Former MEK members picketing outside the court in support of the prosecution of MEK lieutenant Mehdi Abrishamchi on terrorism charges ,
The Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO) has apparently had only one goal since the Islamic revolution in Iran, in 1979: the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. Regardless of its real capacity to achieve such an aim or
not, for decades, the group has strained to take opportunities of regional and political ups and downs into its aim, even though in most cases there is no true relation between what is going on in the region and what the group is trying benefit from. It seems the group is confused.
An instance of the group’s opportunistic nature was recently seen in the so-called testimony given by Maryam Rajavi in the US Congress where she presents the overthrow of the Iranian government as the main solution to fight ISIS!
Daniel Larison of the American conservative Magazine writes about Rajavi’s weird recommendation to the West: “The plan to bring down ISIS by toppling Iran’s government, then, is little more than the latest chapter of group’s 50-year history of monomaniacally trying to install itself atop the Iranian government.” [1]
He adds, ”This obviously has nothing to do with combating or understanding ISIS, and allowing her to speak at such a meeting just lends a totalitarian cult a platform from which it can promote its own warped agenda. Inviting Rajavi demonstrates exceptionally poor judgment, and her testimony will make a farce of the proceedings tomorrow.’’ [2]
“It sounds counter-intuitive—Iran’s aid to the Iraqi government and various Iraqi militias, after all, is widely credited with stopping ISIS’s advances there—but not when you know about the MEK’s tortuous past,’ suggests Ali Gharib of the Nation. “Over the years, the MEK has been nothing if not opportunistic; animated by the twisted logic that the enemy of its enemy is its friend, the group seizes whatever political angle is fashionable at the moment to bring them relevance (Congress is happy to oblige).” [3]
engage in diplomacy with Islamic Republic.
Eldar Mamedov who has served as a political adviser for the social-democrats in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (EP) and is in charge of the delegation for inter-parliamentary relations between the EP and Iran, analyzes the MKO’s part to obstruct diplomacy with Iran. He refers to the Cult’s large-scale efforts to demonize the Iranian Government and to derail any relation between the EP and Iran. Nonetheless, he asserts the group’s lobbying efforts to accomplish its aim has so far failed. On the contrary to the group wishes, Islamic Republic has become an important ally for the Europe in fighting ISIS.
“A growing realization of the converging interests between the EU and Iran accounts for this dramatic change,’’ Eldar Mamedov submits.” This time, the discussions in Brussels were not so much focused on traditional European concerns, such as Iran´s nuclear program and human rights, as on the situation in the Middle East.” [4]
Mamedov concludes, “In a scenario of rapidly disintegrating states and spreading terrorist threats, European officials are discovering that Iran is among the most stable and predictable state actors in the region.” [5]
In his opinion, the EU´s foreign policy supremo Federica Mogherini mentions the advantages of engaging with Iran because she “definitely doesn´t share the Saudi narrative of Iran being the root of all tumult in the Middle East. In fact, she sees the nuclear deal with Iran as a gate opener for engaging Iran on the regional issues, including in Syria and Yemen, which is an anathema to Saudis."
The MKO leaders, namely Maryam Rajavi would be disappointed to know that “officials from the Mogherini-led European External Action Service (EEAS) now discuss the possibility of a regional dialogue with Iran, which is a sharp departure from her predecessor Catherine Ashton, who approached Iran as an exclusively nuclear problem.” [6]
Despite the MKO’s harsh opposition against the visits of the Iranian Parliamentary delegation to EP, the visits took place anyway. The visit of the Iranian MPs to Brussels is considered by Mamedov as “another sign of changing times in the Middle East.”
Mamedov notifies, “Although a wholesale rapprochement between the EU and Iran may still be some way off, inter-parliamentary diplomacy has the potential to build trust, bridge differences, and eventually make a re-alignment possible,” inviting US Congressmen to join such peaceful policy.[7]
It seems that Maryam Rajavi and her supporters should work harder to survive the new geopolitical and regional undercurrents.
