Sunday, March 10th 2013

Iranian Interior Minister in Vienna, Iranian Foreign Minister Threatens Critics

STOP THE BOMB criticizes silence over visit of Mohammad-Najjar and threats by Salehi

The STOP THE BOMB coalition criticizes the silence of Austrian politicians over the visit of the Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar to Vienna. Despite the EU's record of Mohammad-Najjar's involvement in the Iranian nuclear and missile program, he is expected to participate in a meeting of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime from March 11th until 15th. Salehi used his visit to Vienna at the end of February to threaten critics of the Iranian regime like STOP THE BOMB and urged them in an interview with the Wiener Zeitung to "be cautious". Otherwise they "could end up in problem situations".

STOP THE BOMB spokesperson Simone Dinah Hartmann stresses: "We expect clear statements of the government and the opposition when a butcher like Mohammad-Najjar comes to Vienna, despite an entry ban that is circumvented through UN-regulations. And we inquire why the Foreign Minister, Michael Spindelegger, does not feel obliged to issue a statement when a top Iranian diplomat uses his visit to threaten Austrian citizens?" Hartmann criticizes the absurd idea to involve the Iranian Regime in the fight against drug trafficking: "In Iran, the accusation of drug dealing routinely leads to the execution of the accused and often enough the allegation is used against political opponents by the regime. At the same time, massive accusations have been raised against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian sponsored Hezbollah, that they themselves are heavily involved in drug trafficking."

Mohammad-Najjar is immediately responsible for the bloody repression against the Iranian freedom movement and has been a member of the Revolutionary Guards for decades. Mohammad-Najjar acted as Defense Minister in Ahmadinejad's first cabinet. He was heavily involved in the establishment of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and he is held responsible for numerous terror attacks initiated by the Iranian regime.