Page 214 – Nejat Society

Concern over UK-based Iranian TV channel’s links to Saudi Arabia

A UK-based Iranian TV station is being funded through a secretive offshore entity and a company whose director is a Saudi Arabian businessman with close links to the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Guardian can reveal.

The disclosures are likely to raise concerns about the editorial independence of Iran International, and comes at a time of growing fears about a number of Saudi-linked stations operating across London.

A source has told the Guardian that Prince Mohammed, who many believe is responsible for the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is the force behind Iran International. The station, which is operating out of Chiswick, has not denied claims that it receives its funding from the Saudi royal court.

Iran International TV emerged abruptly on the London media scene last year; many of the 100-strong staff network were offered generous salaries, often double what rivals paid, but was elusive about its source of funding.

Millions of Iranians frustrated with a state broadcaster hobbled by censorship watch satellite channels via illegal rooftop dishes. London has become a hub of such exiled Iranian channels, which also include BBC’s Persian service and Manoto TV, which has broadcast Iranian versions of The X Factor and Come Dine With Me.

The source claimed Saud al-Qahtani, the crown prince’s information tsar, who was among two senior officials removed in connection with the Khashoggi affair, was involved in the funding behind Iran International TV.

“You could have a larger picture about how those kids [Saudi media moguls] with that money being thrown around [by Prince Mohammed] trying to change the world by buying media … It is money coming from the royal court,” the source said, when speaking about the crown prince..

Iran International said any suggestions that the network was involved in some type of wrongdoing, or was subject to inappropriate influences or was not editorially independent were without foundation.

While Saudi Arabia shows zero tolerance for criticism of its absolute monarchy, as underlined by Khashoggi’s murder, it is setting up media organisations in other languages promoting free speech, particularly about Iran.

Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, a postdoctoral research fellow in modern Iranian history at the University of Oxford, said: “While there is little doubt that the heavy hand of the Iranian state has its fair share of responsibility for this state of affairs and the lack of public trust in the state broadcaster, it appears that Iran International is part and parcel of the Saudi crown prince’s decision to take a more aggressive posture against Iran, emboldened, no doubt, by the Trump administration.”

Employing a wide range of people in the Iranian diaspora, including human rights activists, Iran International has not disclosed any Saudi Arabian funding links to its staff of many Iranian nationals, potentially putting their families in Iran at risk.

“I was told that not even one Saudi rial is in the funding. If I knew it came from Saudi, I would not have joined the station,” one insider said. “I can say that Iran International TV has turned into a platform … for ethnic partisanship and sectarianism.”

Earlier this summer, the station was criticised for airing extensive live coverage of a rally by the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), a cult-like organisation that espouses regime change and has links to Saudi Arabia. Senior Trump administration officials, including John Bolton, are advocates of the group, which was listed as a terrorist group in the US until 2012.

The insider claimed the editorial content of the station had been influenced by its secret investors who were hidden behind an offshore Cayman Islands company. The MEK coverage, the insider said, was one such example.

Ofcom has recently scrutinised Iran International for giving airtime to the spokesperson of a group that praised a terrorist attack in Iran last month.

Volant Media, the company that runs Iran International, has a director named Adel Abdulkarim, who is a Saudi national. He has had a long working relationship with well-connected Saudi executives, some of who have links to the royal court, including Abdulrahman al-Rashed, who sits on the board of Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), the largest publishing company in the Middle East.

Multiple sources claim Rashed, who is the former general manager of the Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya, was also involved in the operations and funding behind Iran International.

Nabeel Al-Khatib, a consultant working with Iran International, has been described by its editors to staff as supervisor of the station or representative of the investors. It has been claimed Iran International editors have used Khatib’s Palestinian nationality to remain evasive about the channel’s Saudi funding. The Guardian has seen leaked documents that suggest he raised questions and offered input into Iran International’s coverage of human rights in Saudi Arabia, as well as suggesting certain story ideas, particularly related to Iran and Saudi Arabia. Khatib denied influencing editorial decisions and said he was an independent consultant who offered services to broadcast companies around the world.

Last month, Khatib emerged as Bloomberg Asharq project director in a deal signed between Bloomberg and SRMG.

According to one source, Saudi Arabia gave $250m (£197m) in funding to help the launch of Iran International, which runs no commercial advertising. The source did not give a timeframe, but a scrutiny of its office’s rent and employee salaries points to an initial five-year period – $50m per year. Volant Media lost £26m in 2017, according to accounts filed on 4 October.

One former employee said many staff were stuck between a rock and a hard place. “They have realised they have not been told the truth about the Saudi paymasters behind the station but at the same time they can’t afford to resign or leave their job instantly for fear of incurring repayments under their contracts. Some rely on the television’s visa sponsorship to be able to continue living in London,” the former staff member said.

