Dutch MP says he felt intimidated by Iranian regime's threatening email
VVD Member of the Tweede Kamer Ulysse Ellian revealed he was intimidated by the Iranian government, describing a threatening email from the Iranian embassy in The Hague that suggested the regime was monitoring him. The email, sent over three years ago, warned Ellian of his Iranian nationality “through the blood of [his] father” and claimed Iranian law applied to him.
The message also stated that renouncing his unrequested Iranian citizenship would require him to complete mandatory military service in Iran. “It is frightening and makes you feel powerless,” Ellian told RTL Nieuws. “Non-believers are never left alone. Never.”
Ellian, 36, received the email just weeks after being sworn in as a member of the Tweede Kamer , the lower House of the Dutch Parliament. “It was a list of legal texts referencing Iranian laws,” Ellian explained. “In short, the email said: ‘Watch out. Be careful. Through your father’s bloodline, we see you as a state citizen, and Iranian law applies to you.’”
Ellian said the email was a stark reminder of threats his family had warned him about for years. “I was shocked. These — pardon my language — bastards really did it. They sent this to show they know exactly who I am,” he said.
Ellian was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1988 and fled to the Netherlands with his parents as a baby. His father, Afshin Ellian, a renowned Iranian legal scholar, philosopher, and poet, fled the Iranian regime after two family members were murdered.
“Although I was born in Afghanistan and raised in the Netherlands, they still see me as Iranian because of my father,” Ellian said.
Encouraged by his father, Ellian pursued a career in politics to improve his community. He began his political journey in the Almere city council before joining the VVD, where he has been vocal about the dangers of the Iranian regime.
Ellian has actively spoken out against Iran’s extraterritorial actions, including the suspected involvement of the Iranian regime in assassinations in the Netherlands. In 2015, Iranian dissident Ali Motamed was killed in Almere, a case the AIVD (Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service) believes was orchestrated by Iranian intelligence.
Two years later, Iranian activist Ahmad Mola Nissi was fatally shot outside his home in The Hague. Iran had labeled Nissi a terrorist due to his leadership of an independence movement.
Ellian has no doubt about the regime’s role in these incidents. “The Iranian regime is behind these killings. Unfortunately, it’s not an exception,” he said.
Ellian has expressed growing concern about the Iranian regime’s ties to organized crime in Europe. He cited a report by the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV) highlighting warnings from Swedish intelligence about Iran’s use of criminal networks to target dissidents abroad.
Due to his outspoken stance against Iran and organized crime, Ellian has been under strict security measures for several years, provided by the same services that protect Geert Wilders. His father has also lived under protection for over two decades. “Behind the joke about ‘family discounts on security’ lies a harsh truth,” Ellian said. “We’ve sacrificed a significant amount of freedom and are always on guard.”
Ellian reported the threatening email to VVD Vice Chair Bente Becker, who took immediate action. Although he could not disclose specifics for security reasons, Ellian said he felt supported by the Dutch government.
“Our cabinet is doing a lot, but Europe is not,” Ellian said. “Many politicians of Iranian descent across Europe face threats from the regime, but the European response remains inadequate.”
Ellian refrains from sharing security concerns with his children or father, saying, “I don’t want to burden them. My father just wants to be a regular grandfather.”
