Page 4 – Nejat Society

Massoud Rajavi running brainwashing session

Massoud Rajavi’s “Precious Gift” to his Followers

A few days after the attack, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) avoided taking any clear position on September 11. Instead, the intense meetings continued – filled with humiliation, personal attacks and both mental and physical abuse.

In the midst of this, we were once again called to a grand meeting in the large hall.

The leader stepped onto the stage with heavy, determined steps. On either side of the stairs stood armed guards, motionless as statues. Further back, like a second wall, stood additional bodyguards. The security was massive, suffocating.

He stopped in the middle of the stage. His gaze swept over us.

The hall was filled – a sea of green uniforms, broken by perfect, symmetrical blocks of red from the women’s headscarves. Everything was orderly. Controlled. Almost militarily beautiful. And completely lifeless.

He opened his mouth: “As part of Maryam’s ideological revolution, I have a gift for all of you…”

A gift. The word echoed strangely in my head.

“You have given me everything. But you have kept the most personal. Something that has prevented you from fully uniting with me and the struggle. Your sexual fantasies.”

He paused.

“From now on, we will introduce the weekly ablution. You will write down every private, every sexual thought you have during the week. And at the end of the week, you will read it out loud to others. The other members will attack your dirty thoughts… and you will be purified.”

Silence. Not an ordinary silence – but a total, suffocating stillness. Ten thousand people in the same room… and yet there was barely a breath. It felt as if time had stopped. As if the air had frozen. A pin could have been heard to drop.

How is this a gift?

Thoughts raced through my mind. This was not a gift. It was a demand. A demand for the last thing that was mine.

We had already lost everything – our lives, our choices, our relationships. We had no contact with the opposite sex. But thoughts… Thoughts were the last thing anyone could take away from us.

I thought.

Now they too would be gone. What is left of a self when even your innermost thoughts belong to someone else?

Maybe that was exactly the point. To wipe out the self. To replace it with something else. Something that fit into their world.

That was exactly what they had taught us about the ideological revolution.

I remembered the videotapes from the late 80s. Our parents had been in these meetings. We were children then. In the films, the leader spoke with a different voice – softer, almost convincing. He spoke of sacrifice.

How they had left everything behind: their lives in Iran, their careers, their lives in the West. But he also said they hadn’t sacrificed everything.

“Why fight halfheartedly?” he asked. “Why not take the final step?” He put his hand in his pocket. “You’re hiding something from me.”

He took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and placed them on the table. “What do you have in your pockets that you don’t want to give up?”

The private. The hidden. What was still theirs. “Give it to me.” Then it was about spouses and children.

Now, almost fifteen years later, that wasn’t enough anymore. Now even the thoughts would go away.

Fear crept into my body in a way I had never felt before. Not even the missile attacks had scared me this much. The air was electric. Tense to the point of breaking. As if a single spark could blow everything up.

Why did everyone react like this? And why… didn’t I feel anything?

Women in the MEK: Trapped, tortured, and silenced

Brainwashed by Brother Massoud

A young man pushed his way forward. I recognized him immediately. Reza Chavoshi. The MEK’s kid from Germany. The one who used to listen to Ice Cube and gangster rap.

Now he stood there with a wild look and shouted: “Thank you, Brother Massoud! You have freed us from our inner devil! I was the devil!”

I stared at him. What the hell…? How could he change so completely?

It was as if all these people had been missing something. A final piece of the puzzle. A key.

And now the leader had given it to them. And their reactions exploded.

One by one, those who had been sitting still stood up. They lined up. The lines wound all the way to the back of the hall.

Finally, I saw it. I was the only one left sitting. Either they really believed this. Or they didn’t dare do otherwise. But I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t. How could I, at seventeen, feel that something was wrong?

while an elderly man from the United States – a man who had lived in a democratic society, had received an education, lived with freedom – stood there shouting that he had been freed from his “invisible shackles”?

One by one they came forward and thanked him.

Psychological pressure by Massoud’s devotees

Then a short, gray-haired man came up to the microphone. His name was also Massoud. He had lived in London. His voice trembled: “I’m sorry, brother Massoud… but I don’t think I can handle this…”

He couldn’t take it anymore. A roar erupted. Protests. Loud, aggressive. Growing. Then, as if on command, the entire hall began to shout: “Gomsho Pasdar! Gomsho Pasdar!” [in persain] meaning: “Go to hell, you Revolutionary Guard!”