Gary Sick, who served in the US national security council under the Carter administration, said both Iran and Saudi Arabia were making active use of media in their regional rivalry.

“Iran’s Press TV is full of negative stories about the Saudi leadership, and official (and unofficial) Saudi media portray Iran as the single greatest source of instability and terrorism in the Middle East,” he said.

Rob Beynon, the acting head of the television station, did not deny that funding for it came from the Saudi royal court.

“[Iran International] provides news for all Iranians, in Iran and in the diaspora, reflective of the widest range of opinions. Our output is governed not by any external individuals but by our editorial guidelines, which are published in English and Farsi on our website,” Beynon said.

He added: “It is transparent and impartial, as you can see from our output. The management structure is as you would expect in any news organisation. Decisions are taken by our senior editorial managers, who report to me.”

Saeed Kamali Dehghan Iran correspondent, the Guardian.com

October 31, 2018 0 comments

Albania

The fortified headquarters of Iranian Mojahedin Khalq in Albania

Last February, the occhidella guerra reported the transfer of 3,500 mujahideen to Albania. The Mek was previously kept at a base near Baghdad (Liberty Camp). Among other things, it referred to their new headquarters being constructed in Manez, near Durre. Today there are further evidence that confirm this project and much more. But let’s go in order.

What is the Mek

The Mek or Mojahedin Khalq Organisation of Iran is an organization which was born in 1963 in Iran with the aim of opposing the Western influence in the country and fighting the regime of the Shah. In 1979 the Mek participated in the revolution led by [Ayatollah]Khomeini but the ideology, a crossroads of Marxism, feminism and Islamism, clashed with that of the Ayatollahs.

In 1981 the Mek moved to Paris where Massoud Rajavi (The leader) founded his headquarters and five years later moved to Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, from where he supported and joined the war of Saddam Hussein against Iran. MEK also engaged in the repression of the Kurds on behalf of Saddam. In 2003 the Mek was disarmed by the Americans and moved to Camp Liberty. The Mek continued to play a role in the political and diplomatic activities against Tehran and continues to do so today.

Previously, the organization was blacklisted not only by Iran and Iraq, but also by the European Union, Britain, the US and Canada, only to be “cleared” between 2008 and 2012. A New York Times article by September 21, 2012 illustrated how the then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, had decided to clear the Mek , making it remove from the “black list” to be able to then put it away from the reach of Tehran, in a country willing to welcome them, in this Albania. The goal is more than evident: use the Mek to support a regime change in Tehran. But why in Albania? What is a “pledge” to pay for entry into Europe and NATO?

Today it is Maryam Rajavi who leads the Mek after the mysterious disappearance of her husband Massoud that coincides with the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. Some sources speak of a possible death while others say that the former leader is in hiding to escape the agents of Tehran.

Political support at the international level

The Mek has received support from various international political figures including former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and Emma Bonino as vice-president of the Senate in June 2012. The New York Times noted that several members of Congress had become staunch supporters of the movement that, if once Marxist-Islamist, then changed its mind by transforming its own struggle and becoming the main organized movement against the Iranian government.

According to the New York newspaper, among the supporters of the Mek there would be R. James Woolsey and Porter J. Goss, former directors of the CIA; Louis J. Freeh, former director of the FBI; Tom Ridge, former Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush; Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and national security advisor, General James L. Jones, operating under the Obama administration.

In the last year there have been several positions in favor of Mek by members of the national and international political scene. In mid-September an official delegation of the Italian Radical Party and the “Hands off Cain” association visited the mujahidin headquarters in Albania. The delegation included Elisabetta Zamparutti, Sergio D’Elia, Rita Bernardini, Mattia Moro, Maria Antonietta and Luca Coscioni; Albanian sources claim that the members of the Mek would provide an account of the violations of human rights implemented by the regime in Tehran.

Last June 30, it was the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Monti government, Giulio Terzi, who spoke at a meeting of the Mek where, in front of thousands of anti-Tehran protesters, he announced his “unconditional support to the Mek”, defining his militants “freedom fighters” and saying that “a large part of Italian society is convinced that being on your side means being on the right side of history”. The whole speech was published on the Mek website and can be viewed here.

Even the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, in 2018 expressed himself at least on a couple of occasions in favour of the Mek with statements like: “The Iranian people have had enough of this regime that will be overthrown … We have no doubt that the Mek coalition can cope with this regime “.

And again: “The mullahs have to leave, the ayatollahs have to leave and must be replaced by a democratic government that Mrs. Rajavi represents”, as reported by the Guardian.

In short, yet another attempt to overthrow the government to export “democracy”, a film already seen and revised.

Last September 26, the Albanian journalist Kastriot Myftaraj, during the television program “Ju flet Moska“, had criticized the recent invocations to the uprising in Iran by the leader of the Mek, Maryam Rajavi, bringing up the article 221 of the Albanian penal code that punishes incitement to insurrection with penalties ranging from 15 years upwards.

