Iran diplomat refuses to appear at bomb plot trial
An Iranian diplomat on trial in Belgium for allegedly plotting to bomb an Iranian opposition rally outside Paris has refused to appear in the dock, his lawyer said yesterday. Assadollah Assadi, formerly based at the Iranian embassy in Austria, is claiming "diplomatic immunity" his lawyer Dimitri de Beco told reporters outside the court in Antwerp, adding that he would be representing his client. In June 2018, Belgian authorities thwarted what they said was an attempt to smuggle explosives to France to attack a meeting of one of Iran's exiled opposition movements which was attended by close allies of US President Donald Trump. Later that year, the French government accused Iran's intelligence service of being behind the operation a charge the Iranian government has denied.
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