Mazda Parsi
Sources:
[1] Larison, Daniel, The Backlash Against the MEK’s Fans in Congress, The American conservative Magazine, May 05 2015
[2] ibid
[3] Gharib, Ali, Cult Leader Will Tell Congress: Fight ISIS by Regime Change in Iran, The Nation, April 28, 2015
[4] Mamedov, Eldar, Mojahedin Khalq (MEK) Lobby in European Parliament fails to deliver, Lobelog,
May 19 2015
[5] ibid
[6] ibid
[7] ibid
Mehdi Abrishamchi; a high ranking member of MKO and the ex-husband of the so called president elect of the group – Maryam Rajavi was summoned for a court hearing by the French Court of First Instance at the Palais de Justice in Paris on terrorism charges 
.
The MKO has kept up silence over the Abrishamchi’s appearance in the court, However it couldn’t keep cool over the activities of former members of the group.
MKO ex-members staged a picket outside the court in support of the prosecution. The Mujahedin- e Khalq elements reacted to the demonstration by posting defamatory leaflets around their residency areas.
The group agents also attacked those ex-members who offer testimony to the investigative judge.
In its weekly Digest Iran Interlink reports: ” .. One of these is Mansour Nazari who was physically attacked and injured in his neck. His attackers were commanded by notorious lumpen Mehran Kakavand whose role is to perform such jobs for the MEK. The Police are now involved and the Investigative judge has added the case of distribution of defamatory leaflets around the homes of ex members to the file against Mehdi Abrishamchi. So the MEK have stupidly made it worse for him.”
Nejat Society
Mansour Shaabani returned his hometown after 27 years of imprisonment in the camps of the Mujahedin khalq 
Organization.
Shaabani was relocated in Albania two years ago. Finally he succeeded to get back to Iran by the help Iranian officials on May 10th, 2015.
Mansour’s brother had several times gone to Camp Ashraf, Iraq, to visit him but he was never allowed by the cult leaders.
Nejat Society, Gilan office aided Shaabani family to receive their beloved Mansour.
Obsessed with the idea of regime change in Iran, the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO/ Rajavi’s Cult) have always resorted to any tool. Today, as the final nuclear deal between Iran and the West is highly expected, the MKO cult is trying to sell its regime change agenda in the European Parliament running propaganda about the alleged human rights abuses committed by the Iranian government.
The MKO propaganda arm spends huge amounts of money and energy to organize hearing sessions in the US Congress or EU parliament. One of the recent events was the controversial hearing at the US Congress in which the so-called president of the MKO testified about the threat of ISIS in Iraq!
This is the account of Eldar Mamedov, political advisor of Committee on foreign affairs of Social Democrats in the European Parliament about Maryam Rajavi’s allegations in the hearing:
“In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade last month (delivered via videoconference from Paris), Maryam Rajavi, the self-proclaimed “president-elect” of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which serves as the MEK’s front office, suggested the best way for Western nations to combat the threat posed by ISIS is to oust the regime in Iran. Of course, no reference was made of the fact that Iran was one of the first countries to commit blood and treasure to the fight against ISIS. Nor did Rajavi mention that, when ISIS first overtook Mosul in the summer of 2014, the MEK hailed the militant group and its supporters as “part of a popular revolution against the Maliki regime” in Iraq, which the MEK views as an Iranian pawn. Once the U.S. military joined the fight against ISIS, however, it became politically untenable to defend or minimize its crimes. So, the MEK quickly changed its tune, suddenly portraying ISIS as Iran’s creation.”[]
MKO’s “Skilled manipulators of public opinion” –as described by RAND report authors— wear various masks based on the background in which they trap their victims. “Exploiting local political sensitivities in Europe, the MEK has chosen a different tactic to advocate for government overthrow”, Mamedov reveals. “To European audiences, the MEK has emphasized Iran’s human rights issues, such as the high number of executions in the country, as well as issues to do with women rights and infringements on religious liberty.”