Article 265 b / c of the Albanian penal code which prohibits involvement in military operations and violent actions in foreign countries should also be taken into consideration.

The Manez headquarters

Numerous international sources have documented the presence of a large complex near the Albanian village of Manez, which serves as the main base for the Mek, a complex that has already been inhabited even though it is still being completed. Several local reporters have witnessed the presence of private armed guards outside the complex, a barrier and further unarmed guards inside.

The well-known Albanian investigative journalist Gjergj Thanasi was among the first to notice the presence of Manez and had shown the dynamics of the Eyes of War last February:

“The Council of the Territorial Organization (Keshilli i Rregullimit te Territorit) is responsible for issuing permits for the construction of public works and private buildings (factories, hotels, schools, roads, etc.). This Council had published a list of permits issued for a series of works and among them there was one against an NGO called F.A.R.A. The permit was dated 16 October 2017 and indicated the authorization for “a residential complex and services for the Iranian community in Albania”. At that point I investigated this F.A.R.A that, strangely and contrary to the Albanian law, was not registered with the Tax Office and did not even have a VAT number, which is prohibited in Albania.

I then continued the investigation at the town planning office of the town of Durres (which I know very well having lived here for 52 years); there they showed me a written request from the F.A.R.A. in which permission was requested for the creation of a building site (fence, water connections, electricity, containers, etc.) and it emerged that the Municipality had not issued any permit. The letter of request did not have a header, there was no address or telephone number. At this point I went to Manez (in the first week of November 2017) to see what was happening and I found myself in front of a finished fence, an already installed electricity grid, and some channels under construction, for the water network. There was also a container with offices inside the fence. Around the yard there were guards and also three policemen with the uniform of the State Police “.

The site would have been located precisely between the villages of Kulles and Manez e-Vieter, with entrance on the Rruga Lalezit road and the complex there are several aerial images and films.

On August 10th, British journalist Lindsey Hilsum of Channel 4 went outside the Manez complex to document its existence and was physically attacked by some members of the Mek.

According to reports from the Albanian media, some witnesses said that security guards tried to tear and break the crew camera while some members of the Mek hit Hilsum and took their chaperone by the neck. At that point, Albanian police officers arrived on the spot and stopped the attack and accompanied the two assaulted men to the barracks.

Later, a spokesman for the Mek told the Albanian media that British journalists are in contact with the Iranian secret services and that they had not been advised of their arrival.

The case of Somaya Mohammadi and interviews with dissidents

Another case that is doing a lot of discussion in Albania is that of Mostafa Mohammadi, father of 38-year-old Somaya, who left home when he was 16 together with a militant woman from the Mek.

Mostafa explained that he had immigrated to Canada with his family in 1994 and entered the orbit of the Mek, helping them raise funds but in the meantime the organization would brainwash his sister, convincing her years later to move to Iraq, Camp Ashraf, to fight the Iranian regime. She die on the spot during military attacks or could have been executed if arrested. Years later a Mek militant would have approached his daughter Somaya, telling her that they have met her aunt (with whom the girl had a close relationship) and that she would like to show her where she had been and what she had done. So the they went off on a journey that only lasted two weeks but Somaya never returned home, cutting all contacts with her family.

Last July Mostafa Mohammadi went to Tirana to try to raise the case and get in touch with his daughter, which he said was held against her will in the Manez headquarters and accused some members of the Mek of attacking him , as reported by Shqiptarija and Gazeta Impakt who also published a video.

The Canadian, Iraqi and Albanian judiciary have however expressed themselves against Mohammadi’s accusations, declaring that the girl is voluntarily a member of the organization and being an adult, she is able to make her own decisions in autonomy and freedom.

On 25 July 2018 Somaya released an interview where he rejected the accusations made by his father, claiming to be a voluntary member of the Mek and accusing his father of collaborating with the Iranian secret services. A controversial case whose dynamics are still unclear.

The Albanian investigative program Fiks Fare managed to get in touch with three of the 200 dissidents who have fled from the MEK in Albania and interviewed them, as also reported by the Prishtina Post.

All three confirmed that the mujahideen housed in the camp are all well-trained fighters and that it is strictly forbidden to maintain contact with their families.

The first interviewed, Sadolah Seifi, explained that he was born in 1969 and that he joined Mek voluntarily at 21 for economic reasons. Seifi explained that initially the Mek speaks of freedom, but in fact it is “a frightening organization” with many agents who force their followers to do what the leader says, and it is strictly forbidden to have a family. According to Seifi the main problem of those who would like to leave the Mek is that in Albania they do not have a status, they cannot work and they do not have money to live.

The second interviewee, Ehsan Bidi, confirmed the military preparation of the mujahidin, adding that he learned a lot about weapons and their use; Bidi also claimed that the Mek at the time sent men in to Iran to place bombs and conduct terrorist acts.

