People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran: Difference between revisions
Tigereconomy (talk | contribs) Not widely discussed across reliable sources WP:N |
m Added date for clarification. Information that is not verifiable (and therefore not considered notable) was removed. |
||
Line 167: | Line 167: | ||
In the operation, the U.S. reportedly captured 6,000 MEK soldiers and over 2,000 pieces of military equipment, including 19 British-made Chieftain tanks.<ref name=Sullivan>{{citation |title=Armed Iranian exiles surrender; 6,000-member unit accepts U.S. terms |first=John |last=Sullivan |publisher=Knight Ridder |newspaper=The Record |place=Bergen County, NJ |date=May 11, 2003 |page=A.17}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{citation |publisher=US DoD |type=news briefing |title=M2 Presswire |place=Coventry |date=June 19, 2003 |page=1}}</ref> The [[MEK Compound (Fallujah, Iraq)|MEK compound]] outside Fallujah became known as Camp Fallujah and sits adjacent to the other major base in Fallujah, Forward Operating Base [[Dreamland, Iraq|Dreamland]]. Captured MEK members were kept at Camp Ashraf, about 100 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 60 kilometers north of Baghdad.<ref>{{cite web|first =John |last=Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/camp-ashraf.htm |title="Camp Ashraf" ''US Military Occupation Facilities'' |publisher=Global security |accessdate=2013-01-05}}</ref> |
In the operation, the U.S. reportedly captured 6,000 MEK soldiers and over 2,000 pieces of military equipment, including 19 British-made Chieftain tanks.<ref name=Sullivan>{{citation |title=Armed Iranian exiles surrender; 6,000-member unit accepts U.S. terms |first=John |last=Sullivan |publisher=Knight Ridder |newspaper=The Record |place=Bergen County, NJ |date=May 11, 2003 |page=A.17}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{citation |publisher=US DoD |type=news briefing |title=M2 Presswire |place=Coventry |date=June 19, 2003 |page=1}}</ref> The [[MEK Compound (Fallujah, Iraq)|MEK compound]] outside Fallujah became known as Camp Fallujah and sits adjacent to the other major base in Fallujah, Forward Operating Base [[Dreamland, Iraq|Dreamland]]. Captured MEK members were kept at Camp Ashraf, about 100 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 60 kilometers north of Baghdad.<ref>{{cite web|first =John |last=Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/camp-ashraf.htm |title="Camp Ashraf" ''US Military Occupation Facilities'' |publisher=Global security |accessdate=2013-01-05}}</ref> |
||
MEK personnel in Ashraf were declared [[protected person]]s under the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]] in July 2004.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/vo041019/halltext/41019h01.htm|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 19 Oct 2004 (pt 1)|last=Westminster|first=Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons,|website=www.publications.parliament.uk|access-date=2016-10-22}}</ref> |
|||
Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]] declared MEK personnel in Ashraf [[protected person]]s under the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]]. They are currently under the guard of the [[U.S. Military]]. Defectors from this group are housed separately in a refugee camp within [[Camp Ashraf]], and protected by U.S. Army military police (2003–current), U.S. Marines (2005–07), and the [[Bulgarian Army]] (2006–current).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=75484 |title=Bulgaria: Bulgaria Sends New Unit to Iraq |publisher=Novinite |date=2007-01-17 |accessdate=2013-01-05}}</ref> |
|||
In May 2005, [[Human Rights Watch]] issued a report describing [[prison]] camps within Iraq run by the MEK and severe [[human rights violations]] committed by the group against former members.<ref>{{cite news |title=Human Rights Abuses in the MEK camps|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|date=May 2005|url=http://hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/iran0505/4.htm}}</ref> The report prompted a response by the MEK and a few friendly [[Members of the European Parliament|European MPs]], who published a counter-report in September 2005.<ref name="fofi">{{cite web|url=http://ncr-iran.org/images/stories/advertising/ep%20report-with%20cover.pdf |format=PDF|title=People's Mojahedin of Iran – Mission report |accessdate=2006-08-29|publisher=Friends of Free Iran – European Parliament|year=2005}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=July 2016}} They stated that HRW had "relied only on 12 hours interviews with 12 suspicious individuals", and stated that "a delegation of MEPs visited Camp Ashraf in Iraq" and "conducted impromptu inspections of the sites of alleged abuses." [[Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca]] ([[People's Party (Spain)|PP]]), one of the [[Vice-President of the European Parliament|Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament]], alleged that Iran's [[Ministry of Intelligence and Security]] (MOIS) was the source of the evidence against the MEK.<ref name="fofi" /> The HRW report covered only the period from 1991 to 2003. In a letter of May 2005 to HRW, the senior US military police commander responsible for the Camp Ashraf area, Brigadier General David Phillips, who had been in charge during the year 2004 for the protective custody of the MEK members in the camp, disputed the alleged human rights violations: |
In May 2005, [[Human Rights Watch]] issued a report describing [[prison]] camps within Iraq run by the MEK and severe [[human rights violations]] committed by the group against former members.<ref>{{cite news |title=Human Rights Abuses in the MEK camps|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|date=May 2005|url=http://hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/iran0505/4.htm}}</ref> The report prompted a response by the MEK and a few friendly [[Members of the European Parliament|European MPs]], who published a counter-report in September 2005.<ref name="fofi">{{cite web|url=http://ncr-iran.org/images/stories/advertising/ep%20report-with%20cover.pdf |format=PDF|title=People's Mojahedin of Iran – Mission report |accessdate=2006-08-29|publisher=Friends of Free Iran – European Parliament|year=2005}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=July 2016}} They stated that HRW had "relied only on 12 hours interviews with 12 suspicious individuals", and stated that "a delegation of MEPs visited Camp Ashraf in Iraq" and "conducted impromptu inspections of the sites of alleged abuses." [[Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca]] ([[People's Party (Spain)|PP]]), one of the [[Vice-President of the European Parliament|Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament]], alleged that Iran's [[Ministry of Intelligence and Security]] (MOIS) was the source of the evidence against the MEK.<ref name="fofi" /> The HRW report covered only the period from 1991 to 2003. In a letter of May 2005 to HRW, the senior US military police commander responsible for the Camp Ashraf area, Brigadier General David Phillips, who had been in charge during the year 2004 for the protective custody of the MEK members in the camp, disputed the alleged human rights violations: |
Revision as of 16:37, 22 October 2016
![]() | This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: see talk page. (March 2016) |
People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran سازمان مجاهدين خلق | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | MKO, MEK, PMOI |
Leader | Maryam Rajavi and Masoud Rajavi[a] |
Secretary-General | Zohreh Akhyani[3] |
Founded | September 5, 1965 |
Split from | Freedom Movement[4] |
Headquarters | Paris, France (1981–1986;[5] 2003–)
|
Newspaper | Mojahed |
Military wing | National Liberation Army (NLA)[6] |
Political wing | National Council of Resistance (NCR) |
Membership (2011) | 5,000 to 13,500 (DoD estimate)[5] |
Ideology | |
Political position | Left-wing |
Religion | Shia Islam |
Colours | Red |
Slogan | Arabic: فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا "God Has Preferred The Mujahideen Over Those Who Remain [behind] With A Great Reward." [Quran 4:95] |
Party flag | |
![]() ![]() | |
Website | |
www.Mojahedin.org | |
Armed wing of MKO National Liberation Army of Iran | |
---|---|
File:Ir-nla.gif Flag used since 1987 | |
Dates of operation | 1970s–present Since 20 June 1987 (officially) |
Allies | |
Opponents | ![]() |
Battles and wars | Operation Eternal Light |
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran or simply the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (Persian: سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, abbrevated MEK, PMOI, also MKO; Sāzmān-e mojāhedin-e khalq-e irān) is an Iranian political–militant organization[5] in exile that advocates a violent overthrow of the ruling system in Iran while claiming itself as the replacing shadow government.[13][14]
The organization had also been listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union (until 2009), Canada and the United States (both until 2012).
