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Iran receives hard drives seized from MKO camp in Albania
Iran

Iran receives hard drives seized from MKO camp in Albania: Official

Iran has gained access to a batch of electronic devices and storage equipment confiscated during a recent search operation conducted by Albanian police at a camp belonging to the Mujahedin-e-Khalq terrorist organization (MKO), an Iranian government official has said.

Sepehr Khalaji, the head of the Iranian government’s information council, tweeted on Monday that a shipment containing hard drives and computer cases belonging to the MKO had arrived in Iran.

Iranian experts are currently engaged in data retrieval from these devices and identifying the terrorist group’s connections and sabotage cells, he added.

“The results have been promising so far,” the official said.

The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MKO’s acts of terror.

Albanian police forces entered the MKO camp, known as Ashraf-3, in the northwestern region of the capital, Tirana, on June 20 due to its engagement in “terror and cyber attacks” against foreign institutions.

Authorities seized 150 computer devices linked to terrorist activities. At least one person was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes at the camp.

More than a week later, police in Albania entered the Ashraf-3 camp again and security forces were deployed at the entrance to the camp and controlled all vehicles leaving the site.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said it is seriously pursuing terrorists beyond the country’s borders, following a string of successful operations that led to the arrest of individuals affiliated with the MKO.

The statement said that the intelligence ministry has consistently warned European intelligence and security services about the MKO’s ongoing terrorist activities, particularly from their main base in Albania and other Western countries.

The Albanian prime minister says the MKO group must leave Tirana if it wants to use the country
In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel published on Friday, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama also said that the MKO members must leave the country if the group wants to use Albanian soil to fight against Iran.

July 4, 2023 0 comments
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Nejat Society gathering
Albania

Iranian protesters urge Albania to close down camp hosting MKO terrorists

Dozens of Iranian protesters and relatives of members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) have called upon Albanian authorities to shut down a camp that hosts anti-Iran elements and make preparation for the repatriation of their family members.

Demonstrators and members of the independent civil society organization Nejat Society converged outside the Turkish embassy in downtown Tehran, which represents Albania’s interests in the Islamic Republic, and appreciated the latest raids by Albanian police forces on the Ashraf-3 camp in the northwest of the capital Tirana.

They underlined that the camp serves as a place, where malicious plots and cyber attacks are being orchestrated, and various forms of money laundering and human rights abuse are being carried out.

Nejat Society gathering

Iranian protesters and relatives of members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) take part in a protest outside the Turkish embassy in Tehran, which represents Albania’s interests in the Islamic Republic, on June 30, 2023. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)

The protesters released a communiqué during the gathering, asking Albanian authorities to shut down the camp and put the notorious ringleaders of the MKO terrorist cult on trial.

The relatives of MKO members also urged the Albanian government not to allow leaders of the cult to use their loved ones as human shields against security forces.

They also asked Albanian officials not to fall into the psychological warfare trap of the MKO and let the terrorists abuse them, as the cult is enormously hated by the entire Iranian nation and even opponents of the Islamic establishment.

“After seven years of supporting the MKO, the Albanian government came to realize that its national security is more significant than anything else,” Ebrahim Khodabandeh, the head of Nejat Society, said at the gathering.

He stated that families of MKO members are calling on Albanian officials to let them visit the Southeastern European country and meet with their loved ones, and to secure their release from the camp.
Albanian police forces raided the Ashraf-3 camp on Thursday morning, more than a week after they stormed the same place over indications of cyber attacks against foreign institutions being orchestrated there.

According to Albanian Daily News, security forces were deployed at the entrance to the camp accommodating MKO members, and controlled all vehicles leaving the site.

The Albania police takes control of the MEK Camp Ashraf 3

The Albania police takes control of the MEK Camp Ashraf 3

On June 20, Albanian authorities raided the camp to seize 150 computer devices linked to terrorist activities.

Albanian Interior Minister Bledi Cuci and the head of the national police, Muhamet Rrumbullaku, said both police officers and MKO terrorists were injured during the raid.

Police in Albania have raided a camp home to the anti-Iran terrorist cult of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO).
Reports suggest that the MKO member killed in the raid was a high-profile commander of the terrorist group named Abdolvahhab Faraji. He was said to be an expert in military engineering operations, and was apparently in charge of technical and engineering activities during an anti-Iran operation by MKO terrorists in July 1988.