The main goal of the MKO’s propaganda is to derail any interaction between EP and Iran. As Mamedov reports, the group launched a huge propaganda in Brussels to obstruct both the visit of Iranian parliamentary delegation to European Parliament and official visit of European parliamentarians to Tehran. Fortunately, both attempts failed despite several public hearings hold in the EP by the MKO that was trying to push its aggressive campaign on what it called freedom and human rights in Iran.
The propagandistic plans failed due to the undisputable, notoriously known history of the MKO on human rights abuse and violence.
The famous Human Rights Watch report on Human rights abuses inside the mujahedin khalq camps “No Exit” just interviewed a few cases of the group victims but it offers appropriate measures to get to know about the cult-like violent substance of the group. The RAND corporation also published a rather systematic report on the MKO in 2009.
Definitely, those politicians who naïvely let themselves become tools in the hands of the MKO’s destructive structures should read these two official reports. Still, there are numerous testimonies, documentaries, interviews and articles by the MKO’s former members –No matter how bellicosely they are labeled as agents of the Iranian Intelligence, by the MKO.
Mazda Parsi
Appearance of the self-claimed president of National Council of Resistance, Maryam Rajavi in a hearing in US Congress indicates the absurdity of the claim of fighting against terrorism. Although the credibility of this so called leader is questionable getting support among some US congressmen for her presence in the congress is interesting and creates doubts in everybody’s mind.
The support is basically due to multi—million dollar lobbying campaign over years which includes paying good money for speaking and providing first class flights plus fancy hotel for those congressmen who support this terrorist organization. These are the true motivation behind supporting this cult like group.
The hearing was hosted by Congressman Ted Poe, chairman of the congressional subcommittee on the threats posed by ISIS. Why did Poe and the Republican majority on the terrorism subcommittee decide to invite Maryam Rajavi while main victims of ISIS terror acts are mostly among Iraqi Yazidis. However, no one of the Yazidi community was invited to the hearing! The reason is crystal clear since we know that Yazidis do not have such financial resources to attract any congressman.
“Poe received $17,900 in campaign contributions from supporters of the MEK between 2009 and 2014, according to an analysis I conducted of campaign finance data,” Eli Clifton writes. ”Surprisingly, nearly half—or $8,600—of the total flowed into his campaign while the group was still on the State Department’s terrorism list between 2009 and its delisting in 2012.”
Clifton adds,” In 2013 and 2014, the group also paid for $19,671 in travel expenses (including business-class plane fare) for Poe’s travel to MEK events in France.”
Indeed, it is so unusual to have Maryam Rajavi to testify in a hearing about ISIS. It is as if bringing Stalin to testify about Fascism, or asking Hitler to testify about Nazism. It seems money is everything in the US Politic. “Money talks” is an appropriate phrase here.
Shaylyn Hynes, a spokeswoman for Poe, told Joshua Keating by email that Rajavi has a “long history of speaking against what she calls ‘Islamic fundamentalism,’” and “can speak to how ISIS’ ideology is both similar to and different from the mullahs leading Iran.” Asked if there were any concerns given the MEK’s history, Hynes replied, “the administration does not consider them a terrorist group and neither do we.”
Hynes might be right to say that Rajavi has a “long history of speaking against what she calls ‘Islamic fundamentalism,’” but he should notice that “actions speak louder than words”. In other words, this does not mean that she herself is a moderate Muslim or she is pro-democracy. As it has manifested in her cruel treatment of its own members.
As Sean Nevins of Mint Press News asserts, “the MEK is a kind of cult, according to the FBI, Human Rights Watch, the Rand Corporation, and just about every other organization which has investigated the group.” He correctly writes that the MKO is “precisely the kind of organization that should not testify about Islamic extremism.”
Jeremiah Goulka, author of “The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum,” a report published by the Rand Corporation in 2009, told MintPress, “At the MEK camps, there’s a whole set of practices that are all textbook out of cult theory – sleep deprivation, make-work projects… forced celibacy, forced divorce, [and] gender segregation.”
