An arson attack has targeted the building of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Berlin Monday morning, the third such attack on the Mojahedin-e-Khalq's (MEK) political arm this year.
The NCRI, based in Paris, promptly attributed the attack to agents of the Islamic Republic.
Police swiftly responded to the incident, launching an operation in the Berlin district of Schmargendorf, as reported by Bild. Initial findings indicated that a side window on the ground floor had been destroyed, and the assailants, yet to be identified, attempted to set the building ablaze.
During the ensuing investigation, law enforcement discovered evidence including petrol cans and a gas bottle. Members of the council managed to extinguish the fire before it could spread to the interior, avoiding injuries. However, the building sustained material damage.
This is not the first instance of aggression against the resistance movement. In 2019, the same building experienced a fire, prompting an examination of potential political motivations. The ongoing police investigation in the current case seeks to unravel the motives behind this latest attack.
In a statement, the NCRI said the ongoing attacks, including two this year, one in May and another in June at a building belonging to the NCRI supporters in northern Paris, would not intimidate the organization, branding the culprits "terrorists and mercenaries of the Quds Force and the Ministry of Intelligence of Iran".
"As the Iranian Resistance has repeatedly stated, appeasement with the mullahs’ regime and actions such as the release of Assadollah Assadi, a terrorist diplomat responsible for organizing a bomb attack at the Iranian Resistance gathering in Villepinte, Paris in June 2018, have more emboldened this regime in terrorist crimes," it said.