Europe should not be deceived by Iran’s bid for sympathy

By Alejo Vidal-Quadras

Former European Parliament Vice-President Alejo Vidal-Quadras warns that the West must be vigilant not to fall for Iranian state propaganda depicting the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism as an ally in the War on Terror.

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a Spanish professor of atomic and nuclear physics, was vice-president of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014. He is currently president of the Brussels-based International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ).

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards recently announced that it fired mid-range missiles from western Iran into the Deir-es-Zour region of eastern Syria, ostensibly to assist Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in his “war against terrorists”.

Even before the missile strike, the Iranian authorities attempted to capitalise on a 7 June terrorist attack by ISIS on the Iranian parliament building and the mausoleum of Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini to portray themselves as an opponent and target of global terrorism, rather than a supporter and perpetrator. Nothing could be further from the truth.