Nevins also interviews Masoud Banisadr, a former member of the MKO, who had served as the group’s representative to the United Nations and the U.S. Banisadr confirmed that forced divorces were common in the group. Banisadr told MintPress: “All members were forced to divorce their spouses, and later they have to send their children abroad to Europe and United States to be adopted by supporters and other members.”
This is Eli Clifton’s description of the MKO: “The group has long faced criticism from Iran specialists and rights groups such as Human Rights Watch that it has devolved into a cult based on devotion to Maryam and her long-missing husband, Massoud Rajavi. According to numerous accounts, the group exerts a high degree of control over its followers, going so far as to mandate divorces and celibacy for their soldiers.”
According to the report by Julian Pecquet the congressional correspondent at Al Monitor, “Other lawmakers, including ranking member William Keating, D-Mass., ignored Rajavi and directed their questions only at the other witnesses. Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., who also isn’t a committee member, was the only one to challenge her to explain why the United States should put its trust in a group that was kicked out of Iran in the early 1980s and fought alongside Saddam Hussein against Tehran.
"Over the past 30 years, the United States has been drawn into some serious diplomatic and military dead-ends in the Mideast by mistakenly backing individuals and organizations claiming popular support, which turned out to be exaggerated and somewhat manufactured," Davis told Rajavi. "Would you please tell us about the role of the [MEK] … and its place in the current Iranian political life?"
Rajavi’s reasoning in responding to Davis just included the same old fallacy that “regime’s "fear" of the group and its efforts at "demonizing" was a strong indication of the MEK’s "strength." However, her claim has been numerously rejected by international investigated report that clearly acknowledge that MKO has hardly any support among Iranians.
By the way, could the event organizers really define the enemy and the threat of ISIS by listening to the MKO cult leader? In conclusion, what can be achieved by listening to the MKO’S cult leader? Can the threat of ISIS be eliminated?
Mazda Parsi
Inside This Issue:
1. Congressional invite to MEK sparks furious backlash
2. Benjamin Helped Delist Mojahedin Khalq. That Doesn’t Mean He Wants to Testify With Them
3. Why Is Congress Listening to an Ex-Terrorist Iranian Cult Leader?
4. Not The Onion: Tom Cotton Befriends Radical Marxist Muslim Cult
5. Poe’s Financial Ties To MEK May Explain Maryam’s House Testimony
6. Mojahedin Khalq (MEK) Lobby in European Parliament fails to deliver.
Download Pars Brief – Issue No. 86
Download Pars Brief – Issue No. 86
"She knows more about what’s taking place at Camp Liberty than any person, anywhere," Congressman Ted Poe said about Maryam Rajavi the leader of the Mujahedin khalq Organization (the MKO) who is supposed to testify before a hearing in the US Congress next week. "And that’s why she’s testifying." [1]
Yes, Congressman Poe is right. Maryam Rajavi is the most informed person about what is really going in the MKO camps in Iraq or France but she is not the most reliable person at all. She is not reliable because of the long history of fraud and Goebbels -like propaganda of her group.
Maryam Rajavi, the self-claimed president of National Council of Resistance of Iran (the propaganda arm of the MKO), will testify via video conference on April 29 at a House Foreign Affairs terrorism panel on "ISIS: Defining the Enemy”. Surprisingly, the organizers of the event are supposed to define the threat of ISIS terrorists via testimonies of Maryam Rajavi while she has never taken any position against ISIS. [2]
Ann and Massoud Khodabandeh, are the couple who happened to be the disassociated members of the MKO and also the experts on the organization explain why Congress should not rely on Rajavi’s testimony to discuss the threat of the Islamic State:
“She won’t. She can’t. Because the MEK are friends of the Islamic State (IS), they support the Islamic State. Maryam Rajavi has spoken in Farsi in favour of the Islamic State. The Islamic State do not pose any danger to the MEK in Camp Liberty. In fact, before the Iraqi army and militias drove IS back from its encroachment, it was clear to all those who know the MEK that the leaders were hoping that when IS reached Baghdad, the MEK would be liberated from Camp Liberty and join the terrorist forces.” [3]
It is well known that any disassociated member who tells the truth about the organization and denounces the MKO and exposes the abuse by its leader will be branded by the group as the agent of the Iranian intelligence service. Hence, the US officials should be cautious about letting the MKO’S leader to attend a Congressional hearing.
