Brussels, February 4: Assadolah Assadi, an Iranian Diplomat to Vienna was reportedly handed down 20 years in prison by a European Union court on Thursday for his involvement in devising a plot to bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) near Paris in June 2018. However the plan was foiled by the German, French and Belgian Police. It was the first such judicial trial of an Iran envoy in the union.

Along with Assadi, three other Iranian citizens have been imprisoned for 15, 17 and 18 years for their involvement in the 2018 Paris bomb plot, as per reports. “It was established that the Iranian regime uses terrorism as statecraft and the highest levels of the Iranian regime are involved,” People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran Leader Shahin Gobadi told reporters about the court after the ruling. South Korea Calls For Early Release of Oil Tanker Seized by Iran in Gulf.

Prosecution Lawyer, Georges-Henri Beauthier said that the court observed, "A diplomat doesn’t have immunity for criminal acts, and the responsibility of the Iranian state in what could have been carnage,” while announcing two decade long jail term for Assadi. ‘US Will Join Nuclear Deal if Iran Complies With Provisions’, Says Secretary of State Tony Blinken.

Iran has however denied any involvement in the suspected act of terrorism and claimed that its a western trap, reported Reuters. 49-year-old Assadolah Assadi is the third secretary at Embassy of Iran in Vienna. He was earlier posted as a diplomat in Iraq.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 04, 2021 05:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).