The third interviewee, Manuchehr Abdi, 55 years of which 13 years with the Mek, pointed out that in Albania the organization is trying to reconstruct the same context that was present in the Iraqi base.

On military training Abdi said: “When I was part of the organization I was a member of a group that virtually connected with young people in Iran and taught them to fight, because we need to know that everyone in this organization knows how to fight to kill, we are militarily prepared we know everything about weapons “.

Regarding the family context, the interviewee made it clear that visits to his family were forbidden in Camp Ashraf and that he himself could not have contact with his daughter. A situation that is also present in Albania following agreements with the Tirana government.

In conclusion

What is the Mek then? A group of dissidents and persecuted by the Iranian regime? A sectarian force of opposition composed of militarily trained elements ready to overthrow the regime? A terrorist organization? (According to what was stated by Tehran). Where do the Mek funding come from?

In geopolitics it is known that an organization can be considered “terrorist” or “resistance movement” based on the interests of those who support it and have seen it with many other organizations, from the Muslim Brotherhood to Hizbullah, from the PLO to the “resistance” “Syrian. What is certain is that it is difficult to combat terrorism when we cannot even find a universally shared definition of the term.

Meanwhile, however, the presence in Albania of the Mek does nothing but further aggravate the delicate situation in the Balkans where jihadist and Islamist groups are already present. The Balkan area seems more and more a logistics and transit area in support of the war policies in the Middle East and all this at the expense of regional stability, Italy included.

Giovanni Glacalone, Cliocchidella Guerra, Rome, Italy,Google Translation with Iran Interlink editing

October 29, 2018 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

MEK is responsible for thousands of deaths in Iran

Is there no crime so obvious, so egregious and so blatant that it won’t be overlooked by United States President Donald Trump, if doing so suits his twisted needs? He looks past Israeli barbarity, despite the obvious, unspeakable human rights abuses that that rogue, racist apartheid nation commits. He ignores the abject suffering caused by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. He excuses, with barely a mention, the Saudi bombing of a school bus full of Yemeni children. And now he is overlooking the cold-blooded murder of a Saudi journalist, which that government even concedes, after several rather incredulous stories, that it is, indeed, responsible for.

Any other U.S. president, Democrat or Republican, would certainly see this as a reason to at least review the U.S.’s unqualified support for the Saudi regime. He or she would express horror not only at the murder itself, but at the targeted silencing of a member of the press, one critical of Saudi Arabia. The massive arms sales to Saudi Arabia agreed upon would at least put on hold, while the entire situation is reviewed.

But not Trump; he was first happy to say that there must be some other explanation for why Jemal Khashoggi, a journalist for the Washington Post, entered the Saudi embassy in Turkey to obtain a marriage license, and never came out. Then, after numerous denials by the Saudi government that it had no knowledge of what may have happened, they stated that Khoshoggi died in a fistfight in the embassy! While this may be a prize winner in any contest for the most outrageous and unbelievable statements any government has ever made, Trump was happy to accept it.

Then, when the Saudi regime finally said that ‘rogue’ members of the government (are there any other kind in Saudi Arabia?) were responsible, Trump seemed perfectly content with that explanation. What consequences the perpetrators will experience is not known, nor are any expected. Certainly, none of this will impact U.S. relations with the Saudi regime.

One need not wonder why this is. Trump has set the U.S.’s deadly sites on Iran, and seeks Saudi support to implement whatever destructive and illegal plans he may have for that nation. Never mind that Saudi Arabia supports such terrorist groups as Jibhat al-Nusra, an organization that is on the U.S.’s official ‘terrorist’ list. The U.S. happily supports other terrorist groups in Syria and other locations around the world, so why object to one that the U.S. itself condemns?

U.S. spokespeople have praised the Mujahedin-E Khalq organization (MEK), which is responsible for thousands of deaths in Iran since 1979, and is now active outside that country, attempting to foment the overthrow of the government. The U.S. would be only too happy to see them succeed, and turn Iran into the chaos and disaster that Iraq and Yemen are today. Fortunately for Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp prevents the MKO from having any significant power in Iran.

And so what if the brutal Saudi war on Yemen is causing millions of people to die of starvation? Why should the U.S. object to that, as long as it can enlist Saudi Arabia in its anti-Iran plans. Trump has stated more than once that the U.S. needs Saudi Arabia for that purpose, so basically whatever horrendous atrocities Saudi Arabia commits will be overlooked.

Since the U.S. is so busy condemning Iran while it ignores the unspeakable human rights abuses of some of its allies, including Saudi Arabia, let’s see what it is that Iran has done that has brought about Trump’s wrath.