According to Al Monitor, Daniel Benjamin, formerly the State Department’s counter terror coordinator, also was slated to testify at the House hearing. But on Monday, Benjamin declared that “I will not appear at a hearing” about the Islamic State with the MEK’s defacto leader, because “I know of no substantive expertise that the MEK has developed on ISIS.” News of Benjamin’s cancellation was first mentioned on Twitter by ALM Congress Pulse. [4]
Benjamin told committee staff that he "did not believe the MEK had anything to contribute to a discussion of [IS], and that this would be a distraction from an important issue," he told Al-Monitor. "I said the story of the day would be the rehabilitation of the MEK, and I did not want to be associated with that in any way." [5]
Foreign Policy also quoted from Benjamin that the MEK’s “exclusive focus” of concern has for decades been Iran. “So one has to wonder what the purpose of Rajavi’s presence on this panel is,” Benjamin told FP. [6]
“Being delisted as a Foreign Terrorist Organization — a decision I took part in — doesn’t mean that this group … has suddenly … become trustworthy or worthy of engagement,” he said. [7]
Besides Daniel Benjamin, Robert Ford former US ambassador to Syria who was also invited to testify at the hearing declined to attend the event. According to Al Monitor, Ford said he would not testify at the same time as Maryam Rajavi". The committee handled this abysmally," Ford told Al-Monitor in a phone call late Monday. "What the fuck do the MEK know about the Islamic State?" [8]
A very comparable reaction was made by Ahmed Shahid UN Special Reporter on Human Rights last year. Shahid who had been invited to address in a similar event in Canadian Parliament withdrew from the program because Maryam Rajavi was supposed to deliver speech too. [9]
However, Congressman Ted Poe who is on top of the MKO pay roll, still defends his invitation despite Benjamin’s considerations on the MKO’s violent history. Definitely, Congressman Poe might not be so naïve to get misled by the propaganda of a cult of personality but he might be paid enough to cover the truth. The untrustworthy background of the MKO to deal with the International Community is so well reported and documented that you may find a case of the group’s deceitful approach on Ted Poe’s own website on House of Representatives.
Ardavon Niami’s article which had been originally published on NIAC website on December 12 2011, was available on Poe’s page the following day. The article was focused on the destiny of residents of Camp Ashraf before its closure in 2013. Niami reports that the relocation process of Ashraf residents was obstructed by their leaders.” U.S. officials testified before the House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee last week that efforts to peacefully resolve the standoff are being rebuffed by MEK leadership”, He wrote. “U.S. Special Adviser on Camp Ashraf Daniel Fried said MEK leadership has impeded a refugee resettlement process and interfered with the UN’s ability to conduct interviews with individuals at the encampment.” [10]
Ted Poe’s web page says, “Fried told Congress that the Administration’s efforts have been met intransigence by Camp Ashraf leadership to agree to any relocation plan other than en masse relocation outside Iraq.” [11]
Although, the relocation of Ashraf residents was finally accomplished in 2013 –after over a decade of international efforts—about 100 of its high ranking members of the group who stayed in the Camp under the order of the leadership faced a deadly attack in September 2013, following which 53 members were killed!
Furthermore, the relocation process from Iraq Camp Liberty to Europe is very slow due to obstacles made by the MKO leaders. Based on testimonies of former members and various documented and investigated reports, the most crucial threat to residents of the MKO’s camps, is caused by the group’s leaders who do not have any consideration for the members. They only care for their own interests.
