NEWS IN BRIEF
An Iranian website reported on Sunday that a team of terrorists affiliated to Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) attempted to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran on May 2. Six terrorists who were riding motorcycles opened fire on the scientist, but his bodyguards managed to save him from the attack.
Iraqi Ambassador to Iran Mohammad Majid Al Sheikh has said the members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization must leave Iraq. 
The members of the MKO are not allowed to carry out any activity outside of their camp, known as Camp Ashraf, and that they are not allowed to conduct any operation against Iran either, Al Sheikh told IRNA in an interview published on Tuesday.
When the new government took power in Baghdad, it was decided that the MKO members cannot stay in Iraq any longer, he stated.
Pointing to the time when the group set up the camp during Saddam’s rule, he said the terrorists took the lands of local farmers by force and this is the reason why clashes have recently broken out between the owners of these lands and the MKO members.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that the two countries should make efforts to promote their relations, adding Tehran and Baghdad have a great potential to utilize to expand their cooperation in all areas.
The diplomat went on to say that Iran’s export to Iraq was worth $6 billion in 2006, expressing hope this figure will reach $7 billion in 2011.
On demarcation of the joint border, he said the join committee between the two countries is working on demarcating the borders and that they regularly hold meetings in this regard.
The two countries are currently working to repair the damaged bars along the borders due to the past war and the natural incidents, he noted.
The Iranian ambassador to Baghdad has predicted that the members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) would leave Iraq by the end of the current Iranian calendar year, which started on March 21.
The Iraqi government has issued a declaration and the Iraqi cabinet has approved a ratification, both of which require that the MKO members leave Iraq, Ambassador Hassan Danaiifar told the Mehr News Agency in an interview published on its website on Tuesday.
The Iraqi National Coalition and other political groups in Iraq as well as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maleki and President Jalal Talebani are seeking the expulsion of the MKO members, Danaiifar stated.
“We think that would happen this year since the expulsion of MKO members is the demand of the Iraqi government and nation,” he added.
On April 8, following orders of the government and in line with the new Iraqi Constitution, the Iraqi army tried to dismantle the terrorist group’s residential area, called Camp Ashraf, but the MKO members residing in the camp clashed with the Iraqi soldiers.
The Iraqi government has also set a deadline for Camp Ashraf residents to leave the country.
Recently Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said, “The Iraqi Constitution prohibits the presence of mujahedin or any other militia groups from neighboring countries, whether it’s the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), whether it’s the PJAK (Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan), or whoever to have presence on Iraqi territory and to launch attacks against our neighbors.
Constitutionally, this is not allowed and the mujahedin of the Ashraf Camp have to respect Iraqi law.”
On April 13, the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad announced that Camp Ashraf residents can return to Iran under certain conditions.
“These persons can travel to Iran or any other country if they are willing to do so and if no criminal case has been filed against them in Iran or Iraq. They will also be given passports,” Danaiifar stated at the time.
— A number of Iranians imprisoned in Iraq may be granted clemency
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ambassador Danaiifar announced that the Iraqi president has made a promise of cooperation to take measures necessary to grant clemency to a number of Iranians held in Iraqi prisons.
So far a list of 200 Iranian prisoners has been submitted to the Iraqi officials, he added.
However, the prisoners would be granted clemency “on condition that they do not enter Iraq without passport again and take the officials’ recommendations seriously, since illegal entry into Iraq will create enormous problems for them and 6 years’ imprisonment will await them, which is not a short time,” Danaiifar stated.
Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has said that the United States is deriding its own alleged support for human rights by pressuring the Iraqi government over its crackdown on Camp Ashraf residents.
“The U.S. had better not make a further mockery of its hollow slogan of supporting human rights by pressuring Iraq over its clampdown on the members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO),” Larijani stated at the open session of the Majlis on Sunday.
On April 8, following orders of the government and in line with the new Iraqi Constitution, the Iraqi army tried to dismantle the terrorist group’s residential area, called Camp Ashraf, but the MKO members residing in the camp clashed with the Iraqi soldiers.
The Iraqi government has also set a deadline for Camp Ashraf residents to leave the country.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani criticized the recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton against the Islamic Republic of Iran as “weird”.