Ten thousand voices. Like a wave.

The gray-haired man covered his ears. He collapsed. Started to cry.

I had seen people attacked in smaller meetings before. But this… This was something completely different. It was brutal. Crushing. And even though I wasn’t the target… I could feel the pressure. The psychological weight.

The leader paced back and forth on the stage. He smiled. He looked at the man. Then he said, almost calmly: “I’m not saying anything. It’s the congregation that takes a stand against you. And the congregation is always right.”

Amir Yaghmai

Taken from Amir Yaghmai’s X account, Translated by Nejat Society Website

May 4, 2026 0 comments

Albania

Nejat Albania’s Seminar on the Occasion of International Workers’ Day

On the occasion of International Workers’ Day, a seminar was organized by the “Nejat Society Albania ” at the Black Diamond Hotel in Tirana, Albania.

The event was attended by guests from different walks of Albanian community, including artists, academics, students, civil servants and journalists, who together discussed the issues presented.

The participants, honoring the values of this day, examined the human rights situation within the Mujahedin Organization camp and, through the presentation of concrete evidence and experiences, engaged in shedding light on these issues.

The Seminar began with the speech of Ella Deda, who presented the objectives of the seminar and the importance of addressing human rights issues.

Hassan Shahbaz MEK defector at World Workers’ Day Seminar

Nejat Albania’s Seminar on World Workers’ Day

Afterwards, a video was shown to the audience that addressed the importance and philosophy of International Workers’ Day as well as the place of workers’ rights in contemporary societies.

Next, Hasan Shahbaz, one of the defectors from the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO/ MEK), sharing his personal experiences, explained the conditions inside the MEK’s camp and the restrictions imposed on members.

After him, Aldo Sollulari, President of the Nejat Society Albania, emphasizing the necessity of supporting the rights of individuals, underlined the continuation of efforts to raise awareness on the issue.

At the end of the seminar, a question-and-answer session was held, during which the attendees presented their views and questions, and thus, constructive discussions took place.

May 1^st, 2026, Nejat Society Albania

May 4, 2026 0 comments

Maryam Rajavi

Iranians condemn Maryam Rajavi’s presence in the European Parliament

Maryam Rajavi’s presence in the European Parliament playing the part of a defender of human rights was a disgraceful and contradictory performance that drew criticism from many Iranians around the world.

Maryam Rajavi, as a person who is severe suppresser of critic and dissent in her organizational structure, caused shame and scandal to certain officials of the European Parliament on April 22 by being received at one of the halls of this institution in Brussels.

In response to such a scandal, some former members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) expressed their anger at this move by the European Parliament, condemned it, and published some of their memories on social networks, testifying about the gross violations of human rights in the MEK’s cult-like structure.

A defector of the group, Reza Gooran while condemning the European Parliament’s action, referred to the psychological repression of dissident members of the group. He cited from Massoud Rajavi the disappeared husband of Maryam Rajavi that “a dissident member deserves death sentence, but we don’t have a death sentence because we are in Iraq”.

This former member of the Cult of Rajavi, who himself experienced imprisonment and torture in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, also testified that “the cult’s torturers murdered a protester and critic who was a prisoner in the Ashraf Camp torture chamber.”

Some other Iranian users of social networks sent letters to the European Parliament, making the authorities aware of their reprehensible behavior in accepting the leader of a terrorist group with a long history of violence, terror, betrayal and sectarianism.

One of the letters from Iranian users addressed to the European Parliament, which is being circulated on social media, is as follows:

Subject: You invite Maryam Rajavi – Are you endorsing a terrorist cult?

To: Members of the European Parliament

Dear Members of the European Parliament,

On April 22, 2026, you invited Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the MEK (Mujahedin-e-Khalq), to speak in your parliament. You applauded her.

Let me ask you directly:

Do you actually support what she represents?

Because her organization has a documented history of:

Killing over 17,000 innocent Iranian civilians including a 3‑year‑old girl.

Fighting alongside Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq war – the same Saddam you later condemned for genocide

Murdering 25,000 Iraqi

Kurds and Shias in 1991.

Running a cult (not a political group) – with forced divorces, brainwashing, and documented sexual exploitation of women by Masoud Rajavi, her husband.

Yet you invite her. Give her a stage. Applaud her.