Described as a “cult”,[b] the organization has been critiqued for having built a cult of personality around its leaders Masoud and Maryam Rajavi.[16]
It was founded on September 5, 1965 by six Muslim students who were affiliated with the Freedom Movement of Iran;[4] however in a coup-style ideological transformation, leftist members hijacked the Muslim group and switched into a Marxist platform in 1975.[22]
The organization played an active role in the protests within Iran that ultimately led to the downfall of the Shah in 1979. Consequently, the PMOI came into conflict with Ayatollah Khomeini and the succeeding regime.[23] In the immediate aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the MEK was suppressed by Khomeini's revolutionary organizations and harassed by the Hezbollahi, who attacked meeting places, bookstores, and kiosks of the Mujahideen.[24] Toward the end of 1981, several PMOI members and supporters went into exile. Their principal refuge was in France.[23]
The group renounced violence in 2001[25] and today it is the main component organization of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an "umbrella coalition" calling itself the "parliament-in-exile dedicated to a democratic, secular and coalition government in Iran." Despite the public renouncement of violence, the MEK have been accused by numerous commentators of being financed, trained, and armed by Israel to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists and educators.[26]
While the MEK's leadership has resided in Paris, the group's core members were for many years confined to Camp Ashraf in Iraq, and later in 2003 the MEK and U.S. forces signed a cease-fire agreement of "mutual understanding and coordination."[27][self-published source?] The group's remaining 3,200 members were recently compelled to move to ex-U.S. military base Camp Liberty.[28]
In 2002 the MEK revealed the existence of Iran’s nuclear program. They have since made various claims about the programme, not all of which have been accurate.[29][30]
Other names
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran is known by a variety of names including:
- Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MEK)
- The National Liberation Army of Iran (the group's armed wing)
- National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) – the MEK is the founding member of a coalition of organizations called the NCRI.[31][32] The organization has appearance of a broad-based coalition, however many analysts consider NCR and MEK to be synonymous[6] and recognize NCR as only "nominaly independent" political wing of MEK.[33][34][35]
- Monafiqeen (منافقین) – the Iranian government consistently refers to the People's Mujahedin with this derogatory name, meaning "the hypocrites".[36]
Note: The acronym MEK is used throughout this article, as it is commonly used by the media and national governments around the world to refer to the People's Mujahedin.
Membership
The MEK was believed to have a 5,000–7,000-strong armed guerrilla group based in Iraq before the 2003 war, but a membership of between 3,000–5,000 is considered more likely.[37] In 2005, the U.S. think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations stated that the MEK had 10,000 members, one-third to one-half of whom were fighters.[38] According to a 2003 article by the New York Times, the MEK was composed of 5,000 fighters based in Iraq, many of them female.[39] A 2013 article in Foreign Policy claimed that there were some 2,900 members in Iraq.[40] In 2011, United States Department of Defense estimated global membership of the organization between 5,000 and 13,500 persons scattered throughout Europe, North America, and Iraq.[5]
History
Before the Islamic Revolution
Foundation
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran was founded in September 5, 1965 by six former members of the Liberation or Freedom Movement of Iran, students at Tehran University, including Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saied Mohsen and Ali-Asghar Badizadegan. The MEK opposed the rule of Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, considering him corrupt and oppressive, and considered the Liberation Movement too moderate and ineffective.[41] They were committed to the Ali Shariati's approach to Shiism.[42] Although the MEK are often regarded as devotees of Ali Shariati, in fact their pronouncements preceded Shariati's, and they continued to echo each other throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.[43]
In its first five years, the group primarily engaged in ideological work.[44] Their thinking aligned with what was a common tendency in Iran at the time – a kind of radical, political Islam based on a Marxist reading of history and politics. The group's main source of inspiration was the Islamic text Nahj al-Balagha (a collection of analyses and aphorisms attributed to Imam Ali). Despite some describing a Marxist influence, the group never used the terms "socialist" or "communist" to describe themselves,[45] and always called themselves Muslims – arguing along with Ali Shariati, that a true Muslim – especially a true Shia Muslim, that is to say a devoted follower of the Imams Ali and Hossein – must also by definition, be a revolutionary.[43] However, they generously adopted elements of Marxism in order to update and modernize their interpretation of radical Islam.[46]
The group kept a friendly relationship with the only other major Iranian urban guerrilla group, the Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG).[47]
Schism
In October 1975, the MEK underwent an ideological split. While the remaining primary members of MEK were imprisoned, some of the early members of MEK formed a new organization that followed Marxist, not Islamic, ideals; these members appropriated the MEK name to establish and enhance their own legitimacy.[48] This was expressed in a book entitled Manifesto on Ideological Issues, in which the central leadership declared "that after ten years of secret existence, four years of armed struggle, and two years of intense ideological rethinking, they had reached the conclusion that Marxism, not Islam, was the true revolutionary philosophy." Mujtaba Taleqani, son of Ayatallah Taleqani, was one of these converts to Marxism.
