The recent civil unrest and protests in Iran made some experts and journalists study the role of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) as a formerly terrorist designated Iranian opposition group. Although the group’s unpopularity has marginalized it in Iranian protests, some experts warn bout its threat for the future of Iran.
Here are four deteriorating parts that are considered to be taken by the MEK defined by four different experts with different political views:
The MEK unable to unify opposition
For Middle East expert Andreas Krieg, the MEK’s ability to unify opposition is inadequate. “When it comes to MEK, it is important to separate perceived reach from real on-the-ground traction,” Krieg told DW.
About the MEK’s deficiencies he says: “The organization is disciplined, media-savvy, and able to generate noise, lobbying pressure, and messaging volume from abroad. However, it has deep legitimacy problems among many Iranians because of its history, internal-control allegations, and its long exile posture.”
Krieg confirms that the MEK is a useful tool for disinformation campaign launched by warmongers and anti-Iran hawks. “The MEK is easy for multiple actors to instrumentalize in the information space, including anti-Iran hawks in the US and Israel,” he told DW.
While the MEK’s spokesman in Washington, Ali Safavi tells DW that his group’s “resistance units direct, coordinate and organize the resistance against the repressive forces”, Kreig clarifies that “it does not at all have any role to play in leading these protests”.
A chameleon cult to decoy the West
The MEK’s illegitimacy among Iranians has been widely stated by experts. The American historian, foreign policy analyst and government adviser Michael Rubin once more states that the recent Iranian protests have confirmed that the MEK has no backing or legitimacy among Iranians. This time he asked the secretary of the US state department to re-designate the group.
Rubin believes that the MEK is a cult-like political chameleon that “shifts its rhetoric to support whomever it thought its patrons might be.”
“When it solicits Congress, it feigns commitment to democracy, even as its actions and its internal rhetoric suggest it remains unchanged and unabashedly anti-American,” he wrote in the Middle East Forum referring to the group’s anti-American background including the assassination of the US citizens in Iran in the 1970s.
The MEK deteriorates everything
As an anti-Iran Israeli, Zina Rakhamilova of Israel Hayom finds the MEK “a threat to Iran’s revolution”.
Rakhamilova is a supporter of Reza Pahlavi who is concerned about the MEK’s abstracting role in her “struggle” against Iranian government. “On the surface, the MEK’s opposition to the regime may appear principled, but this is misleading, and non-Iranian observers should not be deceived,” she writes. “The MEK is a leftist group that historically aligned with Muslim extremists to topple the government of the day. Their past shows consistent antipathy toward democracy, human rights, and the West, and should they ever rule Iran, the standard of living and humanitarian situation would likely continue to deteriorate.”
She correctly warns about the undemocratic and violent nature of the MEK presenting an example: On January 11, during a pro-Shah rally in Los Angeles, a U-Haul truck drove into the crowd, injuring several protesters. The truck was emblazoned with MEK slogans “NO SHAH. NO REGIME. USA: DON’T REPEAT 1953. NO MULLAH”, aligning with the MEK’s historical modus operandi.
The correspondent of Israel Hayom reminds Western politicians about the MEK’s terrorist activities and its alliance with Saddam Hussein to suppress the Kurdish uprisings against Iraqi Baath regime. She notifies, “US State Department reports document acts of violence against civilians. Maryam Rajavi reportedly instructed fighters: “Take the Kurds under your tanks, and save your bullets for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards”
MEK agents for Mossad-run sabotage in Iran
Regarding the recent unrest and killings in the streets of Iran, the American whistleblower and former CIA officer, John Kiriakou, revealed that these events are the result of a joint CIA and Mossad operation. Referencing public statements made by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Kiriakou stated, “We know this is a Mossad-CIA operation thanks to Pompeo’s own comments.”
Kiriakou noted that while the CIA does not typically maintain personnel on the ground, Mossad has an extensive field presence. He alleged that both agencies work in close cooperation with the MEK.
The MEK’s history as well as its current cult-like structure has made it overlooked for Iranians inside and outside the country. Thus, for decades, Maryam Rajavi and her disappeared husband, Massoud Rajavi, has made efforts to rebrand their group as a democratic alternative to the Iranian government but these days, they are no more in the center of attention except for some experts or journalists to make the world aware about their threat for the future of Iran.
Mazda Parsi