+ Iran has supported and continues to support the legitimate Syrian government against U.S.-sponsored rebel groups. This has increased Iran’s power, influence and prestige in the Middle East, and since Israel wants complete hegemony in that part of the world, Iran’s growth cannot be tolerated.

+ Iran’ government supports the human rights struggles of the Palestinian people; in so doing, it also supports international law, something which the U.S. holds in contempt.

+ Iran is allied with Russia, which is the new enemy du jour of the U.S.

+ Lastly, the U.S. has not been able to ever accept that the people of Iran overthrew the brutal, oppressive, U.S-installed puppet, the Shah of Iran, in 1979. This will never do, since Iran, as of 1979, ceased bowing to the U.S. master.

It may be difficult for Trump, who’s attention span rivals that of a 2-year old, who believes that if he or she can’t see something, it no longer exists, to understand the rich history and culture of Iran. Consider the Cyrus Cylinder, dating from the sixth century, B.C., and discovered in Iraq in 1879. This artifact is sometimes seen as the first declaration of human rights known to man.

And what of the revolution, mentioned above? This was truly a people’s movement, indicating the power that people have over even the most brutal and powerfully-backed oppressor. Democracy, anyone?

Let’s compare now the number of countries that the U.S has invaded, just since World War II, with the number Iran invaded during that same time period. The total for the U.S is 16 (18, if you count Lebanon and Iraq twice). Here is the list: Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Angola, Lebanon (twice), Grenada, Panama, Kuwat, Iraq (twice), Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Syria. This, of course, is in addition to supporting brutal rebels in many democratic nations that didn’t toe the U.S. line.

Now, for the list of countries that Iran has invaded since World War II. The total is 0. One needs to look back to 1798 for the last time Iran invaded another nation.

Let’s look now to the current year. A White House report called the ‘Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks Guiding the United States’ Military Force and Related National Security Operations’, or, unofficially, the war report, issued in March of this year, indicates that the U.S. is currently at war in seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Niger. Iran, by comparison, is supporting Syria, its ally, against foreign-financed and trained terrorists.

But according to the U.S. government, it is Iran that is the world’s foremost sponsor of world terrorism. It is Iran that is the major abuser of human rights. It is Iran that is causing untold trouble around the world.

It has been said that if one tells a lie often enough, eventually it will be believed. Trump seems to rely on this, as he attempts to prepare the hapless U.S. citizens for another needless, deadly, devastating war. But those citizens should beware: Iran is not Iraq. It is a large and powerful country, with powerful allies. The U.S. will wage war on Iran to its own detriment. It is hoped that such a war will never happen.

by Robert Fantina, CounterPunch,

October 28, 2018 0 comments

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 246

++ In Albania over the last two weeks, the number of escapes from MEK has been gaining momentum. Three new people have already gone public and named themselves: Mohammad Azim Mishmast, Gholam Ali Mirzaie, Mousa Dam Roudi. Rajavi is in a panic. Every day MEK issue statements saying such and such a person was an agent of the regime from the start; each one has been with MEK for between 25-30 years. It has become a joke both inside and outside MEK that when you leave, you suddenly become a long-term agent. On the back of this, Saber from Tabriz wrote a short article addressing Rajavi. He says that “when facing these many defections on a daily basis, you should forget about giving advice to the Europeans and Americans. See where you are standing.” At the same time, Maryam Rajavi has been in Albania holding clandestine meetings with various parties. Her main demand from everyone is for help to stop people leaving, to ensure the camp is kept securely closed and that no unauthorised (by MEK) outsiders are allowed near, etc.

++ When news of Khashoggi’s disappearance first broke, MEK immediately began blaming Iran, saying they had killed the Saudi journalist. They even published a series of photograph of previous assassination victims, listing them and saying Khashoggi is the latest victim of Iran. When the Saudi government finally accepted responsibility for the death, MEK went silent.

In English:

++ Nejat Bloggers publishes the stories of survivors of MEK in Albania. Former POW, Gholamali Mirzaei, spent 30 years with MEK. “’After a while I found out that their slogans for democracy were just a cover for their lies, hypocrisy and sycophancy’, he writes in his official declaration of defection. ‘According to Rajavi’s religion having a family was a sin so every day we were played away with a new cult jargon under the name of Ideological Revolution’. Mirzaei was not allowed to visit his family in all those years of his imprisonment in the MKO and before that in Saddam Hussein’s POW camps. After the relocation of the group in Albania, he could manage to find a cellphone and call his family. It was then that he realized that his family including his wife, children and his brother had come to Camp Ashraf to meet him but the MKO authorities had barred them from visiting him.” Nejat also reported that sisters Mona and Zeinab Hosseinejad finally met up after being separated in infancy when Zeinab escaped the MEK camp in Albania and travelled to Greece.

++ Sputnik News alleges that ‘Terrorists Easily Live in US’ after Gholamhossein Dehqani, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, slammed the US for allowing terrorists to freely live and operate on its territory. Dehqani accuses the US of harbouring and using MEK to destabilize the situation in Iran.

