By Joe Kiarie
KENYA: The Iranian government says claims that it is involved in terrorism are part of long-standing smear campaign by the United States and her allies. Mr Malek Givzad, Iran’s ambassador to Kenya, says the claims are a pretext for a military occupation and compares the situation to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
“The US and Israel use every opportunity to spread propaganda against Iran,” Givzad told The Standard on Saturday. “When 9/11 happened, the US initially pointed fingers at Iran. When Oklahoma was bombed (in 1995 by white supremacists), Iran was also blamed. This is well-calculated misinformation. They want to fight us like they did to Iraq, but first want to convince the world that we are the bad guys.”
When asked about evidence of Iranian-sponsored terrorism in Kenya, Givzad claims Israeli agents talked Kenya into pursuing false charges. On Monday, Magistrate Kiarie Waweru Kiarie sentenced Iranians Sayed Mansour Mousavi and Ahmed Abolfathi Mohammed to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of plotting terror attacks in Kenya. The two had been charged with possession of 15 kilograms of RDX explosives last June and were said to target Western and Israeli interest targets in Nairobi.
Givzad laughs off claims that the men are members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, an elite and secretive unit linked to terror attacks globally.
“Why would we send two old men who do not understand a single English word as secret agents?” he asks. “This is a Hollywood scenario, literally. One of them only learnt how to say ‘hello’ while in the courtroom. The Kenya police should stop being used.”
Givzad insists there are no Quds Force secret agents in the country and rubbishes the claim 85kg of RDX is unaccounted for along with one accomplice. He insists Israeli agents framed the charges and Kenyan police were mere spectators in the case. When asked about Iranian citizens facing trial around the world for plotting terror attacks, the ambassador says most of the plots were stage-managed to taint Tehran’s image.
He says the Iranians arrested are either innocent citizens or members of Mujahedin e-Khalgh sponsored by the US and Israel to stage-manage terror attacks. Also known as the People’s Mujahedin, this is a revolutionary organization that advocates for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Its members have killed many people in Iran under this arrangement and were also used by Saddam Hussein for similar reasons,” Givzad says. “Their operatives killed our president, prime minister, head of judiciary, MPs and 15,000 other people.”
Givzad says Iran’s efforts to stop these “pre-planned terror plots” have failed because Tehran cannot control the world media, which spreads anti-Iran propaganda.