During a press conference in Berlin on Friday, Clinton said that the U.S. saw no evidence that Iran had instigated protests in the Middle East, “but we do see activities by Iran to try to take advantage of these uprisings, they are trying to exploit unrest. They are trying to advance their agenda in neighboring countries. They continue to try to undermine peace and stability, to provoke further conflict.”
Larijani said that such remarks are not based on the realities of the region.
He added that on the one hand, the U.S. and certain other Western countries voice their concern about Iran’s support for popular uprisings in the region, but on the other hand they say that Iran is seeking to exploit the unrest.
U.S. officials are in a daze and their confusion is reflected in the remarks they make, Larijani stated.
“They are in a state of confusion because they do not have or do not want to obtain a clear understanding of the realities on the ground,” he added.
He also said that the U.S. is the main culprit behind the problems facing the region since the people have risen up against the dictators who are close allies of the United States.
The fact that the U.S. is condoning the use of violence against the people in Bahrain and Yemen has complicated the issues, Larijani stated.
The people of regional nations are getting fed up with the U.S. behavior, he concluded
According to a report published by the Fars news agency on Saturday, the members of the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) who are based at Camp Ashraf has announced their readiness to leave Iraq.
The Fars news agency quoted a close source at the United Nations office in Iraq as saying, “The senior members of the MKO sent a letter to the UN Special Representative (for Iraq Ad Melkert) yesterday (Friday), in which they expressed (the group’s) readiness to leave Iraq.”
“In their letter, the senior members of the MKO called on the UN representative to prepare the ground for the group’s exit out of Iraq and their travel to a European country or the United States,” the source stated.
According to the source, Melkert is discussing the issue with officials of the French, British, and U.S. embassies in Baghdad.
On April 8, following orders of the government and in line with the new Iraqi Constitution, the Iraqi army tried to dismantle the terrorist group’s residential area, called Camp Ashraf, but the MKO members residing in the camp clashed with the Iraqi soldiers.
The Iraqi government has also set a deadline for Camp Ashraf residents to leave the country.
On April 13, the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad announced that Camp Ashraf residents can return to Iran under certain conditions.
“These persons can travel to Iran or any other country if they are willing to do so and if no criminal case has been filed against them in Iran or Iraq. They will also be given passports,” Ambassador Hassan Danaiifar stated.
Backed by the U.S. and some European countries, the MKO started its activities as a terrorist group based in Iraq in the early 1980s. In addition to the assassination of hundreds of Iranian officials and citizens, the group cooperated with Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime in its repression of the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi people want the anti-Iranian terrorist group Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) to be expelled from Iraq, a member of the Iraqi parliament member said on Sunday.
In an interview with the Fars News Agency in Baghdad, Iraqi MP Hussein Ali said, “In the past, the group has been responsible for several crimes against the Iraqi people, including the people of Iraqi Kurdistan.”
“Cooperating with the repressive Baathist army, the members of the group killed innocent people, and Iraqis suffered very much during the Saddam era. Thus the Iraqi government is determined to expel the group from its soil,” he added.
The Iraqi MP dismissed the reports published by Western and Israeli media outlets claiming that Iran is pressuring the Iraqi government to expel the group, saying, “Iran has the right to be sensitive about the terrorist group in its neighborhood because the MKO has carried out many terrorist attacks against the Iranian nation. However, the Iraqi government’s decision to expel the group has not been made under any pressure from neighboring countries.”
Backed by the U.S. and some European countries, the MKO started its activities as a terrorist group based in Iraq in the early 1980s. In addition to the assassination of hundreds of Iranian officials and citizens, the group cooperated with Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime in its repression of the Iraqi people.
Recently, following orders of the government and in line with the new Iraqi Constitution, the Iraqi army tried to dismantle the terrorist group’s residential area, called Camp Ashraf, but the MKO members residing in the camp clashed with the Iraqi soldiers.
Afterwards, the MKO tried to exaggerate the incident and said that 25 people were killed during the clashes.
The Iraqi Constitution states that the country has no place for terrorist groups, especially those which attack neighboring countries.
A number of Iranian MPs have criticized the European Union’s request that the United States remove the Mojahedin Khalq Organization from its list of terrorist groups.