Sources have reported that a number of other MKO terrorists are in critical condition after the raid.

MKO members spent many years in Iraq, where they were hosted and armed by the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They sided with Saddam during the 1980-88 war against Iran and then helped him quell uprisings in various parts of the Arab country.

Albania started hosting the terrorists after the group was shunned by the government of former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Albanian officials have charged six MKO terrorists over violent clashes with police.
The European country is estimated to have been accommodating some 3,000 members of the terror cult since 2016.

The European Union, Canada, the United States, and Japan had previously listed the MKO as a “terrorist organization”.

In 2012, the group was taken off the US list of terrorist organizations. The EU followed suit, removing the group from its list of terrorist organizations.

The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials over the past decades, killing nearly 17,000 Iranians.

The group throws lavish conferences every year in Paris, with certain American and other Western officials in attendance as guests of honor.

July 3, 2023 0 comments
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Camp Ashraf
Albania

The MEK should leave Albania

Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted for the first time to the action of the State Police in the mujahedin camp a few weeks ago by order of the GJKKO. In an interview with the German media, Der Spiegel, he said that the Mujahideen cannot use Albania to fight against the Iranian regime.

SPIEGEL : Mr. Rama, last week the security forces near Tirana carried out an operation in the Iranian MEK camp. Why?

Rama: We have had the MEK in our country for several years. They are welcome, but on the condition that they do not use Albania as a platform for their political operations. Our Iranian guests have repeatedly violated this agreement.

SPIEGEL: Government computers in Tehran have been hacked and sensitive documents circulated. About 100 PCs and dozens of hard drives are said to have been confiscated now. Can you confirm this?

Rama : Albania has no intention of being at war with the Iranian regime. Albania does not accept anyone who has abused our hospitality.

Spiegel: Why did you agree to the request of US President Barack Obama in 2016 to accept thousands of Mujahideen?

Rama: It was a life-saving operation. We opened our doors because the group, then operating from Iraq, was systematically followed. And if a friend like the US asks us for something, we feel honored.

SPIEGEL : If you were MEK, would you prefer to leave?

Rama: We understand the anger against the regime in their country. But our country is used as a trench in a war that is not ours, it does not work! Of course, they have every right to fight for their freedom, but to do so they must leave Albania.

Control in the MEK camp

On June 20, 2023, by order of SPAK also signed by GJKKO, the state police undertook the control action in the Ashraf 3 camp, in Manzë, where nearly 2500 members of the MEK organization, the mujahedin of the Iranian people, are housed. The controls were undertaken due to an investigation launched into cyber attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran at different periods of time as well as against the institutions of the Iranian state. During the search, the police encountered resistance and confrontation with MEK members. 15 policemen were injured and several members of the camp, while a 78-year-old man lost his life. The Mujahideen said that his death was caused by the police, but they denied that they used violence. The Durrës Prosecutor’s Office is waiting for the autopsy and the response to the toxicological tests.

In the investigation for war provocation

During the control, numerous computer equipment were found in 17 buildings, which were seized. SPAK’s investigations against members of the MEK organization in Albania have started since May 18, 2023 for the criminal offenses “provocation of war”, “illegal interception of computer data”, “interference with computer data”, “misuse of equipment

DASH and American Ambassador Yuri Kim also supported the actions of the police in Camp Ashraf 3. On June 21, Ambassador Kim said that guests of a country must respect the established rules and that it was within Albania’s right to decide whether to expel them or not.

On June 23, Defense Minister Niko Peleshi declared that the creation of islands where laws would be violated would not be tolerated. Meanwhile, the police control the entrances and exits to the Mujahideen camp.

The Albanian Shqiptarja.com – translated by Nejat Society

July 2, 2023 0 comments
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Edi Rama
Albania

Rama warns the Mujahideen to leave Albania

Prime Minister Edi Rama has warned the Mujahideen that they must leave Albania if they use our country to fight against the Iranian regime.

“We have had MEK in our country for several years. They are welcome but on the condition that they do not use Albania as a platform for their political operations. Our Iranian guests have repeatedly violated this agreement “, said Rama in an interview in the German media “Der Spiegel”.

He added that Albania has no intention of being at war with the Iranian regime as he commented on the action of the Albanian police last week in the MEK camp.

