Although it has been called "a little-known exile group," the Assembly has appeared in several news stories in recent years. The group was founded and was headed by Frood Fouladvand who has reportedly been missing since January 2007.
Activities and alleged activities
Bombings
reported that the organization took responsibility for the 2008 Shiraz explosion at the Hosseynieh Seyed al-Shohada Mosque where 12 people were killed and 202 injured. Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour, alleged by the government to be members of the assembly, were arrested and tried for the bombing by the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In January 2010 they were executed for moharebeh and attempting to overthrow the Iranian government. An Assembly spokesperson has denied that Ali Zamani had played any role in the post-election protests, stating that he had worked with the organization, but his job was "simply to pass on news for our radio station and to make broadcast packages".
2005
In 2005, 56 Iranians staging a sit-in against the Iranian Islamic government were arrested at the Brussels airport for refusing to leave a Lufthansa plane. At least one protester, Armin Atshgar, identified himself as a member of the group and told the press that "We want the European Union to remove the Islamic leaders from Iran." The group was also reportedly active at the annual Nowruz Persian parade in New York City.
2010
In 2010, Iran accused the organization of planning terror attacks within its territory. The group runs pro-Iranian opposition radio and television stations and has called for the overthrowing of the Iranian government. The group members have denied that the group is a terrorist organization and denied involvement with the attacks in Iran. Iran analysts said Iran may be pointing the finger at Tondar because it prefers to "blame the internal dissent and tumult on outside forces". On January, 2010, Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador to Iran, who is representing the interests of United States in Iran, demanding the extradition of individuals associated with the group, whom Iran believes are behind the assassination of Masoud Alimohammadi, a nuclear physics professor in Tehran who was killed in a bomb blast.
2020
On 1 August 2020, Iran's Ministry of Intelligence announced they detained Jamshid Sharmahd, spokesperson of the assembly. Iranian state television broadcast a report on Sharmahd's arrest, linking him to the 2008 bombing of the Hosseynieh Seyed Al-Shohada Mosque in Shiraz. It also said his group was behind a 2010 bombing at Ruhollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran that wounded several people.
