State Hostage-Taking and Terrorism in the Shadow of the Law: How Has the Islamic Republic Challenged Global Security? H. Soleimani ۱۴۰۴/۰۵/۰۹ H. Soleimani examines the Islamic Republic’s use of arbitrary detention, hostage-taking and extraterritorial assassinations, and argues that the West’s response has been inadequate. The article recalls the Mykonos trial and calls for stronger diplomatic action. H. Soleimani – In a world built on the international order, the United Nations Charter, human rights conventions and the principles of diplomacy, the conduct of a single state can challenge that entire order. Over the past 46 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has adopted a multilayered policy of arbitrary arrests, hostage-taking of foreign citizens and assassinations of opponents on the soil of other countries, becoming an unprecedented example of the systematic violation of human rights and a threat to global security. These actions, often justified in the name of “national security”, have in practice turned human lives into hostages in political and economic dealings; this is a pattern that endangers not only the region, but the international community as well. 1. Hostage-taking under the cover of law Since 1979, dozens of foreign and dual-national citizens have been detained by Iran’s security agencies. Accusations such as “espionage”, “links with hostile governments” and “propaganda against the system” are levelled without substantiated evidence, and many detainees are held in solitary confinement for months without access to an independent lawyer. In most cases, these people’s forced confessions are broadcast on the Islamic Republic’s official media, even though they have been subjected to psychological pressure, threats to harm their families or torture. These arrests are, in reality, a means of applying political pressure in diplomatic negotiations, bargaining over the release of frozen assets, or securing exchanges for agents of the Islamic Republic in the West. From journalists such as Jason Rezaian to activists such as Nazanin Zaghari and Morad Tahbaz, all have found themselves caught as pawns in a security game. 2. Targeted assassinations beyond the borders The Islamic Republic’s conduct has not been confined to its domestic borders. Documents and official reports from organisations such as the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation and the United States Department of State indicate that, from 1979 to the present, Iran’s regime has carried out at least 360 assassinations, kidnappings and attempted assassinations against political opponents in more than 40 countries around the world. From the assassination of Shahriar Shafiq, son of Ashraf Pahlavi, in Paris; Kazem Rajavi near Geneva; and Shapour Bakhtiar, the last Prime Minister of the Pahlavi government; to the murders of Fereydoun Farrokhzad and Abdolrahman Ghassemlou, leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and the horrific assassination at Berlin’s Mykonos restaurant; to the murders of Ahmad Nissi and Ali Motamed in the Netherlands, and the abduction and execution of Ruhollah Zam after he was deceived and transferred to Iraq, as well as the abduction and execution of Jamshid Sharmahd and dozens of other cases—all reveal an unprecedented face of state terrorism. These actions reached their peak in the 1990s, chiefly in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where more than 300 opponents of the government were targeted in attempted assassinations. But after the historic ruling in Germany’s Mykonos trial, diplomatic pressure led the Iranian regime temporarily to retreat from this course. In recent years, however, these actions have resumed in new and more complex forms. 3. The West’s weak and worrying response In the face of this scale of human rights violations and security threats, Western governments’ response has been largely symbolic, cautious and lacking in serious effect. In recent months, the United States, Britain, France and Germany have done little more than issue travel warnings, yellow and red security alerts, and advisory emails to dual nationals. While the Islamic Republic’s security agencies are planning and carrying out terrorist operations on European and American soil, it is time for Western countries, particularly the European Union, to go further through political and diplomatic unity—for example, by recalling their diplomats from Tehran and suspending political relations until further notice. 4. The forgotten lesson of the Mykonos trial The Mykonos trial in 1997 was a turning point in confronting the Islamic Republic’s extraterritorial assassinations. Four senior officials of the Islamic Republic, including the then Minister of Intelligence, were formally accused of murdering political opponents in Europe. In response, European countries jointly recalled their ambassadors from Tehran, and the pressure led to the Khatami government taking office and Iran declaring its commitment to halting terrorist operations on European soil. Today, however, not only are those commitments being disregarded, but the Islamic Republic is also operating through methods more covert and complex than before. The attempt to assassinate Masih Alinejad, a Voice of America journalist, in the United States; the plot against Pouria Zeraati, a journalist with Iran International; and the use of foreign operatives and proxy networks to carry out these schemes are clear examples of this dangerous return. 5. The cost of appeasement: the endless spread of the threat At present, citizens of Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and other Western countries are being held in detention in Iran. Some are in solitary confinement and denied a fair trial; others are hostages in political negotiations. Despite documents, evidence and even international court convictions, the international community, in the shadow of economic interests, fear of confrontation and the illusory hope of domestic reforms, continues to resort chiefly to paying ransoms and exchanges, and to measures such as those taken by the Belgian and American governments and others, which have avoided—and continue to avoid—a firm response. This silence has not only put human lives at risk; it has also called the legitimacy of international institutions into question. 6. What should be done? If the international community wants to prevent this dangerous pattern from spreading, it must take action beyond warnings and statements: Formally and bindingly define the concept of “state hostage-taking” at the United Nations; Impose sanctions on security officials and judges involved in these cases; Recall diplomats and downgrade diplomatic relations with Iran; Launch international media and legal campaigns led by the victims’ families; Adopt a binding Security Council resolution demanding an immediate end to this practice. Conclusion The conduct of the Islamic Republic of Iran in taking hostages, assassinating dissidents and systematically violating human rights is not a domestic matter, but a global threat. Silence in the face of such a system will only lead to its repetition and spread. If the world does not respond today, tomorrow will be too late. Security, trust and justice must not be sacrificed to expediency. 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