” It was a life-saving operation. We opened our doors because the group, then operating from Iraq, was systematically followed. And if a friend like the US asks us for something, we feel honored.” , adds the head of government.

Politiko.al

July 1, 2023 0 comments
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Albania Prime minister - Edi Rama
Albania

Rama on Mujahedin: They cannot use Albania as a trench of their war

Prime Minister Edi Rama has spoken for the first time about the Iranian MEK opposition since the police operation in Camp Ashraf 3 in Manzë.

In an interview with the German media Der Spiegel, Rama stated that they are welcome, but on the condition that they do not use Albania as a platform for their political operations.

According to Rama, the Iranian guests have repeatedly violated this agreement, but they will not be allowed to use Albania as a trench of their war.

“We understand the anger against the regime in their country. But our country is used as a trench in a war that is not ours, it does not work! Of course, they have every right to fight for their freedom, but to do this they must leave Albania”, said Rama to the German media.

By Nen Si – Euronews.Albania

July 1, 2023 0 comments
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Albania Flag
Albania

If want war, run away from Albania; Rama warns the Mujahideen

Prime Minister Edi Rama has warned that the Mujahideen must leave Albania if they use our country to fight against the Iranian regime. The head of the government gave an interview to the German newspaper, Der Spiegel, where he said that the Iranians have repeatedly violated the agreement.

“We have had MEK in our country for several years. They are welcome but on the condition that they do not use Albania as a platform for their political operations. Our Iranian guests have repeatedly violated this agreement”, said Prime Minister Rama to Der Spiegel.

The head of the government says that Albania has no intention of being at war with the Iranian regime and that it does not accept anyone who has abused our hospitality.

“It was a life-saving operation. We opened our doors because the group, then operating from Iraq, was systematically followed. And if a friend like the US asks us for something, we feel honored. We understand the anger against the regime in their country. But our country is used as a trench in a war that is not ours, it does not work! Of course, they have every right to fight for their freedom, but to do this they must leave Albania,” added the head of the government.

The Prime Minister’s interview comes a few days after the State Police, by decision of the Special Court, conducted a search in the premises of the MEK camp in Manez.

Durreslajm.al – Translated by Nejat Society

July 1, 2023 0 comments
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Nejat Society gathering in front of Turkey Embassy
Missions of Nejat Society

Gathering of Nejat Society outside Turkish Embassy

Following the raid by the Albanian Police to Mujahedin-e Khalq’s base in North of Tirana, Nejat Society hold a rally outside the embassy of Turkey which represents Albanian interests. Nejat Society includes families of residents of the MEK’s camp, Ashraf 3, and former members of the group.

The gathering was held to express gratitude to the Albanian government for the action they took to legally investigate the MEK’s headquarters as a potential place for conspiracy, cyber-attack, financial fraud and human rights abuse.
Expressing their gratitude to the Albanian state, families of MEK members who are taken as hostages in the cult-like system of the group, asked the Albanian authorities for the shutdown of Camp Ashraf 3 and the trial of the leaders of the MEK.
Ebrahim Khodabandeh, The CEO of Nejat Society spoke in the gathering. “After seven years of supporting the MEK, the Albanian government came to the conclusion that the security of its country is more important,” he said. “What we said from the very first day. Now we should take immediate action to seek our requests.”

He expresses further demands of families of MEK members based on traveling to Albania to visit their loved ones and their release from the group’s isolated camp in Albania. Khodabandeh valued the twenty years of humanitarian activities of Nejat Society members.

A ten-point statement signed by members of the society was read out during the gathering. Families asked the Albanian government to prevent the MEK leaders from using their loved ones as human shields against security forces.
The raid of the Albanian anti-corruption Police to Camp Ashraf 3 on June 23, 2023 was the country’s first action taken to investigate the Cult of Rajavi as a formerly designated terrorist group with a long background of violence and human rights abuse, after near ten years of residence in the Albanian territory.

The gathering was coincident with the official settlement of the Albanian Police inside Ashraf 3 to set up a checkpoint there.