Thus after May 1975 there were two rival Mujahedin, each with its own publication, its own organization, and its own activities.[49] A few months before the Iranian Revolution the majority of the Marxist Mujahedin renamed themselves "Peykar", on December 7, 1978 (16 Azar, 1357); the full name is: Organization of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class. This name was after the "League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class", which was a left-wing group in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, founded by Vladimir Lenin in the autumn of 1895.[50]
Anti-American campaign
On November 30, 1970 a failed attempt was made to kidnap U.S. Ambassador to Iran, Douglas MacArthur II.[51] This was followed by an assassination attack in May 1972 against USAF Brig. Gen. Harold Price. Price survived the attack but was wounded.[52][53] The CIA's former Chief of Station in Tehran, George Cave, described the attack as the first instance of a remotely detonated improvised explosive device.[54]
In the years between 1973 and 1975, armed operations within the MEK intensified, while primary members of the MEK remained imprisoned.[55] In 1973 ten major American-owned buildings were bombed including those of the Plan Organization, Pan-American Airlines, Shell Oil Company, Hotel International, and Radio City Cinema.[56]
Lt. Col. Louis Lee Hawkins, a U.S. Army comptroller, was shot to death in front of his home in Tehran by two men on a motorcycle on June 2, 1973.[51][52][57][58][unreliable source?][59] A car carrying U.S. Air Force officers Col. Paul Shaffer and Lt. Col. Jack Turner was trapped between two cars carrying armed men. They told the Iranian driver to lie down and then shot and killed the Americans. Six hours later a woman called reporters to claim the MEK carried out the attack as retaliation for the recent death of prisoners at the hands of Iranian authorities.[51][52][58][60] A car carrying three American employees of Rockwell International was attacked in August 1976. William Cottrell, Donald Smith, and Robert Krongard were killed. They had been working on the Ibex system for gathering intelligence on the neighboring USSR.[51][61] Leading up to the Islamic Revolution, members of the MEK, conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.[62] According to the U.S. Department of State and the presentation of the MEK by the Foreign Affairs group of the Australian Parliament, the group conducted several assassinations of U.S. military personnel and civilians working in Iran during the 1970s. After the revolution the group actively supported the U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran in 1979.[63]
MEK supporters have claimed that the assassinations and bombings were carried out by the Marxist leaning splinter group Peykar, who "hijacked" the name of the MEK, and were not under the control of imprisoned leaders such as Masoud Rajavi.[55]
After the Revolution
The group supported the revolution in its initial phases.[64] It participated in the referendum held in March 1979.[64] Its candidate for the head of the newly founded council of experts was Masoud Rajavi in the election of August 1979.[64] However, he lost the election.[64] The group also supported for the occupation the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979.[64] In January 1980, Rajavi announced his candidacy for the presidency, but he was banned, since he was regarded by Ayatollah Khomeini as ineligible.[64] In February 1980, concentrated attacks by Hezbollahi toughs began on the meeting places, bookstores, and newsstands of Mujahideen and other leftists, driving the left underground in Iran. Hundreds of MEK supporters and members were killed from 1979 to 1981, and some 3,000 were arrested. Ultimately, the organization called for a massive half-a-million-strong demonstration under the banner of Islam on June 20, 1981, to protest Iran's new leadership, which was also attacked. Following the June 20 protests, Mr. Massoud Rajavi formed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Tehran.[65][self-published source?]
Ideology
Before 1979 Iranian Revolution
The MEK's ideology of revolutionary Shiaism is based on an interpretation of Islam so similar to that of Ali Shariati that "many concluded" they were inspired by him. According to historian Ervand Abrahamian, it is clear that "in later years" that Shariati and "his prolific works" had "indirectly helped the Mujahedin."[66]
In the group's "first major ideological work," Nahzat-i Husseini or Hussein's Movement, authored by one of the group's founders, Ahmad Reza'i, it was argued that Nezam-i Towhid (monotheistic order) sought by the prophet Muhammad, was a commonwealth fully united not only in its worship of one God but in a classless society that strives for the common good. "Shiism, particularly Hussein's historic act of martyrdom and resistance, has both a revolutionary message and a special place in our popular culture."[47]
As described by Abrahamian, one Mojahedin ideologist argued
"Reza'i further argued that the banner of revolt raised by the Shi'i Imams, especially Ali, Hassan, and Hussein, was aimed against feudal landlords and exploiting merchant capitalists as well as against usurping Caliphs who betrayed the Nezam-i-Towhid. For Reza'i and the Mujahidin it was the duty of all muslims to continue this struggle to create a 'classless society' and destroy all forms of capitalism, despotism, and imperialism. The Mujahidin summed up their attitude towards religion in these words: 'After years of extensive study into Islamic history and Shi'i ideology, our organization has reached the firm conclusion that Islam, especially Shi'ism, will play a major role in inspiring the masses to join the revolution. It will do so because Shi'ism, particularly Hussein's historic act of resistance, has both a revolutionary message and a special place in our popular culture."[67]
After the revolution
In 1981, the MEK formed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) with the stated goal of uniting the opposition to the Iranian government under one umbrella organization. The MEK says that in the past 25 years, the NCRI has evolved into a 540-member parliament-in-exile, with a specific platform that emphasizes free elections, gender equality and equal rights for ethnic and religious minorities. The MEK claims that it also advocates a free-market economy and supports peace in the Middle East. However, the FBI claims that the NCRI "is not a separate organization, but is instead, and has been, an integral part of the [MEK] at all relevant times" and that the NCRI is "the political branch" of the MEK, rather than vice versa. Although the MEK is today the main organization of the NCRI, the latter previously hosted other organizations, such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran.[31]
According to the publicly stated ideology of the MEK, elections and public suffrage are the sole indicators of political legitimacy. Their publications reported that the Word of God and Islam are meaningless without freedom and respect for individual volition and choice. Their interpretation of Islam and the Quran says that the most important characteristic distinguishing man from animals is his free will. It is on this basis that human beings are held accountable. Without freedom, no society can develop or progress. Although its leaders present themselves as Muslims, the MEK describes itself as a secular organization: "The National Council of Resistance believes in the separation of Church and State."[68][self-published source?]
In more recent years under the guidance of Maryam Rajavi the organization has adopted strong principles in favor of women. Women assumed some senior positions of responsibility within the ranks of the MEK and although women make up only a third of fighters, two-thirds of its commanders are women. Rajavi ultimately believes that women should enjoy equal rights with men.[69][self-published source?]
Bombings and armed conflict with the Islamic government
Following the 1979 revolution, the newly established theocratic government of Ayatollah Khomeini moved to squash dissent. Khomeini attacked the MEK as elteqati (eclectic), contaminated with Gharbzadegi ("the Western plague"), and as monafeqin (hypocrites) and kafer (unbelievers).[70] In February 1980 concentrated attacks by hezbollahi pro-Khomeini militia began on the meeting places, bookstores and newsstands of Mujahideen and other leftists[71] driving the Left underground in Iran. Hundreds of MEK supporters and members were killed from 1979 to 1981, and some 3,000 were arrested.[72]
On August 30, a bomb was detonated killing the popularly elected President Rajai and Premier Mohammad Javad Bahonar. An active member of the Mujahedin, Massoud Keshmiri, was identified as the perpetrator, and according to reports[by whom?] came close to killing the entire government including Khomeini.[unreliable source?] The reaction to both bombings was intense with many arrests and executions of Mujahedin and other leftist groups, but "assassinations of leading officials and active supporters of the government by the Mujahedin were to continue for the next year or two."[73]
Eventually, the majority of the MEK leadership and members fled to France, where it operated until 1986, when tension arose between Paris and Tehran over the Eurodif nuclear stake and the French citizens kidnapped in the Lebanon hostage crisis. After Rajavi flew to Baghdad, French hostages were released.
