Authorities Investigate Iranian Link To Shooting Of Spanish Politician
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former head of Spain’s Popular Party in Catalonia and former Vice President of the European Parliament, was shot in the face in Madrid yesterday, Thursday 9th November.
Madrid´s 112 emergency services said Vidal-Quadras was shot at point-blank range in the jaw, leaving an entry and exit wound, around 1:30 p.m. in the Salamanca district of the capital.
The shooter escaped on foot and remains at large.
The Spanish authorities are the shooting, and pursuing several lines of enquiry for the motive of the attack including a possible link to the Islamic regime in Iran.
In January, the Iranian foreign ministry announced it had imposed sanctions on Vidal-Quadras along with others for ties with opposition groups. He was accused by Iran of “supporting terrorism and terrorist groups”.
Speaking at an Iranian opposition conference in Brussels in September, Vidal-Quadras criticised EU officials and leaders for not being strong enough in their opposition to Iran and in their support for the exiled opposition.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday expressed his “solidarity” with Vidal-Quadras, wishing him a “speedy recovery.”
“All my thoughts at this time go to him and his family,” Sánchez said on X. “We trust that the investigation can clarify the facts as soon as possible and those responsible will be arreste
The Spanish politician, a former vice president of the European Parliament and early member of the far-right Vox party, was transferred to to the Gregorio Marañon hospital, where he is currently “stable and conscious,” according to local media reports.