Nejat Society gathering in front of Turkey Embassy Nejat Society gathering in front of Turkey Embassy Nejat Society gathering in front of Turkey Embassy Nejat Society gathering in front of Turkey Embassy Nejat Society gathering in front of Turkey Embassy Nejat Society gathering in front of Turkey Embassy Nejat Society gathering in front of Turkey Embassy

June 30, 2023 0 comments
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Camp Ashraf 3
Albania

The Albania Police set up a checkpoint in the MEK camp Ashraf

On Thursday, June 29, the State Police established a checkpoint with vehicles and vans, which will examine all entrances and exits to the MEK camp.

This checkpoint is seen as a measure by the Albanian authorities after the recent events in the Manza camp, and it is not known how long it will last.

We recall that the special structures of the State Police (RENEA, Antiterror, Operational, Shqiponja) landed around 08:00 on June 20 in Manez, at the headquarters of the Organization of the Iranian People’s Mujahideen (MEK).
The purpose of this operation was to conduct checks and seizures in what was considered to be MEK’s operational center for potential malicious cyber attacks.

The entry of the Police officers was made by the decision of the Special Court of the First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, since the SPAK had reasons and strong suspicions about the activity of the MEK.
The police engagement has been contested by MEK members, attempting to block vehicles and Police movement through residences, referring to images released by the authorities.

The operation ended with one dead person, who is suspected to have died of a heart attack and for whom forensic expertise is awaited to reveal the official causes.

According to the figures published by the Police, 15 operatives and 21 MEK members were injured, 15 of whom left the hospital a few hours after being hospitalized.

Out of 127 buildings in Manez, the authorities checked 70 of them, concluding with the seizure of 96 computer units, 46 laptops and various memory cards.

Camp Ashraf 3

The Albania Police set up a checkpoint in the MEK camp Ashraf

fter the end of the police operation, the Prosecutor’s Office of Durrës started the investigations for the violent opposition of the Police employees as well as for the obstruction of the execution of the decision of GJKKO.

statements

The Minister of the Interior in Albania, Bledi Çuçi, appeared sorry and indignant with the reaction of the MEK organization to the State Police.
“I feel sorry and indignant with the reaction of the MEK organization to the State Police. Albania has offered them everything for humanitarian shelter, it has offered them security and protection even against the threats of the Iranian regime”, said Çuçi first.

For him, the violence and reaction to the actions of the State Police was unimaginable.
“We must all agree that it is not only a legal violation for anyone living in Albania, within the Albanian laws, but it is also a kind of violation of the code of hospitality that we have offered them. The MEK has an agreement with the Albanian government to take shelter in our country only for humanitarian purposes,” added the Minister of the Interior.

The Albanian official recalled that the Mujahideen are prohibited from carrying out any kind of political activity or protest of any kind.
“Their activity has attracted the attention of SPAK. The Special Prosecutor’s Office had strong reasons and addressed the GJKKO to conduct an inspection in Manez and to seize the electronic equipment that could be requested according to the court’s decision”, he said.

Possible scenarios

Referring to the investigative file, Albanian Post revealed that the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has registered criminal proceedings for several criminal offenses against the Mujahideen.
This, after the investigations carried out by Unit “C” from the Computer Crime Investigation, as well as the Anti-Terror Directorate.

Among the criminal offenses written in the file of the Special Prosecutor’s Office are: ‘Provocation of war’, ‘Illegal interception of computer data’, ‘Interference in computer data’, ‘Interference in computer systems’, ‘Misuse of equipment’ and ‘Structured criminal group’.
“With the merger of the criminal offenses discovered by the investigative file of the mujahedin, the punishment is foreseen up to 35 years in prison for those who have committed them, because they are serious offenses (‘Structured group’, ‘Provocation of war’)”, it says initially security and criminalistics expert Prof. Asst. Dr. Ervin Karamuço for AP.

Karamuço thinks that there are also two possible scenarios that could force the Albanian Government to remove the mujahedin from the territory of the Republic of Albania.

“Yesterday the mujahedin of the MEK received the first warning to continue their stay according to all the rules that are provided for in the 2014 agreement,” said the professor of criminology.

According to him, if the mujahedin will continue in one way or another “to radicalize the Albanian Government by telling it that you are collaborators of Iran and doing violent actions inside and outside the camp”, they will probably receive the warning of last to force the Government to remove them from the Albanian territory.