National Liberation Army of Iran
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Imperial_Flag_of_Iran.jpg/220px-Imperial_Flag_of_Iran.jpg)
The MEK transferred its headquarters to Iraq after France agreed to expel them in order to release French hostages in Lebanon in 1986, during the Iran–Iraq War. Near the end of the 1980–88 war between Iraq and Iran, a military force of 7,000 members of the MEK, armed and equipped by Saddam's Iraq and calling itself the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA), went into action. On July 26, 1988, six days after the Ayatollah Khomeini had announced his acceptance of the UN brokered ceasefire resolution, the NLA advanced under heavy Iraqi air cover, crossing the Iranian border from Iraq. It seized and razed to the ground the Iranian town of Islamabad-e Gharb. As it advanced further into Iran, Iraq ceased its air support and Iranian forces cut off NLA supply lines and counterattacked under cover of fighter planes and helicopter gunships. On July 29 the NLA announced a voluntary withdrawal back to Iraq. The MEK claims it lost 1,400 dead or missing and the Islamic Republic sustained 55,000 casualties (either IRGC, Basij forces, or the army). The Islamic Republic claims to have killed 4,500 NLA during the operation.[74] The operation was called Foroughe Javidan (Eternal Light) by the MEK and the counterattack Operation Mersad by the Iranian forces.
1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners
A large number of prisoners from the MEK, and a lesser number from other leftist opposition groups (somewhere between 1,400 and 30,000),[75] were executed in 1988, following Operation Eternal Light.[76][c][78][79][80] Dissident Ayatollah Montazeri has written in his memoirs that this massacre, deemed a crime against humanity, was ordered by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and carried out by several high-ranking members of Iran's current government. Recently The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights violations for Iran, to take action on such actions since 1988.[81]
Relations with France in the mid-1980s
In 1986, after French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac struck a deal with Tehran for the release of French hostages held prisoners by the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the MEK was forced to leave France and relocated to Iraq. Investigative journalist Dominique Lorentz has related the 1986 capture of French hostages to an alleged blackmail of France by Tehran concerning the nuclear program.[82]
Post-war
In the following years the MEK conducted several high-profile assassinations of political and military figures inside Iran, including Asadollah Lajevardi, the former warden of the Evin prison, in 1998, and deputy chief of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff Brigadier General Ali Sayyad Shirazi, who was assassinated on the doorsteps of his house on April 10, 1999.[83] The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) in turn cracked down on MEK activity, carrying out what a US Federal Research Division, Library of Congress Report referred to as "psychological warfare."[84]
After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, MEK camps were bombed by the U.S., resulting in at least 50 deaths. It was later revealed that the U.S. bombings were part of an agreement between the Iranian regime and Washington. In the agreement Tehran offered to oust some al-Qaeda suspects if the U.S. came down on the MEK.[85] Following the invasion, the group voluntarily disarmed and its members confined themselves to Camp Ashraf.[86] At the time of the agreement, some controversy was raised, both in the public sphere and privately among the Bush administration due to the MEK's former designation as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.[verification needed]
In the operation, the U.S. reportedly captured 6,000 MEK soldiers and over 2,000 pieces of military equipment, including 19 British-made Chieftain tanks.[87][88] The MEK compound outside Fallujah became known as Camp Fallujah and sits adjacent to the other major base in Fallujah, Forward Operating Base Dreamland. Captured MEK members were kept at Camp Ashraf, about 100 kilometers west of the Iranian border and 60 kilometers north of Baghdad.[89]
MEK personnel in Ashraf were declared protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention in July 2004.[90]
In May 2005, Human Rights Watch issued a report describing prison camps within Iraq run by the MEK and severe human rights violations committed by the group against former members.[91] The report prompted a response by the MEK and a few friendly European MPs, who published a counter-report in September 2005.[92][self-published source?] They stated that HRW had "relied only on 12 hours interviews with 12 suspicious individuals", and stated that "a delegation of MEPs visited Camp Ashraf in Iraq" and "conducted impromptu inspections of the sites of alleged abuses." Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca (PP), one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, alleged that Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) was the source of the evidence against the MEK.[92] The HRW report covered only the period from 1991 to 2003. In a letter of May 2005 to HRW, the senior US military police commander responsible for the Camp Ashraf area, Brigadier General David Phillips, who had been in charge during the year 2004 for the protective custody of the MEK members in the camp, disputed the alleged human rights violations:
I directed my subordinate units to investigate each allegation. In many cases I personally led inspection teams on unannounced visits to the MEK facilities where the alleged abuses were reported to occur. At no time over the 12 month period did we ever discover any credible evidence supporting the allegations raised in your recent report. (...) Each report of torture, kidnapping and psychological depravation turned out to be unsubstantiated.[93]
On January 1, 2009 the U.S. military transferred control of Camp Ashraf to the Iraqi government. On the same day, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that the militant group would not be allowed to base its operations from Iraqi soil.[94]
In 2012 MEK moved from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya in Baghdad (a onetime U.S. base formerly known as Camp Liberty). A rocket and mortar attack killed 5 and injured 50 others at Camp Hurriya on February 9, 2013. Iranian residents of the facility and their representatives and lawyers appealed to the UN Secretary-General and U.S. officials to let them return to Ashraf, which they say has concrete buildings and shelters that offer more protection. The United States has been working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the resettlement project.[95]
On September 9, 2016 the remaining 280 members of the MEK were relocated from Camp Liberty to Albania.[96]
Iraqi government's crackdown
On January 23, 2009, and while on a visit to Tehran, Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie reiterated the Iraqi Prime Minister’s earlier announcement that the MEK organisation would no longer be able to base itself on Iraqi soil and stated that the members of the organisation would have to make a choice, either to go back to Iran or to go to a third country, adding that these measures would be implemented over the next two months.[97]
On July 29, 2009, eleven Iranians were killed and over 500 were injured in a raid by Iraqi security on the MEK Camp Ashraf in Diyala province of Iraq.[98] U.S. officials had long opposed a violent takeover of the camp northeast of Baghdad, and the raid is thought to symbolize the declining American influence in Iraq.[99] After the raid, the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, stated the issue was "completely within [the Iraqi government's] purview."[100] In the course of attack, 36 Iranian dissidents were arrested and removed from the camp to a prison in a town named Khalis, where the arrestees went on hunger strike for 72 days, 7 of which was dry hunger strike. Finally the dissidents were released when they were in an extremely critical condition and on the verge of death.[101][102]
2003 French raid
In June 2003 French police raided the MEK's properties, including its base in Auvers-sur-Oise, under the orders of anti-terrorist magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière, after suspicions that it was trying to shift its base of operations there.