++ The Jamestown Foundation’s Terrorism Monitor published a report on ‘MEK in Albania – Potential Implications and Security Concerns for Albania’ by Ebi Spahiu. The report outlines MEK’s history and how and why they arrived in Albania. “Now, the group is residing in the outskirts of Tirana’s capital in a highly fortified camp located in Manëz. From this camp, the group is allegedly intensifying its political activities aimed at bringing down the Iranian regime (Exit.al, March 14). With emerging threats coming from radicalization and violent extremism, due to the rise of the Islamic State and other political Islamist groups in the region, the Albanian government may not be prepared or equipped to respond to the potential implications the group’s presence in Albania may bring.” The article concludes: “Albania continues to struggle with endemic corruption and organized crime and the emergence of religious radicalization as a regional security threat and potential sectarian rifts may add to the list of challenges facing Albania’s political landscape. As a result, the country may not be prepared to inherit a long-standing struggle between a major regional Middle Eastern power and a former terrorist organization. Especially since both may utilize Albania’s internal vulnerabilities for their own political gains.”

++ Gazeta Impakt, Albania, exposed MEK’s false claims that a group of MEPs support them when their journalist asked Eduard Kukan about an MEK statement he had signed. Kukan refuted this and his office said he was not aware that his name would be published by MEK after he spoke with them. In addition to this, “Several days ago, they [MEK] had a letter to the online media published, a letter which was also published by the Albanian print newspaper, claiming that MP Dashamir Shehi had visited the Mojahedin camp and stated that Iranian agents were threatening the MEK. Mr Dashamir Shehi has told journalists who contacted him that he has not written any such letter or made any statement of this kind.”

++ Mazda Parsi of Nejat Bloggers examines the MEK as ‘a tool for playing its masters’ dirty games’. Parsi explains what MEK does for its supporters and backers, including things that the enemies of the Iranian government should be ashamed of and do not wish to talk about. For example, MEK is behind changing peaceful protests in Iran to violent protests. “Do Iranians wish to change their peaceful protest into a violent one and get imprisoned for their legal demands?”

++ Payvand Rahaee published an Open Letter from Reza Jabali Sadeghi to Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship in the European Commission. Sadeghi, a former MEK member, raises issues arising from the EU Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs in Tirana on October 5. In particular he identifies MEK’s people smuggling as a major concern as members are moved around Europe and Albania on false passports.

++ Tehran Times and Iran Press reflected comments by Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani about the European Union, Iran and the JCPOA. “The parliament speaker said Iran has been committed to its obligations and Europe must take practical steps to preserve the JCPOA. Larijani also said that presence of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) in France has caused a ‘negative mentality’ of the French among the Iranians.”

++ In a television programme for Ora News, Albanian historian Olsi Jazaxhi stated that Albania has become a base for Israel’s MOSSAD and the Iranian Mojahedin.

October 26, 2018

October 27, 2018 0 comments

Iran

MKO presence in France has created negative mentality in Iran

Larijani says ‘practical actions’ needed to save nuclear deal

TEHRAN – Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said on Tuesday that the European Union has been backing the nuclear deal politically but what is of utmost importance is “practical actions” by the bloc to keep the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Larijani made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with French Senator Philippe Bonnecarrere, who heads the France-Iran friendship group in the upper house of parliament.

The parliament speaker said Iran has been committed to its obligations and Europe must take practical steps to preserve the JCPOA.

Larijani also said that presence of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) in France has caused a “negative mentality” of the French among the Iranians.

Bonnecarrere said that France does not support the MKO.

The MKO, who sided with Saddam Hussein during Iraq’s war against Iran in the 1980s, was removed from the list of terrorist organizations by the European Union and the United States in 2009 and 2012 respectively.

France hosts annual gathering of the MKO. Maryam Rajavi, who does not tolerate any criticism within her group, has been mockingly portraying herself as the leader of the opposition outside Iran.

‘France fully backs JCPOA’

Senator Bonnecarrere also said that France will make any effort to preserve the JCPOA.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s approach towards the JCPOA has portrayed a good image of the country in the international arena and France will use all of its possibilities to keep the agreement,” he said.

Bonnecarrere added that France is determined to expand ties and interaction with Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the nuclear agreement in May and reintroduced sanctions on Iran in August. The second wave of sanctions, which targets Iran’s oil exports and central bank, is due to start in early November.

On September 25, European Union foreign policy chief Mogherini announced that the bloc was creating a new payment mechanism to allow countries to transact with Iran while avoiding U.S. sanctions.