“That’s for sure”, Karamuço added, “it’s just a matter of time to see if these people will reflect or not”.
He notes that the second possible expulsion scenario will be if the “suspected attack” is organized by the entire community.
“They act as a community, they are not independent elements, they are centralized and hierarchical just like a military brigade, then they will all be expelled from the Republic of Albania”, the security expert continued.

One of the criminal offenses for which the mujahedin are accused by SPAK is “Provocation of war”, which is also related to the possible danger that threatens Albania from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“This was the prelude and headline of the meeting of the National Security Council, organized by the president nine days ago, ‘what are we going to do with the Manza camp to prevent further incidents of attacks against Iran’, because with Iran we have a very big problem big that threatens our national security”, argues Karamuço.

The expert emphasizes that this investigation initiated by justice “must be comprehensive” in these moments.
This, after some internal regulations were discovered that were never supervised by the Albanian authorities.
“The camp has several cameras that the State Police does not have, it has a technological system of exceptional surveillance, there is only a protection of the external perimeter with Albanian private police, while inside they have neither police nor other guards. They guard themselves, they self-administer, they punish each other, they have trials within groups of trials, they have security rooms inside which has never been said”, said Ervin Karamuço to the Albanian Post.

Even after the clashes between the Police and the mujahedin, the government continues to guarantee them electricity, water and everything else they need, added the expert, recalling the examples of the Uyghurs and Afghans in our country.
“As for the treatment by our authorities, they should have been kept on a low profile, more of a humanitarian aid. We have done this with the Uyghurs, with the Afghans they have never created a problem. We have kept them, we have fed them even after yesterday’s physical, violent opposition, the Government will continue to guarantee them electricity, water and everything else they need”, said Karamuço.

The security and criminalistics expert thinks that if the criminal offense registered by SPAK is proven, “we will be able to complete the whole story of what all this history and gurgule was about on Tuesday”.

By Klevis Hoxhaj – Albanian Post – Translated by Nejat Society

June 30, 2023 0 comments
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Mohammad Reza Torabi
The cult of Rajavi

Former child soldier of the MEK slam Maryam Rajavi

Mohammad Reza (Ray) Torabi former child soldier of the Mujahedin-e Khalq, slammed Maryam Rajavi over the likely victimization of his relatives in the group’s camp. The MEK’s headquarters in Albania was raided by the Police over charges of fraud, organized crimes and human rights abuse.
Ray Torabi whose father was also a member of the MEK and was killed by the group’s torturers is now concerned over the life of his mother and aunts who are still taken as hostages in the group, under the rule of Maryam Rajavi.

During the raid by the anti-terrorism and anti-corruption Police of Albania on Camp Ashraf 3 on June 20th 2023, camp residents clashed with police forces. Albanian state police entered the camp in accordance with the warrant of investigation issued by the Albanian Judiciary. They seized dozens of computers throughout the raid although they were violently confronted by the residents.
Following the clashes that led to injuries for both sides, Ray Torabi posted a video on social media to warn about the threat by the side of the MEK leaders and commanders against their own members. He criticized those who consider the Police’s legal action as human rights violation. “Exactly because it is a human rights case, MEK supporters should stop advocating this group,” he said.

As a former member of the MEK, Ray is completely aware of the atmosphere of the group’s camps. “The Mujaheds have no image of the outside world,” he says. “They are coerced to stand against the Police. This is what happened in Iraq too. The group commanders sent us to clash with Police forces. The pushed us toward Iraqi soldiers. We told them, ‘They are shooting us!’, but they replied, ‘they are practice bullets.’” In July 2009 and in April 2011, dozens of MEK members were killed, paralyzed and wounded because of the same scenario.
Ray asserts that he is more worried over the health of Ashraf residents than anyone else because his mother and his aunts (a sister of his mother and two sisters of his deceased father) are in the camp. “I feel pity for them very much because I know what is going on inside the camp.”

He declares that he wants to be the voice of MEK members against commanders and leaders of the group. “Maryam Rajavi! I consider you responsible for the blood and the life of Mujahedin!” he addresses the leader of the MEK.

He also warns the MEK’s sympathizers. He tells them, “Come to your senses! The scene is the same scene. The country and the continent have changed but the MEK is the same MEK as it was in Iraq. It is the same MEK with the same rotten ideology, with the same leaders and commanders who do not value the lives of their members.”
“They even seek more blood and bloodshed in order to find a bargaining chip at their negotiation table with the West,” former child soldier of the MEK states.