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican from Kansas and chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on South Asia, then accused the French of doing "the Iranian government's dirty work". Along with other members of Congress, he wrote a letter of protest to President Jacques Chirac, while longtime MEK supporters such as Sheila Jackson-Lee, a Democrat from Texas, criticized Maryam Radjavi's arrest.[39] Subsequently, the MEK members were quickly released.
Disarmament
During the Iraq war, U.S. troops disarmed the MEK and posted guards at its bases.[103] The U.S. military also protected and gave logistical support to the MEK as U.S. officials viewed the group as a high value source of intelligence on Iran.[104] The MEK is credited with revealing Iran's nuclear program in 2003 and alerting Americans to Iranian advancements in nuclear technology.[105]
Iran's nuclear programme
The MEK and the NCRI revealed the existence of Iran's nuclear program in 2002.[106][107] In 2010 the NCRI claimed to have uncovered a secret nuclear facility in Iran. These claims were dismissed by US officials, who did not believe the facilities to be nuclear. In 2013, the NCRI again claimed to have discovered a secret underground nuclear site.[108]
In 2012, the MEK were accused by the Iranian government and US officials, who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity, of being financed, trained, and armed by Israel's secret service.[26][109][110] Former CIA case officer in the Middle East, Robert Baer argued that MEK agents trained by Israel were the only plausible perpetrators for such assassinations.[111] The MEK denied any involvement in the assassinations and the existence of any alliance with Israel.
Fraud and money laundering
Other than funds provided by foreign states (such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq under Saddam Hussein), the organization raises money through fraud and money laundering.[10] According to a RAND Corporation policy conundrum, MEK supporters seek donations at public places, often showing "gruesome pictures" of human rights victims in Iran and claiming to raise money for them but funnelling it to MEK.[10]
- Germany
In Germany, the High Court ruled to close several MEK compounds after investigations revealed that the organization fraudulently collected between $5 million and $10 million in social welfare benefits for children of its members sent to Europe.[10]
- United Kingdom
It operated a UK-based sham charity, namely Iran Aid, which "claimed to raise money for Iranian refugees persecuted by the Islamic regime" and was later revealed to be a front for its military wing.[112] In 2001, Charity Commission for England and Wales closed it down[113] after finding no “verifiable links between the money donated by the British public [approximately £5 million annually] and charitable work in Iran.”[10]
- United States
Seven supporters were detained by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for funnelling more than $1 million to the organization through another sham charity, Committee for Human Rights in Iran.[10]
MEK and the US government
Before their exile, "Anti-Imperialism" was preached by MEK both before and after revolution. The Mojahedin Organization praised writers such as Al-e Ahmad, Saedi and Shariati for being "anti-imperialist".[114] Rajavi in his presidential campaign after revolution used to warn against what he called the "imperialist danger".[115] The matter was so fundamental to MEK that it criticized the Iranian government on that basis, accusing the Islamic Republic of "capitulation to imperialism" and being disloyal to democracy that according to Rajavi was the only means to "safeguard from American imperialism".[116] However, after exile, Rajavi toned down the issues of imperialism, social revolution, and classless society. Instead he stressed on human rights and respect for "personal property"[117] (as opposed to "private property", which capitalists consider to be identical to "personal property", though Marxists do not).
MEK and the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict
In the beginning, MEK used to criticize the Pahlavi regime for allying with Israel and South Africa;[118] even calling them racist states and demanding cancellation of all political and economic agreements with them.[119] The Central Cadre established contact with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), by sending emissaries to Paris, Dubai, and Qatar to meet PLO officials. In one occasion, seven leading members of MEK spent several months in the PLO camps in Jordan and Lebanon.[120] On August 3, 1972, they bombed the Jordanian embassy as a means to revenge King Hussein's unleashing his troops on the PLO in 1970.[121]
After the revolution and while in exile, however, they teamed up with Israel to conduct covert operations against the Iranian nuclear scientists as a means to combat the Iranian government.[122][123]
The 'ideological revolution' and the issue of women's rights
On 27 January 1985, Rajavi appointed Maryam Azodanlu as his co-equal leader. The announcement, stated that this would give women equal say within the organization and thereby 'would launch a great ideological revolution within Mojahedin, the Iranian public and the whole Muslim World'. At the time Maryam Azodanlu was known as only the younger sister of a veteran member, and the wife of Mehdi Abrishamchi. According to the announcement, Maryam Azodanlu and Mehdi Abrishamchi had recently divorced in order to facilitate this 'great revolution'. As a result, the marriage further isolated the Mojahedin and also upset some members of the organization. This was mainly because, the middle class would look at this marriage as an indecent act which to them resembled wife-swapping. (especially when Abrishamchi declared his own marriage to Musa Khiabani's younger sister). The fact that it involved women with young children and the wives of close friends was considered a taboo in traditional Iranian culture. The effect of this incident on secularists and modern intelligentsia was equally outrageous as it dragged a private matter into the public arena. Many criticized Maryam Azodanlu's giving up her own maiden name (something most Iranian women did not do and she herself had not done in her previous marriage). They would question whether this was in line with her claims of being a staunch feminist.[124]
According to Ervand Abrahamian: "the Mojahedin, despite contrary claims did not give women equal representation within their own hierarchy. The book of martyrs indicates that women formed 15 percent of the organization's rank-and-file, but only 9 percent of its leadership. To rectify this, the Mojahedin posthumously revealed some of the rank and file women martyrs especially those related to prominent figures, into leadership positions."[125]
A former member, Masoud Banisadr, claimed that, in approximately 1990, all married members of the Mojahedin were ordered to divorce and remain celibate, with the exception of Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. Shortly thereafter, children were separated from parents and sent abroad to live with members of the group in Europe and the United States. Former members of the Mojahedin claim that the group is a cult.[126]
Designation as a terrorist organization
The United States put MEK on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in 1997. However, since 2004 the United States also has considered the group as "noncombatants" and "protected persons" under the Geneva Conventions because most members have been located in a refugee camp in Iraq for more than 25 years.[127] In 2002 the European Union, pressured by Washington, added MEK to its terrorist list.[128]
MEK leaders then began a lobbying campaign to be removed from the list by promoting itself as a viable opposition to the mullahs in Tehran. In 2008 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied MEK its request to be delisted, despite its lobbying the State Department.[129]
