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Five MPs were among the thousands who escaped a terrorist plot at a rally in Paris two years ago allegedly designed by an Iranian diplomat.
A bomb that was intended to explode at the Free Iran rally on June 30, 2018 was found in the car of a couple who were arrested in Brussels.
Conservative MPs Bob Blackman, Matthew Offord and Theresa Villiers attended the event, according to the interest register on the government’s website.
They were joined by another Conservative MP, Sir David Amess, and Roger Godsiff of Labor, according to the Sun.
The arrested couple, Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami, go on trial in Antwerp on Friday along with two Iranian nationals, including diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who is believed to be the mastermind of the plot.
According to court documents, Assadi operated under the orders of Iranian authorities and smuggled the explosives into Europe on a commercial flight. He allegedly delivered the bomb to Saadouni and Naami during a meeting at a Pizza Hut restaurant in Luxembourg two days before they were arrested.
Blackman told the Sun that there were around 100,000 Iranians at the rally and hundreds of international dignitaries, including British MPs and Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
“If the plot had been successful, it would have been the deadliest terrorist operation ever carried out in Europe,” he said. “Without a doubt, the United States would have declared war on Iran, and it was only because the plot was foiled and World War III was averted.”
Belgian police were briefed on a possible attack at the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq rally, or MEK, before finding 1 pound 3 oz (550 g) of explosive and a detonator in the couple’s Mercedes car.
