and her British partner. Mark Firkin, was arrested in Iran and charged with espionage in 2019. They were released in a prisoner swap in return for the release of Reza Dehbashi, a research student who was in prison for the attempted export of military electronics to Iran.
4.6.7 Clotilde Reiss (2009-2010)
23-year-old French student arrested and charged with espionage for taking photos of the 2009 protests that followed a disputed presidential election. She was swapped with the murder of Shahpour Bakhtiar who was serving time in France (section 4.3.1).
· French academic Clotilde Reiss arrives home after Iran spying conviction | France | The Guardian
4.6.8 Donald Klein (2005-2007)
In 2005, Islamic Republic arrested Donald Klein, a German fisherman, on one of his fishing expeditions. He was swapped with the Islamic Republic terrorists who massacred the Kurdish opposition leaders in Berlin. See section 4.3.2 for reference.
4.6.9 Zahra Kazemi (2003 – died under torture)
Canadian-Iranian journalist and photographer, Zahra Kazemi, was detained in Iran for photographing a protest in 2003.
4.7 Financial and trade crimes
4.7.1 FATF blacklist: Money laundry and terrorism financing
Australian government follows the advice from FATF by putting Iran on the ‘prescribed list’ to apply money laundry countermeasures too. It is not clear to the author what countermeasures currently apply, and whether they specifically target the officials of the Islamic Republic, including its diplomatic mission.
4.7.2 Drug trafficking
In March 2012, the US treasury designated the IRGC Quds Force General Bagheri “as a specially designated narcotics trafficker.” US Treasury adds that drug trafficking is done by IRGC “as part of a broader scheme to support terrorism”.
4.7.3 Oil smuggling
In May 2022, the US Department of state-designated an international oil-smuggling network led by IRGC-QF officials, and “backed by senior levels of the Russian Federation government and state-run economic enterprises.”
4.8 Cyber-attacks
4.8.1 Australia
Following info-sheet outlines aspects of cyber-warfare conducted by the “Iranian government-sponsored APT actors” with a wide range of techniques and purposes.
4.8.2 Albania
In July 2022, the Albanian government sustained a devastating cyber-attack on its online infrastructure. Investigations by the FBI and other intelligence agencies showed the Islamic Republic was behind this attack. The Albanian government has since cut all diplomatic ties with Iran. Following this decision, in September 2022 the second wave of cyber-attacks was launched on the Albanian government.
· Iranian State Actors Conduct Cyber Operations Against the Government of Albania | CISA
4.8.3 US government intelligence
The following reference contains a comprehensive summary of cyber-attacks conducted by the Islamic Republic “government”, IRGC and/or their subsidiaries since 2020.
· Iran Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories | CISA
4.9 Advocacy for terror
4.9.1 Destruction of Israel
The destruction of Israel has been one of the pillars of both diplomacy and militia doctrine of the Islamic Republic since its inception.
· Iran leader says Israel a 'cancerous tumor' to be destroyed | AP News
· Iran will support any nation or group that fights Israel: supreme leader | Reuters
· Top Iran general says destroying Israel is ‘achievable goal’ | news.com.au
4.9.2 Fatwa on Salman Rushdie
Mr Rushdie is a British-American novelist who received a death fatwa (Islamic sentence for execution) from the Islamic Republic’s founder, Khomeini, for publishing a novel that Khomeini deemed insulting to the prophet of Islam. The fatwa was accompanied by a multi-million-dollar award from Iranian state-run media and other organisations. Even though the Islamic Regime government tried to quietly distance itself from the fatwa to restore good relations with the west, it was never revoked.
Islamic Republic agencies added an extra $600,000 to the bounty in 2016.
When, in 2022, Mr Rushdie was stabbed on his lecture stage in New York, the media and news agencies ran closely by the Islamic Republic government, leader and IRGC, celebrated the attempt, printing titles like “the eye of Satan came off”.
[1] Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
[2] Criminal Code Act 1995 and Criminal Code Amendment (Terrorist Organisations) Act 2004