In 2011, several former senior U.S. officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, three former chairmen of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, two former directors of the CIA, former commander of NATO Wesley Clark, two former U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations, the former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, a former White House Chief of Staff, a former commander of the United States Marine Corps, former U.S. National Security Advisor Frances Townsend, and U.S. President Barack Obama's retired National Security Adviser General James L. Jones called for the MEK to be removed from its official State Department foreign terrorist listing on the grounds that they constituted a viable opposition to the Iranian government.[130]
In April 2012, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh reported that the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command had trained MEK operatives at a secret site in Nevada from 2005 to 2009. According to Hersh, MEK members were trained in intercepting communications, cryptography, weaponry and small unit tactics at the Nevada site up until President Barack Obama took office in 2009.[131] Hersh also reported additional names of former U.S. officials paid to speak in support of MEK, including former CIA directors James Woolsey and Porter Goss; New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani; former Vermont Governor Howard Dean; former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Louis Freeh and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.[131]
Removal of the designation
The United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and the United States formerly listed the MEK as a terrorist organization, but this designation has since been lifted, first by the United Kingdom in June 2008[132] and then by the Council of the European Union in January 26, 2009 following what the group called a "seven-year-long legal and political battle."[129][133][134] It was also lifted in the United States following a decision by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton[28] on September 21, 2012 and lastly in Canada by a decision taken by the Canadian government on December 20, 2012.[135]
In January 2009 the Council of the European Union removed the terrorist designation. This followed the 2008 Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg censure of France for failing to disclose alleged new evidence of MEK's terrorist threat.[133] Delisting allowed MEK to pursue tens of millions of dollars of frozen assets[134] and lobby in Europe for more funds. It also removed the terrorist label from MEK members at their Iraqi Camp Ashraf.[129]
On September 28, 2012 The U.S. State Department formally removed MEK from its official list of terrorist organizations, beating an October 1 deadline in a MEK lawsuit.[28][136] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement the decision was made because MEK had renounced violence and had cooperated in closing their Iraqi paramilitary base. An official denied that lobbying by well-known figures influenced the decision to remove the designation.[137][138]
The National Iranian American Council— a group alleged to have had lobbying activities on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran [139]— denounced the decision, stating it "opens the door to Congressional funding of the M.E.K. to conduct terrorist attacks in Iran" and "makes war with Iran far more likely."[28] Iran state television condemned the delisting of the group, saying that the U.S. considers MEK to be "good terrorists because the U.S. is using them against Iran."[140]
However, the statistics show that MEK does not have supporters inside the country and most of the people in Iran see them as terrorists and traitor to the country.[141]
See also
Notes
- ^ Since 1993, they are “Co–equal Leader”[1] however Massoud Rajavi has disappeared in 2003 and leadership of the group has practically passed to his wife Maryam Rajavi.[2]
- ^ By various scholarly works,[15][16][17][18] media outlets[19] and governments including France[20] and United States.[21]
- ^ In this operation MEK penetrated as deep as 170 km into Iranian soil and very close to Kermanshah, the most important city in western Iran.[77]
References
- ^ Steven O'Hern (2012). Iran's Revolutionary Guard: The Threat That Grows While America Sleeps. Potomac Books, Inc. p. 208. ISBN 1597977012.
- ^ Stephen Sloan; Sean K. Anderson (2009). Historical Dictionary of Terrorism. Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest (3 ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 454. ISBN 0810863111.
- ^ "Annual Congress elects Zohreh Akhyani as new Secretary General". NCR Iran. 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ a b c Houchang E. Chehabi (1990). Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movement of Iran Under the Shah and Khomeini. I.B.Tauris. p. 211. ISBN 1850431981.
- ^ a b c d Aaron Schwartz (April 2014). "National Security and the Protection of Constitutional Liberties: How the Foreign Terrorist Organization List Satisfies Procedural Due Process". The Penn State Journal of Law & International Affair. 3 (1): 293–323. ISSN 2168-7951.
- ^ a b Kenneth Katzman (2001). "Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran". In Albert V. Benliot (ed.). Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country?. Nova Publishers. p. 97. ISBN 1560729546.
- ^ Seymour M. Hersh (5 April 2012). "Our Men in Iran?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ Brian Williams (9 February 2012). "Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News". NBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ Ismail Salami (8 January 2015). "Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO): US-Israel Sponsored Terrorist Entity directed against Iran". The Centre for Research on Globalization. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: a policy conundrum" (PDF). RAND Corporation. 2009. ISBN 978-0-8330-4701-4.
{{cite web}}
: Cite uses deprecated parameter|authors=
(help) - ^ Hossein Mousavian (21 July 2016). "From Iran to Nice, We Must Confront All Terrorism to End Terrorism". Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ Arash Karami (2 August 2016). "Were Saudis behind Abbas-MEK meeting?". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ Frank Bolz, Jr., Kenneth J. Dudonis, David P. Schulz (2016). The Counterterrorism Handbook: Tactics, Procedures, and Techniques. Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations (4 ed.). CRC Press. p. 459. ISBN 1439846685.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Jonathan R. White (2011). Terrorism and Homeland Security (7 ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 371. ISBN 1133171184.
- ^ Abrahamian 1989, pp. 260–261.
- ^ a b Reese Erlich, Robert Scheer (2016). Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis. Routledge. pp. 99–100. ISBN 1317257375.
- ^ Masoud Kazemzadeh (2002). Islamic Fundamentalism, Feminism, and Gender Inequality in Iran Under Khomeini. University Press of America. p. 63. ISBN 0761823883.
- ^ Eileen Barker (2016). Revisionism and Diversification in New Religious Movements. Routledge. p. 1742. ISBN 1317063619.
- ^ Elizabeth Rubin (13 July 2003). "The Cult of Rajavi". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ پاسخ سخنگوی وزارت امورخارجه فرانسه به سوالی در مورد سازمان مجاهدین خلق در کنفرانس مطبوعاتی 13 ژوییه 2016 [Spokesperson of French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Answer To A Question About People's Mojahedin Organization In The 13 July 2016 Press Conference] (in Persian), Embassy of France in Tehran, Iran, 13 July 2016, retrieved 1 August 2016,
پرسش: موضع فرانسه نسبت به سازمان مجاهدین خلق چیست؟ پاسخ: دولت فرانسه هیچگونه تماسی با مجاهدین خلق ندارد. وجه خشن و غیردموکراتیک این سازمان موجب شده که بسیاری از سازمانهای حقوق بشر بر ماهیت فرقه ای و امتناع این سازمان از چشم پوشی قطعی از خشونت صحه بگذارند.
