Suspect in plot to bomb Iran opposition in Paris handed to Belgium

A French court gives the green light for a suspect in an alleged bomb plot against an Iranian opposition rally to be handed over to Belgium.

The suspected plan to target a gathering of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in a Paris suburb came to light a few days after the June 30 event.

Six people were arrested in Belgium, France and Germany, two of whom were later released.

Belgian police believe the man arrested at a hotel in Paris, identified only as Merhad A. aged 54, is an accomplice of a husband and wife team caught in Brussels in possession of 500 grams of the powerful explosive TATP and a detonator.

The couple were identified as Amir S., 38, and Nasimeh N., 33.

All three are Belgian nationals of Iranian origin.

Earlier today, German police swooped on an Iranian diplomat based in Vienna who has been named as Assadollah Assadi. German prosecutors believe Assadi, believed to be an intelligence agent, ordered the couple to attack the rally and had handed them the explosives at a June meeting in Luxembourg.

— AFP