By Mazda Parsi
References:
[1] Pecquet, Julian, MEK leader to testify before Congress, Al Monitor, April 23, 2015
[2] ibid
[3]Khodabandeh, Ann & massoud, Congress cannot rely on Rajavi’s testimony, The Iran Interlink, April26, 2015
[4 ] Pecquet, Julian, Congressional invite to MEK sparks furious backlash, Al Monitor, April 28, 2015
[5]ibid
[6] Francis, David, Renowned U.S. Arabist Is Second Witness to Refuse to Appear With MEK Leader, Foreign Policy , April28, 2015
[7]ibid
[8] Pecquet, Julian, Congressional invite to MEK sparks furious backlash, Al Monitor, April 28, 2015
[9] Gharib, Ali , Controversial Iranian Exile Shakes Up Canadian Parliament’s Human Rights Program, The Nation, May 14, 2014
[10] Niami , Ardavon, U.S. Officials Warn that MEK is Obstructing Humanitarian Solution in Ashraf, NIAC, December 12, 2011
[11] ibid
Long serving Agent victimized for MKO- Mossad mutual scenario
An Israeli court sentenced an Iranian-born Belgian to seven years in prison on Tuesday April 21, 2015 after 
convicting him of spying for Tehran.
In September 2013 Israeli security forces announced for the first time the arrest of Ali Mansouri who was accused of spying.
Ali Mansouri was arrested on charges of having photographs of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv and other sites. However, pretty soon he was found to be a veteran member of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq group.
The Belgium Newspaper Le Soir reported that the alleged Iranian spy had identified himself as a supporter of the MKO.
Besides, Mohammad Razzaghi , a former member of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) identified him as a long serving member of the MKO.
Mr. Razzaghi said Mansouri was a close member of the MKO for at least 30 years and had been working as a mediator for the Mujahedin Khalq and Mossad. He added that Mansouri, who lived in Turkey between 1980 and 1998, travelled to Iran regularly posing as a businessman to gather information for Mossad and the MKO leaders.
Razzaghi indicated:” Many ordinary members of the Intelligence Section of the MKO remember him because every now and then they were tasked to do things for him”.
Razzaghi recalled:” I remember clearly a few times that I was tasked to go to see him to collect some pictures and documents about Mehrabad Airport and Jamaran H.Q. and to bring them to our safe house and hand them over to my commanders.”
MKO’s propaganda system desperately tried to whitewash the Organization of the accusations. The NCR published a statement and identified the arrestee to be a once infiltrator to the group. However, the statement itself was a proof of Mansouri’s link to the MKO.
The arrest seemed to be politically motivated since it was coincided with Netanyahu’s effort to convince Obama not to engage in diplomacy with Iran.
Actually it was one of the Mossad-MKO mutual scenarios. By arresting and accusing Mansouri as an Iran spy they tried to get rid of an expired agent and to derail diplomacy between Iran and the West in order to encourage a war with Iran on the other hand.
The MKO – Israel collusion is now known to everyone since it has been corroborated many times by different sources and individuals in the past. According to NBC, Israel provides funding, training, and weapons for the MEK to assassinate Iranian scientists. The award-winning, independent investigative journalist and writer of the Book : Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of The Iran Nuclear Scare” ,Gareth Porter has several times put The MEK as a client of the Mossad, serving to launder Israeli intelligence’ claims that the Israelis did not want to attribute to themselves.
A. Sepinoud
Although the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO) and the United States have fundamentally different interests in Iran, the group makes efforts to get in line with the anti-diplomacy party of the United States. The
MEK’s ideas of Iran’s nuclear programs — illusionary and absolutely fabricated — in order to build support for regime change in Tehran. Reaching a deal with Iran through diplomacy eradicates one of the MEK’s most effective tools for bombing Iran. However, Manipulated US politicians who are in bed with this formerly designated terrorist group may be able to derail the US diplomatic efforts.
