The Netherlands and Europe are the stage for espionage, murders and attempts at murder. The Targets are opponents of the Teheran regime in Iran. In The Netherlands, Ahmad Mola Nissi (2017) and Ali Motamed (2015) were liquidated.
Saudi Arabia, Iran's nemesis, also plays a role in the conflict. What do we actually know about this shadow war? And what is the position of the Dutch government in this geopolitical joust?
Available at:
https://www.npostart.nl/VPWON_1324889
https://www.npostart.nl/VPWON_1324889
Ali Motamed
On December 15, 2015, it is still dark when a man gets out of a blue BMW and shoots a local resident at close range. Ali Motamed, a 56-year-old electrician, will die of his injuries later that day. He lives with his wife and son in Almere (The Netherlands). Like every working day, Motamed leaves that day at a quarter to seven to go to work. He works as an electrician. The motive for the murder is initially a mystery. The liquidation resembles a meticulously prepared criminal settlement, while Motamed is known as "a model citizen" with a clean criminal record. There was no connection with organized crime.
While Motamed is still fighting for his life, his wife tells the police about his secret past in Iran. Motamed came to the Netherlands as a refugee, but he kept his real identity hidden. According to his wife, Motamed is actually Mohammed Reza Kolahi Samadi: sentenced to death in Iran. He is held responsible for carrying out an attack in the 1980s on behalf of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
On December 15, 2015, it is still dark when a man gets out of a blue BMW and shoots a local resident at close range. Ali Motamed, a 56-year-old electrician, will die of his injuries later that day. He lives with his wife and son in Almere (The Netherlands). Like every working day, Motamed leaves that day at a quarter to seven to go to work. He works as an electrician. The motive for the murder is initially a mystery. The liquidation resembles a meticulously prepared criminal settlement, while Motamed is known as "a model citizen" with a clean criminal record. There was no connection with organized crime.
While Motamed is still fighting for his life, his wife tells the police about his secret past in Iran. Motamed came to the Netherlands as a refugee, but he kept his real identity hidden. According to his wife, Motamed is actually Mohammed Reza Kolahi Samadi: sentenced to death in Iran. He is held responsible for carrying out an attack in the 1980s on behalf of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
According to Iranian authorities, Mohammed Reza Kolahi Samadi bombed the Islamic Republican Party headquarters in Tehran on June 28, 1981. The then 22-year-old Reza has a job at the party's office as a sound engineer. A total of 73 party officials were killed in the attack, including four ministers and the party secretary.
Ahmad Mola Nissi
In 2005 and 2006, Iranian Arab minority militants carry out a series of bombings in Khuzestan. 28 people die, mostly civilians. Iranian authorities open a manhunt for the perpetrators. Ahmad Mola Nissi, foreman of the AMSLA, flees. Via the UN refugee program, he ends up in Maastricht, where he continues his struggle as an activist.
Iranian state television reported in 2010 that they know where the leaders of ASMLA have fled to. Nissi moves with his family to the Jan van Riebeekstraat in The Hague. Seven years later on November 8, 2017, Nissi was shot on that street in front of his own front door. Just like Ali Motamed. Again, the investigation points to a professionally prepared liquidation. The shooter's car is found: a stolen BMW with forged license plates. But the investigation into the murder comes to a halt. To date, the murderers of Mola Nissi have not been found.
From the beginning, Nissi's family has been convinced that the Iranian regime is behind the liquidation. The Public Prosecution Service did not find evidence for this. In 2019, the AIVD also stated that it had strong indications of involvement of the Iranian authorities in the case of Mola Nissi.
The Arch-rivals of the Middle East
The two powers of the Middle East, Iran and Saudi Arabia, are opposed as geopolitical and ideological rivals. But this was not always the case.
Before the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iran and Saudi Arabia had a friendly relationship. The royal houses even visited each other regularly. How did their fight start, and what is it actually about?
Client: VPRO-HUMAN
Production Agency: WOUW!
Concept Development: WOUW!, Fokke Mars
Animation: WOUW!, Fokke Mars
Illustrations: Dani Montesinos
Production Agency: WOUW!
Concept Development: WOUW!, Fokke Mars
Animation: WOUW!, Fokke Mars
Illustrations: Dani Montesinos