So my question is simple

Are you thinking exactly like her? Are you her supporter?

Or did you simply not care to check the crimes behind the applause?

I used to believe the European Parliament stood for human rights.

Now I see for you, some murderers are acceptable as long as they are useful.

Shame on this double standard.

Sincerely,

A citizen who still remembers what human rights actually mean

In all the years that the Nejat Society and many other human rights organizations have been trying to shed light on the terrorist nature of the MEK and the human rights violations within this organization, the number of documents and evidence available in the global information space has increased day by day.

Despite all the accusations that the Rajavis have made against the whistleblowers, they still reveal that whenever MEK members refused to continue cooperating with the group and asked to leave it, they were subjected to physical attacks, humiliation, threats, and peer pressure at the instigation of commanders, mostly led by Massoud Rajavi. In these situations, the victims are subjected to severe verbal and physical abuse

Maryam Rajavi’s pro-democracy gesture is in complete contrast to the violent and ruthless actions of her five decades of organizational activity. Her presence in the European Parliament means using the issue of executions and human rights violations as a tool for political purposes. We cannot claim freedom, democracy, and the defense of the rights of the Iranian people and turn a blind eye to the behavior of Maryam and Massoud Rajavi against their fellow Iranians.

Mazda Parsi

April 29, 2026 0 comments

Albania

JOQ Albania: Dozens of Complaints against the MEK from Citizens

A few days ago, the editorial staff of JOQ Albania published the concern of a mother, who told of an unusual incident: a woman wearing a headscarf had approached her child and, as soon as she noticed the presence of the parent, had covered her face. This action raised suspicions and concerns about the reasons for the approach.

JOQ asserts that after the publication of the earlier report, the case did not remain isolated. The editorial staff received dozens of other complaints from various citizens, who report similar situations and express uncertainty about what is happening in different areas.

Only after these reactions and repeated calls to institutions, including the Director of the Police, Skënder Hita, has an official reaction come from the State Police.

Albanians concerned over MEK approaching their children

In the press release, the police have clarified that these are women who belong to a group known as the Iranian Mujahedeen [Mujahedin-e Khalq/ MEK], who are located in the Manëz area, and that, according to the authorities, they do not pose a danger or bad intentions towards the children.

However, despite this “reassuring” clarification, it seems that some citizens remain skeptical. Complaints and reports continue to arrive, showing that concerns have not been completely eliminated and that trust in official statements remains fragile. The situation once again raises the need for greater transparency and clear communication from institutions, in order to avoid misunderstandings and restore a sense of security among citizens.

JOQ Albania, Editorial Staff

April 27, 2026 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Will the Mujahedin-e Khalq Try to Kill Pahlavi?

An American historian wrote about the possibility of Reza Pahlavi’s assassination by the MEK. Michael Rubin, an American historian and Middle East analyst who is an opponent of the Iranian government, warned American leaders in an analysis of the first weeks of the Israeli-American war against Iran that the MEK organization is not only not pro-Western and committed to democracy, but is also a violent cult that may attempt to assassinate Reza Pahlavi in order to gain power in Iran.

The high-ranking official from the American Enterprise Institute, in an Op-Ed on Middle East Forum warned for the umpteenth time about the MEK’s psychological operations among European and American politicians. He recalled that in the early years of the Islamic Republic’s government, the MEK opposed Ayatollah Khomeini not because they had a problem with his ideology, but because they wanted a share in power and did not achieve it.

Explaining the current MEK operation in the West, Rubin writes:

“In the United States and Europe, the MEK engages in a psychological operation to suggest they are pro-Western or committed to democracy. That is nonsense. They operate as a cult, isolate their members, and foster anti-Americanism. They have become North Korea, only with more food and slicker public relations. Many of the MEK’s claims of infiltrating Iran or running operations inside the country are demonstrably untrue. Former officials who support them do so not because of ideological fealty, but rather because of lucrative honoraria.”

This American historian writes of Maryam Rajavi’s current frustration, and that during and after the protests, the Iranian people ignored or cursed the MEK, and despite the organization’s grandiose statements and claims of public support, the MEK is known among Iranians as nothing more than a group of frauds.

He refers to Maryam Rajavi’s announcement of a “provisional government” and considers it “little more than play-acting.” According to him, no American official—even those to whom the MEK and its proxy organizations have given hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial assistance—takes the potential MEK government seriously.

