Al-Arabiya, Saudi Arabia, July 14
One observing the European frenzy to appease the Iranian regime—in particular, the European attempt to salvage the nuclear deal at any cost—can’t help but question why, and how, the Iranians have won such preferential treatment? I’m saying this specifically in the context of the recently-uncovered Iranian cell that operated in Europe and planned an attack in France. How can European leaders ignore these severe threats on their very own sovereignty and continue negotiating with the Iranian foreign minister as if nothing happened? Think about this: when we hear of attempts to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe by organizations like the Islamic State, we are often met with shock and rage. We expect security authorities to do anything possible to foil such attacks on European soil. Yet, here, at very same time in which Iranian diplomats are meeting their European counterparts and talking about political agreements, Iranian agents are roaming the streets of Europe unhindered, planning attacks that could kill scores of European citizens. And the authorities are doing absolutely nothing! The uncovered Iranian cell made use of the wide network of Iranian embassies in Europe to plan an attack against a conference held by the Iranian opposition in one of Paris’ suburbs. French authorities, which caught and arrested two of the terrorists, didn’t even throw them in jail. Instead, they put them on the first outbound flight from Paris to Tehran, and tried to hide the issue. I wouldn’t be surprised if the terrorists flew first class. This kind of weak response not only strengthens the radical forces in Iran, but also harms Europe’s national security. Above all, it is a betrayal of the European people. Despite the desire to reach a political solution with Iran, European leaders cannot forsake the interests of their very own people. –Hameed Barami