Mogherini’s announcement came after a meeting with foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Iran on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

October 27, 2018 0 comments

Albania

Jazexhi: Albania has reverted to a base for Israeli Mossad and Iranian Mojahedin Khalq

Historian Olsi Jazexhi, invited to Arena by Dritan Hila of Ora News, said that Albania has become the main base of Israel’s Mossad and the Iranian Mojahedin Khalq (MKO, MEK, NCRI, Rajavi cult, Saddam’s Private army ….).

Jazexhi: Albania has become one of the main bases of Israel’s Mossad and the Iranian Mojahedin (Maryam Rajavi cult), a former terrorist group. Al Jazeera made a documentary a month ago which showed how 1700 computers have been brought from abroad to Manzas where the Mojahedin Khalq terror group stick online and attack any government trying to trade with Iran. The Mojahedin Khalq are used by Donald Trump to sabotage the European policy towards the nuclear deal with Iran. Whoever reads the news, the Mujahideen (Maryam Rajavi cult) produce an article every week or every month saying that ‘Iran has come to Albania to attack us.

Ora News.tv, Tirana ,Translated by Iran Interlink

October 27, 2018 0 comments

Missions of Nejat Society

Open letter to European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and citizenship

Honorable Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos,

My name is Reza Jebelli. I am a former member of mek and a human rights activist living in Brussels. On June 1981, I was shoot and later arrested by Iranian security service and spent about five years in prison including of two years in solitary confinement. I was working in the financial section of mek in Canada and united states and spent many years in mek Camp Ashraf in Iraq.

I have followed the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs in Tirana on October 5th, which have raised a few very important issues.

The Ministers acknowledged that terrorism and radicalization continue to be a common challenge for the European Union and the Western Balkans region.

Considering the mek past forty years records of assassinations and terrorist activities in Iran, Iraq and Europe and as a former member, I must emphasize that mek presence in Tirana and Balkans region is and will be one of the greatest threats to the European Union.

in 2003, French anti-terrorism officers raided a dozen locations northwest of Paris in Auvers-Sur-Oise, the mek headquarter, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Iran (1997-2012) and initially detained 165 people along with mek leader Maryam Rajavi who right after ordered few members to self-immolation in the street of Europe. ‘The attempts at self-immolation to protest against the arrest of Radjavi are proof of a fanaticism and terrorist group that not respect our laws and our values.

On December 12, 2017, when Maryam Rajavi the leader of mek was in the European parliament, two former mek members who were invited for a conference in the parliament were attacked and injured by Rajavi’s bodyguards when they tried to kidnap Mr. Khoshal and Ebrahimi right front of EU parliament.

At least two of these bodyguards came from Albania with fake documents, which their name has been given to the Belgium police and authorities.

Every day in the street of Tirana, the former members are being harassed by mek in order to prevent them to reveal the true face of this cult. Just recently, an Iranian Canadian national Mr. Mostafa and his wife Mrs. Mahbubeh Mohammadi who travel from Canada to see their daughter Somayeh were beaten by mek in Tirana.

Furthermore, every years mek smuggles many refugees from different camp all over Europe and Balkans region and take them to Paris for their anniversary of arm struggle against Iranian.

Dear Sir,

The Ministers underlined the key importance of the respect of rule of law and the threat of terrorism and here we have this terrorist cult smuggling people throughout European cities.

Despite Mojahedin assertions that the group has abandoned its extreme ideology and now favors a liberal democracy, you could see mek’s action towards its own member which has been disconnected from free world and even they not allowed to see their parents.

Moreover, the Mojahedin’s 40-year record of behavior does not substantiate its capability or intention to be democratic. Internally, the Mojahedin run their organization autocratically, suppressing dissent and eschewing tolerance of differing viewpoints. Rajavi, who heads the Mojahedin’s political and military wings, has fostered a cult of personality around herself. These characteristics have alienated most Iranian expatriates, who assert they do not want to replace one objectionable regime for another.

Let’s not forget, In the period leading up to the revolution and its immediate aftermath, the Mojahedin carried out their strategy of armed struggle. The results included the murder of Americans, support for the seizure of the U.S. embassy, and opposition to the release of U.S. hostages. The Mojahedin are known to have assassinated the following Americans in Iran during the 1970s:

Lt. Colonel Lewis L. Hawkins Killed: June 2, 1973

Air Force Colonel Paul Schaeffer Killed: May 21, 1975

Air Force Lt. Colonel Jack Turner Killed: May 21, 1975

Donald G. Smith Rockwell International Killed: August 28, 1976

Robert R. Krongrad, Rockwell International Killed: August 28, 1976

William C. Cottrell Rockwell International Killed: August 28, 1976

In 1981, mek started their armed struggle once again with seven suicide attack among them a fourteen years old girl named Adab Avaz Gohar-.

Reza Jabali Sadeghi, Payvand Rahaee,

October 25, 2018 0 comments

Albania

Albanian security officials concerned over the threat of the MKO

Albanian security officials are concerned about recent actions of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO/MEK/PMOI) in their territory.