On Thursday, the European Parliament issued a declaration urging Washington to remove the MKO from its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
The European Union took the MKO off its black list in 2009.
The MKO is a terrorist group
Talking to reporters on Saturday, MP Kazem Jalali said, “The MKO is a terrorist organization and the Europeans themselves acknowledge this.”
“The MKO itself has admitted that it has killed 4800 people, including ordinary people as well as officials of the Islamic Republic. This organization has planted bombs in several areas. If this group is not a terrorist one, what else can it be labeled as?”
“The West is facing a paradox about the issue of terrorism and the reason is that certain Western countries define everything according to their national interests,” stated Jalali, who is also the rapporteur of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
West using MKO as a tool
Majlis Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday that Europe and the U.S. are using the MKO as a tool.
But such measures will improve Iran’s ability to negotiate in the international arena since they illustrate the double standards the United States and Europe apply toward terrorism, he added.
West is main source of terrorism
MP Karim Quddusi told MNA that the EU’s move shows that the West is the main source of terrorism.
MP Hamid-Reza Taraqqi of the Islamic Coalition Party called on the Iranian government to make serious efforts to convince the Iraqi government to extradite the MKO members before the group is delisted, MNA reported on Saturday.
The MKO, listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community, began a campaign of assassinations and bombings in Iran shortly after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
The group moved to Iraq in the early 1980s and fought Iran from there until the United States invaded the country in March 2003
A top Interior Ministry official has dismissed reports that Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) members have been stationed in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
“Iraqi officials do not allow such transfer,” Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Ali Abdollahi stated on Monday.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Abdollahi refuted the news that Abdolmalek Rigi’s spouse has entered Iran.
Rigi, the leader of the terrorist Jundallah group, was arrested in last February and hanged in June.
Pakistanis not waiting to cross border into Iran
He also dismissed the reports that a huge crowd of Pakistanis from the flood-stricken areas are waiting across the border to enter Iran.
MP Abbasali Noura on Saturday warned about the potential arrival of a huge number of Pakistanis into Iran.
However, an entry of flood-hit Pakistani nationals into the country could be a security threat to the country in the future, Abdollahi noted.
He added that the Iran-Pakistan border is under tight control and necessary measures have been taken to prevent illegal crossings.
Although Iran borders insecure countries, it is among the secure countries in the world, the Interior Ministry official noted.
He also cited the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and alcoholic drinks into the country as the major nuisances
A member of the Majlis Legal and Judicial Commission has said that officials must seriously pursue extradition of Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) members to the country.
MP Mostafa Tabatabaei Nejad insisted on Monday that an atmosphere should be created in which “pro-terrorists” stop supporting terrorist groups.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Tabatabaei Nejad noted, “We, as members of Majlis Legal and Judicial Commission, for our part, will pursue the matter in this commission next week.
BAGHDAD – Tehran’s chief diplomat in Baghdad has said that Iraq is serious about handing over MKO ringleaders to Iran.
Hassan Qazemi Qom told the Mehr News Agency that the Iraqi government is determined to expel the MKO group and it has already taken steps in this regard.
According to Iraqi resources about 3,400 MKO members are held at Camp Ashraf in Diyala province near the border with Iran.
Qazemi Qomi said since the Iraqi people are worried about the behavior of this group in their country and the Iraqi government has put the expulsion of the group on its agenda.
“In recent months a number of hypocrite members have left Iraq and certain have returned to Iran,” the ambassador noted. “We expect the Iraqi government to expedite its efforts in expelling the hypocrites.”
Mojahedin Khalq Organization are referred to as hypocrites in Iran.
The MKO began a campaign of assassinations and bombings in Iran shortly after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The group moved to Iraq in the early 1980s and fought Iran from there until the United States invaded the country in March 2003.
The group was also involved in the suppression of the Iraqi people during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Extradition of criminals
The envoy said during the Iranian parliamentary delegation’s visit to Iraq a number of lawmakers sitting on the Majlis Legal Committee exchanged views with the Iraqi side on signing a deal on extraditing criminals.
Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani made a five-day tour of Iraq at the head of a parliamentary delegation from November 4 to 8.