This political commentator, opposed to the Iranian government, criticizes Rajavi for the strict hijab he imposes on the group’s women and speaks of Rajavi’s hostility to Pahlavi. According to Rubin, “the most important thing for Rajavi is power,” and in order to achieve power in Iran, he is likely to launch “potential assassination campaigns”. This organization has already killed a large number of Iranian citizens and officials.

The author of the article calls on Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, to immediately re-designate the MEK as a terrorist organization on the list of foreign terrorist groups, so that the group’s infrastructure and members can gather on US soil and then pressure European countries to do the same with Rajavi and his inner circle.

Mazda Parsi

April 25, 2026 0 comments

Maryam Rajavi

Iran’s MEK plots a US-backed path to power from exile in Albania

Long marginal in Iranian politics, the exiled MEK seeks relevance as US and Israel strike Iran.

The war on Iran has given an opposition group that has long struggled for relevance in exile a chance to grab the mantle of history and present itself as a ready-made alternative to the Islamic Republic.

As Israel and the US began to strike Iran on 28 February, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) swung into action.

Maryam Rajavi, the group’s 72-year-old leader, announced the formation of what she described as a provisional government tasked with overseeing the fall of the Iranian regime and its replacement with a democratic republic with her at the helm.

For more than a decade, 3,000 members of the MEK have lived in a small village outside Albania’s capital Tirana, turning the Balkan country into an unlikely outpost of a distant conflict.

The group, founded as an Islamist-Marxist student militia in the 1960s, relocated to the village of Manze in 2013 when Albania agreed, at Washington’s request, to accept fighters previously based in Iraq.

Now, there is an opportunity that has long eluded the MEK, one that could lead it out of Albania and back into some kind of relevance.
The problem, analysts say, is that the group is far further away from power than it was during the 1979 revolution it played a significant role in.

“The MEK is not a serious alternative to the Islamic Republic. It is a thuggish and corrupt cult that is unpopular inside Iran,” said Thomas Juneau, a professor of Middle East studies at the University of Ottawa.

“As long as the Islamic Republic was firmly in power, it was mostly irrelevant for former US (and other western) politicians to support the MEK by attending its events,” he told Middle East Eye.

The US designated the MEK a terrorist organisation in 1997 before removing it from the list in 2012.

Despite the controversy surrounding the group, which was cracked down on by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the revolution and went on to fight for Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, the MEK gained international attention in 2002 when it revealed the existence of a previously undisclosed Iranian uranium-enrichment programme.

A role in the current conflict?

Iran has experienced repeated waves of protests in recent decades. Yet the opposition has remained fragmented, both inside and outside the country, with numerous ideological and political factions competing for influence.

The MEK, which began its life as a vehemently anti-American, anti-imperialist group, now stands out in part because of its willingness to cooperate with the US and Israel.

This alignment, analysts say, helps explain why it continues to attract attention despite its limited domestic popularity.
“This is not happening because people think the MEK will bring democracy or that they have any future,” said Sajjad Safaei, an expert on Iran and the Middle East.

“In some ways, because the MEK has no future, they are perfect for serving the interests of for instance the United States or Israel,” he told MEE.

The organisation remains highly structured and maintains networks among Persian-speaking activists.
Its Albanian compound reportedly houses media rooms and communication centers used to monitor Iranian developments and distribute content online.

“There is this running joke amongst Farsi speakers,” Safaei said. “That whenever you want to dismiss a Twitter or social media account, you always say, just remember that you’re talking to an MEK account in Tirana.”

Beyond propaganda, analysts believe the group may play a role in shaping narratives supportive of western policy toward Iran.
Such activity can create what Safaei describes as a permissive climate that reinforces arguments for military action. But its potential utility may extend further.

“So sabotage, espionage, inciting violence, sabotage of nuclear installations, assassinations, they’re probably very much involved there, I could imagine,” he said.

The MEK has also built a lobbying network in Washington.

Last year, supporters in Congress passed a resolution backing Rajavi’s “10-point plan” for Iran, which calls for the country to become a “democratic, secular and non-nuclear state”.

For Juneau, though, there is a critical distinction to make. While the group may be useful to outside powers, he argues, that does not mean it has a realistic political future inside Iran.

“It is crucial to distinguish that role from the delusion that it could play a constructive political role in a post-Islamic Republic Iran,” he said.

