Iranian diplomat convicted in plot to bomb Paris meeting of dissidents Print this article An Iranian operative working as a diplomat in Europe attempted to bomb a 2018 gathering of an exiled opposition group, a Belgian court found. The Antwerp court ruled against Assadollah Assadi, 49, on Thursday, convicting him of attempting terrorist murder and participating in the activities of a terrorist group. He was then sentenced to the maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The plot revolved around a 2018 Free Iran gathering near Paris organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political arm of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or the MEK, a leading dissident group seeking regime change and ridding Iran of clerical or dynastic rule. The attack was stopped when Belgian authorities received a tip from the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, and pulled over a couple, 40-year-old Amir Saadouni and 36-year-old Nasimeh Naami, who were traveling in a Mercedes. When police searched the vehicle, they discovered a detonator and over a pound of triacetone triperoxide, known as TATP, which is a highly combustible explosive used in several past terrorist attacks.