Maryam Rajavi together with a large number of her companions have been resided in Hotel National, Tirana, for two weeks now, according to a former member of the MKO who lives in Tirana. She has conducted some meetings there.

This has worried the security officials of Tirana. They complained about the MKO’s recent actions in Albanian territory to the political authorities.

Seemingly, the group intends to concentrate the majority of its members from all over Europe, in Albania. The group officials have bought about 1000 computers and imported to Albania, the source revealed.

The MKO’s presence in Albania has always been a security issue for the Albanian Police and security bodies

Other defectors of the MKO speak of increasing complications inside the group’s camps, in Albania. Dissatisfactions of members and dissent against the group’s attitudes is on the rise. Maryam Rajavi’s trip to Albania seems to be the sign of the critical situation of her cult-like group.

October 25, 2018 0 comments

USA

A sharp decline in America’s power

Everything began from a memory; a memory of the future of the reality of US policies and some officials.
Secretary of the National Security Council, Mr. Shamkhani, quoted a memory of his Educational period which is Remarkable.
The content of this memory is that he faces an interesting phenomenon in helping his classmate in the exam session, which is that the classmate attached Shamkhani’s help sheet to his exam sheet, and the result is the failure of both.

The reason for attaching the help sheet was that the classmate had a meeting with his fiancée and has done this because of the lack of time.
Shamkhani attribute this memory to Bolton, the national security advisor to Trump and said:” Apparently John Bolton also has an appointment. ”

He also said that:” It is a shame for a government to basing Bolton for Strategic Decision Making against Iran, the person who cooperates with MKO. At least, change the words”
The compliance of the US government with a terrorist cult of the MKO does not mean increasing the power of this cult, but it means a sharp decline in America’s power.

The country that claimed to have a superpower on a day and regarded itself as the only power of the world, now is in a position to ask for help from terrorist sects such as the MKO to achieve its goals.
A country that claims to operate the world order and seeks to establish peace and human rights, it has to shelter to sects, which are the ultimate mirror of assassination and violence.
According to many experts, the national and strategic documents of a country represent the horizons of a country’s vision.

Also, most of these documents are prepared and drafted by experts and on the basis of current and future prospects, but take a look at the US strategic documents.
Recent comments by Mr. Shamkhani, secretary of the National Security Council about the unchanged texts of the MKO in the US strategic document and quoted by some US officials, such as John Bolton, are not.
This deniable truth makes America’s strategy doesn’t include the realities and the desirable future.
The question is, who is the reference of US news and strategic texts about Iran and what are the characteristics?
The answer to this question can tell the American authorities the misconception about the facts.

According to evidence, the terrorist sect of the MKO impose their views by communicating with some naïve US officials And presents the obvious news inside Iran as secret and strategic texts.
But history should reminded to these naïve authorities to understand this terrorist cult better and not simply accept their words.
The MKO, with a history of the assassination of 17,000 innocent people in Iran, has always been a part of the disgusting group of public opinion, and they always will remember this.
A sect known for treason, assassination, war, and has always faced a strategic mistake in its judgments about the Iranian nation, how can present these realities to American officials?

The sect has committed historical mistakes including “the leftist conception of the Islamic Revolution, the idea of the people’s companionship with them, the conquest of Tehran in a few days, electoral predictions and, eventually, the collapse of today and tomorrow in the Islamic Republic of Iran” and to get out of this swamp, it has turned to imaginary and repeated strategies, how can help with American strategies against Iran?
But a desirable future;

According the facts that the US decision-making systems are considering, is there a desirable future?
American historical behavior shows that they have always failed to predict their future toward Iran.
Interestingly, these failures have been the product of long and widespread American think-tank experts; these failures seem to be persistent and even worse.

Because in the past there were some reason and logic, but what would be the bigger catastrophe for the United States that to know behind the scenes, there were some statements and decisions of the MKO.
If there is an impossible assumption of a wise American attitude, it is better to change its course and begin to relocate to those who have always been with the terrorists and then review their strategic texts with more realistic literature.

October 25, 2018 0 comments

Maryam Rajavi

Maryam Rajavi went to Tirana from France.‎

She is staying at the Tirana’s International Hotel and has meetings with top and senior officials; ‎Meetings with European authorities have also been arranged.‎
The recent presence of Maryam Rajavi in Tirana, in addition to foreign visits, seems to have no ceremonial reasons and it focuses more on the internal issue of the organization and organizes the status of its members.
Also, another reason that eliminates the integrity of the organization is Bolton’s promise to overthrow the Iranian regime before the fortieth anniversary of the revolution.

Because of the failure to realize this, the collapse of the system in the eyes of the members of the organization at Camp Ashraf 3 is a very far-reaching dream and this has caused internal organizational challenges, and the organization is trying to justify this issue.

October 25, 2018 0 comments

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