Albanian police raided a camp housing thousands of members of Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a group opposed to the Iranian government. The MEK is known as an Iranian rebel supported by the United States (US) and continues to fight against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. MEK has been carrying out its struggle abroad, from Iraq to Albania. They have no space in Iran itself. It became the organization was not able to develop rapidly.
However, the MEK continues to struggle and intensify various strategies to overthrow Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Here are 7 MEK struggles against Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
1. Revolutionary Leaning
MEK Khalq began as a revolutionary left-wing group that opposed the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s last shah who was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution that gave birth to the current establishment in Iran. They were initially allied with other revolutionaries but fell out with the country’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, father of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The MEK begins an armed rebellion against its fledgling government that includes high-profile bombings and assassinations.
2. Ally with Saddam Hussein
MEK finally had to leave Iran and ally with Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq. MEK members launched armed attacks on Iranian soil during the eight year Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. The Iranian government considers them a terrorist group and claims they are responsible for the deaths of around 17,000 Iranians.
3. Moving to Albania
MEK members were for years based in a camp in Iraq, but eventually had to secure a deal to move to Albania in the mid-2010s after Iraqi officials grew increasingly hostile to them. Many media outlets have reported that the MEK operates like a cult, imposing severe restrictions on its members and subjecting them to physical and mental abuse. Lacking legitimacy and support among Iranians, the group has also claimed hacking or penetration of state-linked institutions in Iran.
4. Hostile to Albania
Dozens of Albanian police raided the Ashraf-3 camp near Manze, a small hill town about 30 km (18.6 miles) west of the Albanian capital, Tirana.
Police said the raid complied with a court order, issued following an investigation by SPAK, or the Special Anti-Corruption Structure, into what it said were political activities not sanctioned by the MEK that contravened a 2014 agreement that allowed members to reside in Albania. Albania’s Interior Ministry supported the raid, and National Police Chief Muhamet Rrumbullaku said he was angry and offended that MEK members had tried to block police officers from confiscating electronic devices and their leaders had not cooperated.
MEK said one of its members, identified as 65-year-old Ali Mostashari, died and more than 100 camp residents were injured by pepper spray. Police said the man’s death had nothing to do with police action and officers were careful not to use force.
5. Iran Conducts Special Lobbying
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanani, welcomed the news saying that the MEK will always be a danger to the security of the host country due to its “terrorist nature”. “This is why the Iraqi government is expelling them and other governments are refusing to accept them. We hope that the Albanian government makes amends for hosting this terrorist cult,” he said.
6. Representation of the US
Interestingly, the US government responded by distancing itself from the MEK, a group that has been vigorously supported by a number of senior US officials for years, including former Vice President Mike Pence.
Washington says it has been assured by Albania that the raids were carried out in accordance with the law and has serious concerns about the MEK, including over allegations of abuses made against its own members. Most recently, the US has also said it does not regard the MEK as a proper democratic opposition movement that represents the Iranian people.
The US government is also no longer providing support, training, or funding to the group. The US and European Union delisted the MEK as a “terrorist” organization more than a decade ago after the group vowed to renounce its violent practices. Iran last year blacklisted dozens of US officials for their support of the MEK.
7. Operating in France
Since the Albanian raids come one day after France blocked the MEK from holding its 1 July 2023 rally in Paris. Meanwhile the National Council of Resistance to Iran, the MEK’s umbrella group, accused France of bowing to “pressure” from the Iranian government.
By Andika H Mustaqim – SINDOnews.com – Translated from Indonesian