June 28, 2023 0 comments
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Maryam Rajavi
Mujahedin Khalq as an Opposition Group

Exiled group feels heat as Europe ups Iran contacts

A controversial exiled Iranian opposition group is coming under increased pressure in Europe as it nervously eyes the intensification of European talks with Tehran in search of reviving a deal on the Islamic republic’s nuclear drive.

Supporters of the People’s Mujahedin (MEK) regard it as the sole credible opposition group based outside Iran, although it is held in deep suspicion by many Iranians, including those opposed to the clerical authorities.

The MEK and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an umbrella group that essentially acts as its political wing, have accused the West of “appeasement” towards Iran over the troubles that it has faced.

Last week, French authorities cited security concerns for banning a major rally organised by the NCRI on July 1 which the group hoped would gather tens of thousands of people.

On June 20, Albanian authorities launched a raid against a MEK camp that has housed its members for a decade as part of a deal agreed in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The NCRI said one MEK member was killed, a claim denied by Tirana. It also said Albanian police seized 200 computers.

And in an incident whose circumstances have yet to be fully explained, a bomb was thrown into an office of the NCRI outside Paris earlier this month without causing injuries, according to police and the group.

‘Policy of appeasement’ !

Maryam Rajavi who leads both the MEK and NCRI, told a meeting outside Paris that the incidents were the products of a “policy of appeasement” by the West, alleging they “took place at the request of the Iranian regime”.

The MEK is outlawed by the authorities in Iran, which accuses the group of carrying out a violent campaign of attacks in the early 1980s.

It had for decades worked to oust the shah and initially backed the 1979 revolution. But it rapidly fell out with the new authorities and backed Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war, meaning its members had to be moved after the US-led 2003 invasion.

It still claims to have a network inside Iran and boasts of exposing the existence of Iran’s then-secret nuclear programme in 2002, which led to confrontation with the West.

It has high-profile Western supporters, including former US national security advisor John Bolton and ex-vice president Mike Pence.

But detractors regard the group as a cult and argue it does not represent the Iranians who poured into the streets from September last year in a new protest movement.

This could make it vulnerable as Europe seeks to keep contacts alive with Iran in search of a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, an accord the MEK bitterly opposed.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi held telephone talks on June 10 while EU foreign policy number two Enrique Mora met his Iranian counterpart last week in Doha.

Paris is meanwhile keeping a close eye on the fate of four French nationals held by Iran, regarded as hostages by rights activists.

Iran last month released a Belgian aid worker in exchange for a Iranian diplomat convicted by Belgium over a plot to attack a 2018 NCRI rally outside Paris.

– ‘Raises questions’ –

Jason Brodsky, policy director at US-based group United Against Nuclear Iran, said the juxtaposition of events “certainly raises questions”.

“The Islamic Republic has long complained about MEK’s presence in Western countries, so I would not be surprised if its officials raised the issue in their conversations with Western counterparts,” he said.

If MEK’s status in Europe was up for discussion, it would represent a “paradigm shift” as Europe and the US had always wanted the talks on the nuclear crisis to be limited to that issue, he noted.

“This is certainly a dynamic to watch,” he said.

The MEK has never had smooth ride in the West: it was expelled from France in the mid-1980s as Paris sought to improve relations with the new Islamic rulers. It was only in 2012 that the US removed MEK from its list of terror groups after years of lobbying.

There is also genuine fear among European officials that after the 2018 foiled plot, NCRI rallies could themselves be targets of attacks.

There is a “current and real risk” of such an attack, said Paris police chief Laurent Nunez as he informed the July 1 rally’s sponsors of the ban.

But in the letter seen by AFP, he also warned: “The rally could be the scene of tension between supporters of MEK and other Iranian opposition activists who have been engaged in a struggle for influence since the beginning of the protest movement in Iran.”

The Iranian government has been particularly riled in recent weeks by activities claimed by the MEK, which have included hacking into the computer system of Raisi’s administration.

But Tehran has meanwhile reacted with glee to the increased pressure against the MEK.

“Because of their terrorist nature, the MEK will always be a threat to the security of their hosts,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani.

Stuart WILLIAMS –  AP

June 28, 2023 0 comments
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