Gambit for power

For years the MEK has cultivated support among western politicians who see it as a useful instrument against Tehran.
Among those who have appeared at the group’s events are former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, former US Vice President Mike Pence, former senator Joe Lieberman, former national security adviser John Bolton, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Financial disclosures in the US show that some figures were paid substantial speaking fees. Bolton received $40,000 for a speech at a 2017 rally in Paris, while Pence was paid $190,000 for a speech delivered in Albania in 2022.
“Now that the fall of the Islamic Republic is conceivable, it becomes essential for western governments to take the issue of a post-Islamic Republic Iran seriously,” said Juneau.

The renewed speculation about so-called “regime change” has also intensified rivalries among exiled Iranian opposition figures, and the knives are out.

Giuliani, a close ally of the MEK, attacked Reza Pahlavi on X on 1 March.

“Reza Pahlavi is the heir to a regime of corruption and brutality imposed by outsiders on the Iranian people,” Giuliani wrote, adding that the son of the shah had lived “a life of a self-proclaimed ‘prince’ supported by the money stolen from the people”.

Mike Pompeo, a former US secretary of state, also weighed in, writing that “Iran’s democratic opposition is ready to step up and lead”, while quoting Rajavi.

Even so, Washington has not officially endorsed the group.

“The past shows ample precedents of US support for groups with little or no legitimacy in countries it invades can have negative consequences,” Juneau said.

Elis Gjevori, Middle East Eye

PS by Nejat Society: This article was published on March 10, 2026 when certain journalists and analyst had the illusion of the alleged fall of the Iranian government. The war is now almost over and the Islamic Republic is still in power.

April 22, 2026 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

The Censoring MEK’s Ridiculous Concern about Internet Blackout in Iran

Following the US and Israel’s attack on Iran and the killing of Iranian officials, soldiers, and civilians, the Internet blackout has been a painful part of the consequences of the war for the Iranian people. The international Internet blackout in Iran has been going on for fifty days, and even Iranian government officials are aware that the Internet blackout has caused great damage to the country’s macroeconomics. Meanwhile, the propaganda machine of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) claims that they are concerned about the Internet blackout for the Iranian people and are worried about “news censorship” and “censorship of the people’s voices.”

This is despite the fact that 80 million Iranians have had access to the global internet in one way or another for years, and this access has only been cut off in times of war and security crisis, but residents of the MEK camps have not had access to the free internet for more than four decades. Smart phones are forbidden at Camp Ashraf 3.

Interestingly, the leaders of the MEK never admit that the “MEK’s holy fighters” living in Camp Ashraf 3 in a remote village in Albania are under the hierarchical supervision of dozens of people responsible for their limited use of the Internet. While the Iranian people enjoy watching a variety of satellite television channels, MEK members are only allowed to watch “Simay-e Azadi”, the MEK’s satellite TV channel.” The MEK satellite channel, which focuses solely on the fight against the Iranian government, and if it shows anything else on very limited occasions, it is censored images of the most irrelevant news of the day in the world, without the presence of women or with severe censorship.

The MEK propaganda machine ridicules the Iranian Minister of Communications for acknowledging the right of all Iranians to full and quality access to the global Internet, while Mohammad Mohaddesdin, a senior member of the so-called National Council of Resistance, in an interview with the Voice of America, fundamentally denied the censorship and isolation of MEK members from the free world.

It is a familiar habit of the MEK propaganda machine to project onto others everything that Massoud Rajavi’s dictatorship suffers from, and to brazenly claim to be pro-freedom and pro-democratic.

Mazda Parsi

April 20, 2026 0 comments

Image from ISIS attack on Iran’s parliament in 2017

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

The MEK had lost total credibility before the US-Israel war on Iran

Just a few days before the US-Israeli attack to assassinate the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the morning of February 24, 2026, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) announced that they had carried out a coordinated armed operation against his residence in the heart of Tehran. The claim was stunning but totally ignored by the media.

The MEK claimed that 250 of its members took part in the assault and that 100 were killed in the operation. If true, it would mark one of the most dramatic confrontations in the Islamic Republic’s recent history, as a few days later a devastating war broke out between Iran and the murderers of the supreme leader, his family and a number of government authorities.

At the time, serious questions began to surface about the MEK claim. There were fragmented reports that seemed, at first sight, to find the whole story implausible.