The case seems a little complicated. On one hand, there are reports on covert support of the US government for the MKO. In 2008, Seymour Hersh revealed it in his “Preparing the Battlefield,” in the New Yorker. “The M.E.K. has been on the State Department’s terrorist list for more than a decade, yet in recent years the group has received arms and intelligence, directly or indirectly, from the United States’’, Hersh wrote. “Some of the newly authorized covert funds, the Pentagon consultant told me, may well end up in M.E.K. coffers.” [1]
On the other hand, following the recently published framework of nuclear deal, the US administration’s engagement in diplomacy with Islamic Republic seems constructive and effective.
Meanwhile, the MKO’ propaganda and lobbies are active. They continue to take advantage of partisan division in the Congress. They actively advocate for Congressmen such as Bob Corker, Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee, Robert Menendez who co-sponsored a bill to obstruct a nuclear deal with Iran.
The MKO cannot conceal its joy over such oppositions against the nuclear deal. The group’s propaganda favors any kind of opposition from any ordinary official all over the world, let alone the powerful Republicans of the US.
But the MKO’s joy may not last so long. The Huffington Post reported that Nancy Pelosi the leader of the Minority of the US House of Representatives may save negotiations for Obama:
“Senate Republicans on Tuesday reached a deal with the White House to require an Iran agreement to go through Congress for final approval. But even if they can come up with the two-thirds vote they would need to make a potential rejection of that agreement veto-proof, opponents would still need the same fraction in the House. Finding those votes will be difficult, given the ability of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to hold her caucus together. To stop naysayers’ efforts to override a possible veto by President Barack Obama, Pelosi would need to hold only 145 of her 188 Democrats. “ [2]
To our surprise, It is interesting to notice that Nancy Pelosi has once been misled by the MKO despite her pro-diplomacy stance. This is a part of an open letter to Mrs. Pelosi written by Ann Singleton, former Member of the MKO, member of Middle East Strategy Consultants and the author of the book “Saddam’s Private Army”:
“It will come as some surprise to you therefore, that a group of Iranian war-mongering regime change proponents, the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq (MEK), claim to have your support.
“In an astounding act of hubris, the MEK has not only appropriated your good name and attached it to a stance which is in contradiction to what you have always stated, but the group has also apparently fooled many of your opponents in Congress whose presence in this event has also been misrepresented as specific support for the MEK.
“The MEK’s website Iran News Online reported as a news item a celebration held in Congress on March 17 to mark the Iranian New Year or Norouz. According to this news item, the event was attended by several advocates and lobbyists of the MEK – those named include Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ted Poe and Jackson Lee, all of whom advocate the MEK’s regime change stance. As well as around 300 Congressional staff, many, but not all, of the attendees have been Neoconservatives whose anti-diplomacy stance is overtly expressed by people like John Bolton who so recently exhorted America to ‘bomb Iran’.” [3]
As a person who has experienced living in the cult-like MKO, Mrs. Singleton correctly warns the US official to beware of the MKO’s deceitful tactics to mislead, manipulate and misuse politicians so as to reach their violent ambitions:
“I write to you as an expert on the MEK who has been campaigning for over a decade to help free the residents of Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty, and to expose the lies and deceit of the MEK’s leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. I would urge you to investigate the matter of your name and reputation being hijacked by this group. But further, I would urge you also to alert your colleagues in Congress – including those who are your political opponents – to the duplicitous methods of this group. The MEK’s unchallenged interference in the political process of America is not only very much against your country’s national interests, it is a slap in the face of those peaceful Iranians and Americans who, like yourself and President Obama have invested so much time and energy into allowing diplomacy to work.” [4]
By Mazda Parsi
References:
[1]Hersh, Seymour, Preparing the Battlefield The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran, The NewYorker , July 7th, 2008
[2] Grim, Ryan & Barron-Lopez, Laura, Nancy Pelosi May Save The Iran Negotiations For Obama, The Huffington Post, April14, 2015
[3] Singleton, Ann, Open Letter to Nancy Pelosi: Don’t allow the MEK to hijack your name, Iran Interlink, April 14, 2014
[4] ibid