Belgian Official Resigns Over Inviting Hardline Tehran Mayor To Brussels

Pascal Smet, the Secretary of State for European and International Relations for the city council of the Belgian capital Brussels, announced his resignation at a press conference earlier in the day, saying that one of his employees made the mistake of inviting the Iranian hardliner, Alireza Zakani, the mayor of Tehran.

Zakani was a hardline member of parliament before becoming a candidate in the 2021 presidential election and withdrawing in favor of Ebrahim Raisi. He also served as the head of IRGC’s Student Basij paramilitary forces and had a prominent role in cracking down on students during popular protests in July 1999. 

So deep was the controversy, Smet announced his regret in a statement: "I regret that I gave the impression that the Iranian regime is welcome. I assure you that it was not my intention to hurt anyone and that my moral compass is very high. For all these reasons, but mainly because of the accommodation costs, the mistake my employee made, I have decided to resign as Secretary of State." 

Darya Safai, a Belgian-Iranian member of the Belgian Parliament, had led the campaign for Smet's resignation. In a tweet on Sunday she said that his stepping down followed days of work by her party to condemn the invitation of an Iranian delegation to the Urban Summit in Brussels. 

Safai added that the responsibility lies with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib, who issued the visas after individual evaluation. She said her party is set to grill Lahbib this week for not only the invitation but her cooperation with Iranian officials and the prisoner swap deal with Iran that led to release of Iranian diplomat convicted of terrorism, Asadollah Assadi.