There were no footage and no photographs on the so-called operation. No verified eyewitness accounts were published. No names or images of the alleged dead were reported. Not a single confirmed report of shooting in that tightly controlled area of Tehran, where such an operation—especially one resulting in 100 fatalities—would have been impossible to conceal. There were obviously no tangible reports.

Ridiculously, the MEK used an image from a previous Daesh attack on Iran’s parliament in 2017, in its report about the alleged operation. That photo alone was enough to scatter the authenticity of the entire narrative of the MEK.

Already despised by the Iranian public, its recent claims outpaced reality once more. The result was not the group’s empowerment but it was an erosion of its near-to-zero credibility. The Iranians never entrust their future to terrorists who rely on unverifiable propaganda.

In the end, the MEK’s uncorroborated and exaggerated claim that 100 of its members were killed in the attack, while 150 survived, only damages its own credibility. Such childish but boastfully announced claim does not project strength; it exposes the lies about all those so-called “resistance units” allegedly operating on behalf of the group in Iran. It undermines its five-decade long efforts to seek to show off as a viable alternative to the Iranian government.
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Mazda Parsi

April 11, 2026 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq as an Opposition Group

MEK has never been an option for Iran’s ruling

While Iran is fighting the world super powers to defend its territorial integrity, the Iranian oppositions seek to present themselves to Western politicians as the alternative of the Iranian government. However, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) has already failed to be considered as an option for the Iranian ruling.

The MEK leaders have always claimed to own the most organized establishment to replace the Iranian government but they deny the very important fact: they are hated by the Iranian people.

Even in the dark days of bombardment of Iranian cities by US and Israel, where many civilians including children and students are killed, the MEK leaders do not express any sympathy for the victims who are their country-men.

Instead, the group’s leader Maryam Rajavi speaks of the “transitional government” and her so- ten-point plan for future of Iran of which no article is observed in the ruling of her cult of personality.

The MEK’s army, the so-called National Liberation army was Saddam Hussein’s private army in the 8 years of Iran-Iraq war. The MEK forces attacked Iranian towns killing civilians and army soldiers who were their country-men. There are many women and children among Iranian victims of the MEK regardless of the Iraqi Kurds and Shiites whom they killed in the operations that they aided Saddam to suppress the uprisings.

Considering the MEK’s violent background as a Saddam’s accomplice that betrayed its own people, the international community leaders are aware of the group’s unpopularity among Iranians inside and outside the country. Despite the West’s animosity towards Iranian nation which is clear in the military strikes against Iranian civilians, they never recognize the MEK as a viable alternative for the Islamic Republic.

Even in case of Reza Pahlavi, The US president, Donald Trump does recognize him an appropriate option because he thinks that the alleged person should be selected by the people inside Iran, let alone Maryam Rajavi and Massoud Rajavi who are widely despised by the Iranians of all political and social walks.

Mazda Parsi

March 4, 2026 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization's Propaganda System

Exploring the MEK’s Claims on Pasteur Street incident

MEK claims 250 operatives attacked Iran supreme leader’s residence — Tehran calls it fake news.

Vocal Media is Exploring the alleged Pasteur Street incident, Iran’s security response, and the controversial history of the MEK opposition group:

The organization Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) has claimed that around “250 of its operatives” carried out an attack in central Tehran targeting the office and residence of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, Iranian officials and state media have denied that any such incident occurred.

No evidence or images of the alleged attack have surfaced. The Pasteur district—where the Supreme Leader’s residence, the Presidential Office, the Supreme National Security Council, the Judiciary Secretariat, the Guardian Council, and the Assembly of Experts are located—remains under strict security measures.

In a statement issued last night, the MEK said its operatives launched the attack on Monday morning at that location and caused some damage, but that “100” of its members were killed or arrested.

Iranian media described the claim as a “comical and theatrical reaction,” writing that four MEK members had attempted to create noise in central Tehran using “a plastic pipe made to resemble a children’s toy,” but were arrested during a patrol.

Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee, said: “I think it is unlikely for them to carry out such an operation, but I am not aware of the details of this news, nor do I know whether such an incident has occurred.”

The extremist group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), which blends Islamic and Marxist ideology, supported the 1979 Iranian Revolution that led to the overthrow of the Shah. However, its relations with Ayatollah Khomeini soon deteriorated.