- ^ Owen Bennett Jones (15 April 2012). "An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK?". BBC News. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Vahabzadeh, Peyman (March 28, 2016) [December 7, 2015]. "FADĀʾIĀN-E ḴALQ". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. Bibliotheca Persica Press. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ^ a b "PROSCRIBED ORGANISATIONS APPEAL COMMISSION" (PDF). Judicial Office UK. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Bakhash, Saul (1990). The reign of the ayatollahs. Basic Books. p. 123. ISBN 0465068901. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ^ Kroeger, Alex (2006-12-12). "EU unfreezes Iran group's funds". BBC. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ a b "Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News - Rock Center with Brian Williams". rockcenter.nbcnews.com. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
- ^ "About Camp Ashraf". campashraf.org. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ^ a b c d Shane, Scott (September 21, 2012). "Iranian Dissidents Convince U.S. to Drop Terror Label". The New York Times.
- ^ Spector, Leonard. "Iranian Nuclear Program Remains Major Threat Despite Partial Freeze of Weapons-Relevant Activities Described in New U.S. National Intelligence Estimate". Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ^ Morello, Carol. "Exile group accuses Iran of secret nuclear weapons research". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ^ a b DC Court of Appeals Rules Against NCRI Petition for Review of "Foreign Terrorist Organization" Designation, July 9, 2004, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
- ^ Kliger, Rachelle (January 11, 2006). "Resistance group claims evidence of Iranian bomb ambitions". The Media Line. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ Ali M. Ansari (2006). Confronting Iran: The Failure of American Foreign Policy and the Roots of Mistrust. Hurst Publishers. p. 198. ISBN 1850658099.
- ^ Allison Hantschel (2005). Special Plans: The Blogs on Douglas Feith & the Faulty Intelligence That Led to War. Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc. p. 66. ISBN 1590280490.
- ^ Middle East Report. Middle East Research & Information Project, JSTOR. 2005. p. 55. ISBN 1590280490.
- ^ "Secret memo says Iran's new president "fired coups de grace"". Iran Focus. 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ^ Brew, Nigel (2003). "Behind the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK)". Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Group, Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
- ^ "Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (Iranian rebels)". Council on Foreign relations. 2005. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
- ^ a b Rubin, Elizabeth. "The Cult of Rajavi". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-04-21.
- ^ Dreazen, Yochi. "Meet The Weird, Super-Connected Group That's Mucking Up U.S. Talks With Iraq". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
- ^ Abrahamian 1982, p. 489.
- ^ Ostovar, Afshon P. (2009). "Guardians of the Islamic Revolution Ideology, Politics, and the Development of Military Power in Iran (1979–2009)" (PhD Thesis). University of Michigan. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
- ^ a b Abrahamian 1989, pp. 81–126.
- ^ Abrahamian 1989, p. 88.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 2.
- ^ Maziar Behrooz, Rebels With A Cause: The Failure of the Left in Iran, page vi
- ^ a b Abrahamian 1982, p. 491.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 137.
- ^ Abrahamian 1982, pp. 493–4.
- ^ Abrahamian, Ervand, Tortured Confessions, University of California Press (1999), p. 151
- ^ a b c d Bill, James A. (1989). The Eagle and the Lion. Yale University Press. p. 181.
- ^ a b c Afkhami, Gholam Reza (2009). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 398.
- ^ Borowiec, Andrew (May 21, 1975). "Iran leftists Gun Down Two A.F. Officers". Washington Post.
- ^ Peter Earnest (June 21, 2012). "Our Man in the Middle East (Part 1)". www.spymuseum.org (Podcast). International Spy Museum. Event occurs at 34:21-35:07. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ a b Bloomfield Jr., Lincoln. "Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) and the Search for Ground Truth About its Activities and Nature" (PDF). The House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ Abrahamian 1982, p. 141–142.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 141.
- ^ a b Ganji, Manouchehr (2002). Defying the Iranian Revolution. Greenwood. p. 3.
- ^ Hawkins, Louis Lee. "Military heroes".
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 142.
- ^ "Iran Kills Man Accused of Slaying of 3 Americans". Washington Post. November 18, 1976.
- ^ "Chapter 6 – Terrorist Organizations". U.S. Department of State. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
- ^ Fisher, Max (2 July 2012). "Here's the Video of Newt Gingrich Bowing to the Leader of an Iranian Terrorist Group". The Atlantic. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Sreberny-Mohammadi, Annabelle; Ali Mohammadi (January 1987). "Post-Revolutionary Iranian Exiles: A Study in Impotence". Third World Quarterly. 9 (1): 108–129. doi:10.1080/01436598708419964.
- ^ "Significance of June in the calendar of the Iranian Resistance". National Council of Resistance of Iran. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ^ Abrahamian 1982, p. 490.
- ^ Keddle, Nikki R. Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution, First Edition. New Haven Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2006. 220–221.
- ^ "National Council of Resistance of Iran". Iran-e-azad. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ "Maryam Rajavi". Iran-democracy.com.
- ^ Moin 2001, pp. 234, 239.
- ^ Bakhash, The Reign of the Ayatollahs (1984) p. 123.
- ^ TKB
- ^ Moin 2001, p. 243.
- ^ Hiro, Dilip, The Longest War (1999), pp. 246–7
- ^ "Iranian party demands end to repression". pww.org. Archived from the original on September 24, 2005.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "1988 massacre". Mehr. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ "The 1988 Iran massacre crimes". The American Thinker. Sep 2004.
- ^ "Memories of a slaughter in Iran". Iran focus. 2004-09-05. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ Alavi, Nasrin (2005), We Are Iran
- ^ "Khomeini fatwa 'led to killing of 30,000 in Iran'". The Telegraph. February 2, 2001.
- ^ "Mass Execution of Political Prisoners in Iran Left Unanswered". Stop fundamentalism. 2011-09-04. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ Lorentz, Dominique; David, Carr-Brown (November 14, 2001), La République atomique (in French), Arte TV
{{citation}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - ^ Combs, Cindy C.; Slann, Martin (2002). Encyclopedia of terrorism. New York, NY: Facts On File. p. 188. ISBN 0816044554. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile. A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, Washington, December 2012. pp. 26 - 28 [1]
- ^ Mojtahedzadeh, Hajar. "The Real Face of Realpolitik: Camp Ashraf and the U.S. FTO". Huffingtonpost.com. The World Post. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ "BINLEY: Ahmadinejad foes need a shield". The Washington Times. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ^ Sullivan, John (May 11, 2003), "Armed Iranian exiles surrender; 6,000-member unit accepts U.S. terms", The Record, Bergen County, NJ: Knight Ridder, p. A.17
- ^ M2 Presswire (news briefing), Coventry: US DoD, June 19, 2003, p. 1
- ^ Pike, John. ""Camp Ashraf" US Military Occupation Facilities". Global security. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons,. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 19 Oct 2004 (pt 1)". www.publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Human Rights Abuses in the MEK camps". Human Rights Watch. May 2005.
