Asadollah Asadi ( fa, اسدالله اسدی, born 1972) is the third

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

of the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian embassy in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He was arrested while returning to his residence in Austria on a highway in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

state of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

on June 10, 2018, accused of being involved in an attempted bombing at a gathering of the

National Council of Resistance of Iran The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI; fa, شورای ملی مقاومت ایران, Šurā-ye melli-e moqāvemat-e Īrān) is an Iranian political organization based in France and Albania. The organization is a political coalition ...

(a political organisation opposing the Iranian regime) in Villepinte, north of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. While Asadi was entitled to

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

in the country of his posting, Austria, he did not have political immunity on German soil, although Iran objected, saying that it regarded the detention of Assadollah Assadi as unlawful and a violation of international law and the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention.

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

judicial authorities said that Asadi, along with two others, Nasim Naami (33 نسیم نعامی) and Amir Saadoni (امیر سعدونی 38), were suspects. Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Javad Zarif Mohammad Javad Zarif Khansari ( fa, محمدجواد ظریف خوانساری, Mohammad-Javād Zarīf Khānsāri ; ; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in th ...

tweeted:

How surprising it is that at the same time as our (Iranian delegation) traveled to Europe with the President of Iran, Iran's alleged operation was launched and one person was arrested. Iran explicitly condemns
violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...
and
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
everywhere and is ready to address any concerns in this regard.

Asadi, Naami, Saadoni, and Mehrdad Arefani were put on trial by a Belgian court. On 4 February 2021, Asadi was sentenced to 20 years in prison for “attempted murder and involvement in terrorism.” During the trial it emerged that the high-potential bomb used for the attack was transported inside a diplomatic suitcase, and that the official, based in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, left the diplomatic headquarters 289 times in order to travel around

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. A lawyer for the prosecution commented after the trial "The ruling shows two things: a diplomat doesn't have immunity for criminal acts ... and the responsibility of the Iranian state in what could have been carnage."

Footnotes

Iranian diplomats Living people 1972 births {{Iran-diplomat-stub

See also

Footnotes