The MEK is banned in Iran. The Iranian government designates it as a terrorist organization and accuses it of conspiring and carrying out actions against the state. Many MEK members have been imprisoned or executed for membership in the group.

What did the MEK claim, and what are Iranian officials and media saying?

The MEK said its operation began at the time of the morning call to prayer and continued until noon. According to its statement, the attack targeted the “Motahari Complex” inside the Supreme Leader’s residential compound, and “150 out of 250” operatives safely returned to their bases.

The group further claimed that its members inflicted “heavy casualties” on the security personnel guarding the complex. Pasteur Street and its surrounding area house the Supreme Leader’s residence, the Presidential Office, the Supreme National Security Council, the Judiciary Secretariat, the Guardian Council, and the Assembly of Experts.

Although Ahmad Bakhshayesh expressed ignorance about the source of the report, he added: “They believe the country has become weak and that the security and intelligence institutions are preoccupied with other matters, so they want to portray the country as weak through terrorist operations.

The website “Bolten News,” which is considered close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wrote that “last night, the sound of consecutive explosions in the Pasteur Street area considered the most secure area of the capital raised serious questions among officials and supporters about how the enemy dared to reach the heart of Tehran.

Yesterday, the hashtag “Pasteur” briefly trended on the social media platform X in Iran. However, aside from reports of explosions and gunfire, no images or concrete evidence have emerged so far. Iranian news agencies have denied these reports.

According to the newspaper Hamshahri, strict security measures are in place around Pasteur Street, South Palestine Street, Azerbaijan Street, Keshvar-Doust Street, and Imam Khomeini Street. Entry into the area requires a special card, and only security units, armed forces vehicles with green license plates, or vehicles belonging to authorized officials and diplomats with special permits are allowed access.

The anti-Iran group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK)

The MEK is an exiled opposition group that supports the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. It is also known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).

Founded in 1965 as a left-wing militant organization, it strongly opposed the Shah of Iran and participated in protests that ultimately led to the end of his rule and the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

Initially, the group supported Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic. However, after its leader Massoud Rajavi was barred from participating in the first presidential election, the MEK adopted an anti-government stance.

It began an armed struggle to overthrow the Islamic Republic and claimed responsibility for the assassination of several key figures.

As authorities cracked down on MEK supporters also known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) Massoud Rajavi fled to Paris.

Later, he and most of his followers moved to Camp Ashraf in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq near the Iranian border. There, the movement gradually took on characteristics of a cult, including the veneration of Massoud Rajavi and his wife Maryam.

Maryam Rajavi joined the resistance movement as a student in Tehran in the early 1970s and, in 1985, assumed joint leadership of the group at her husband’s direction.

During the 1980s Iran–Iraq War, the MEK carried out several armed attacks inside Iran with the support of Saddam’s forces, which caused it to lose much of its domestic support.

The MEK’s relationship with the West has been complex. During the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami, the United States and the European Union designated the group as a terrorist organization. However, during the tenure of his hardline successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, those designations were later revoked.

The MEK achieved a propaganda success in 2002 when it revealed the existence of key Iranian nuclear facilities, contributing to prolonged tensions between the Islamic Republic and the West.

In post-Saddam Iraq, the group disarmed and was eventually relocated to Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near Baghdad. Later, the MEK transferred its members to Albania, where they now reside at Camp Ashraf 3. Today, the organization’s headquarters is based in Albania.

Camp Ashraf 3 is located near Manëz in Albania’s Durrës district and serves as the central headquarters for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), housing approximately two to three thousand members. After relocating from Iraq, the exiled Iranian opposition group has settled in a secure compound, focusing on activities aimed at overthrowing Iran’s government.

The MEK’s leaders are based in France, and in 1993 they selected Maryam Rajavi as Iran’s “future president.” Group members also refer to her as the “President-elect of Iran in exile.”

The Council on Foreign Relations, in an article about the group, wrote that analysts describe the militant organization as a cult due to its complete loyalty to the Rajavi family. It has been reported that in the late 1980s, older women in the group were forced to divorce their husbands, and young women were not allowed to marry or have children.

The article also states that Massoud Rajavi has been missing since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and his current status and whereabouts are unknown.

Some analysts consider him dead. Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour told the Council on Foreign Relations in an interview: “Cult leaders generally don’t retire. They either die or go to jail. If Massoud Rajavi is alive, I would be surprised.”

Real Content, Vocal Media

February 25, 2026 0 comments

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