- ^ a b "People's Mojahedin of Iran – Mission report" (PDF). Friends of Free Iran – European Parliament. 2005. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- ^ Tahar Boumedra (2013), The United Nations and Human Rights in Iraq, The Untold Story of Camp Ashraf, ISBN 978-1-909740-64-8, pp. 16–23.
- ^ Hauslohner, Abigail (January 5, 2008). "Iranian Resistance Group a Source of Contention in Iraq". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ "Attack kills 5 at Iranian exile camp in Iraq". CNN. Feb 9, 2013.
- ^ "Last Remaining Iranian PMOI Members Leave Camp Liberty". Breitbart. 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
- ^ العراق يقرر طرد أعضاء مجاهدي خلق من أراضيه (in Arabic). Al-Jazeera. January 24, 2009. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - ^ Cohn, Alicia M (September 23, 2009). "Iranian Exiles' White House Hunger Strike Continues". Retrieved 2011-12-07.
- ^ Londoño, Ernesto; Jaffe, Greg (July 29, 2009). "Iraq Raids Camp of Exiles From Iran". Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
- ^ Abouzeid, Rania (July 29, 2009). "Iraq Cracks Down on Iranian Exiles at Camp Ashraf". Time. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
- ^ "36 Ashraf Residents Hostages Released on 72nd Day of Hunger Strike". Iran Liberty Association. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
- ^ "PMOI on hunger strike". UPI. August 25, 2009. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
- ^ Fletcher, Holly (April 8, 2008). "Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK)". CFR. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ Fayazmanesh, Sasan (2008). "The United States and Iran: Sanctions, wars and the policy of dual containment". ISBN 978-0-415-77396-6.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Ware, Michael (2007-04-06). "U.S. protects Iranian opposition group in Iraq, April 6, 2007". CNN. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
- ^ "Blowup? America's Hidden War With Iran". Newsweek. MSNBC.[dead link] [dead link]
- ^ CAMPBELL BEACHY, Susan; Sinha, Shreeya. "Timeline on Iran's Nuclear Program". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ Nicholas Vinocur and Fredrik Dahl. "Exiled dissidents claim Iran building new nuclear site | Reuters". reuters.com. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
- ^ "Israel's Mossad Trained Assassins of Iran Nuclear Scientists, Report Says". Haaretz. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ Cockburn, Patrick (5 October 2013). "Just who has been killing Iran's nuclear scientists?". The Independent. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ Borger, Julian (12 January 2012). "Who is responsible for the Iran nuclear scientists attacks?". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ Daniel Tovrov (29 March 2012). "MEK Pays US Officials, But Where Do The Iranian Exiles Get Their Money?". ibtimes. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
- ^ David Leigh (30 May 2005). "'Tank girl' army accused of torture". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 229.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 197.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 209.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 245.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 98.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 185.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 127.
- ^ Abrahamian 1992, p. 140.
- ^ "Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News". NBC News. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
- ^ "Israel's Mossad trained assassins of Iran nuclear scientists, report says". Haaretz. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
- ^ Abrahamian 1982, p. 251–253.
- ^ Abrahamian 1982, p. 233–234.
- ^ https://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/masoud-banisadr-mek-cult-184
- ^ "Iranian exile group removed from U.S. terror list". CNN. September 28, 2012.
- ^ Taheri, Amir (June 25, 2003). "France paints an abstract picture to please Iran". Gulf News.
- ^ a b c "EU removes PMOI from terrorist list". UPI. January 26, 2009. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
- ^ "Take Iran opponent MEK off terror list". CNN. September 12, 2011.
- ^ a b Goodman, Amy (April 10, 2012). "Seymour Hersh: U.S. Training Iranian Terrorists in Nevada". AlterNet.
- ^ "Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations" (PDF). Home Office. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
The Mujaheddin e Khalq (MeK) also known as the Peoples' Mujaheddin of Iran (PMOI) was removed from the list of proscribed groups in June 2008 as a result of judgments of the POAC and the Court of Appeal.
- ^ a b Runner, Philippa. "EU ministers drop Iran group from terror list". Euobserver. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
- ^ a b John, Mark (January 26, 2009). "EU takes Iran opposition group off terror list". Reuters.
- ^ Sen, Ashish Kumar. "U.S. takes Iranian dissident group MeK off terrorist list". Washington Times. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ^ "Federal Register /Vol. 77, No. 193 /Thursday, October 4, 2012 /Notices 60741 10 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12)" (PDF). 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
- ^ Quinn, Andrew (September 28, 2012). "US drops Iranian MEK dissident group from terrorism list". Reuters.
- ^ "Delisting of the Mujahedin-e Khalq". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "The Shady Family Behind America's Iran Lobby". The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast. October 15, 2015.
- ^ "Iran condemns US for 'double standards' over MEK terror de-listing". The Guardian. Associated Press. September 29, 2012.
- ^ Economist article "Where will they all go?". The Economist. March, 8, 20009.
{{cite news}}
: Check|url=
value (help); Check date values in:|date=
(help)
Bibliography
- Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press.
- Abrahamian, Ervand (1989). Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin. IB Tauris.
- Abrahamian, Ervand (Oct 1, 1992). The Iranian Mojahedin. Yale University Press.
- Keddie, Nikkie (1981). Roots of Revolution.
- Moin, Baqer (2001). Khomeini. Thomas Dunne.
- Stevenson, Struan (2015). Self-Sacrifice – Life with the Iranian Mojahedin. Birlinn, Edinburgh, ISBN 978 1 78027 288 7.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Official
- "The MEK" (official Website; 2014: no longer in use).
- Website of the National Council for Resistance (NCR)
- National Council of Resistance of Iran – Foreign Affairs Committee
- U.S. Department of State: MEK Profile; 2014: no longer in use
- Economist article
Other
- People's Mujahedin of Iran
- 1965 establishments in Iran
- Banned political parties in Iran
- Far-left politics
- Iranian nationalism
- Islamic political parties in Iran
- Islamic socialism
- Left-wing nationalist parties
- Irregular military
- Private armies
- Political parties established in 1965
- Political parties of the Iranian Revolution
- Rebel groups in Iran
- Saddam Hussein
- Socialist parties in Iran
- Syncretic political movements
- Terrorism in Iran
- Communist terrorism
- Organizations designated as terrorist by Iran
- Organizations formerly designated as terrorist by the United States
- Organizations designated as terrorist in Asia
- Cults in France
- Cults of personality
- Fraud organizations
- Iranian money launderers
- Iran–Iraq relations
- France–Iran relations
- Iran–United States relations