Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 96

++ The MEK’s reaction to critics who picketed in support of the prosecution of MEK lieutenant Mehdi Abrishamchi on terrorism charges was to launch (yet another) intimidation campaign. MEK agents found the critics’ addresses and posted defamatory leaflets around their neighbourhoods. One perpetrator was arrested by police. He was identified as an illegal Afghan. He admitted being paid by the MEK along with several other Afghans to undertake this kind of activity. Former MEK member Mohammad Karami who was there during the arrest told the man “if you go back to the MEK, tell them if we were going to cave in at these things we wouldn’t have survived what you put us through in Iraq. The Afghan had photographed some of the critics and Karami encouraged him to take them back to the MEK and publish them as it would act as publicity against themselves. Other commentators reminded us that France is responsible for the safety of people in France not the MEK. They warned that some terrorist activity by the MEK is not far off; they will do it, and the host country government will be responsible. Former MEK members in Albania issued a statement supporting the court case against Abrishamchi and cheering on the critics and ex members in Europe.

++ This week in Baghdad, Massoud Meshkinian managed to run away from Camp Liberty and take refuge with the Iraqi authorities. His family had been in Baghdad the week before looking for him. Meshkinian reported that he was being forced by the MEK to appear on their TV to swear at his own family, but while they were trying to convince him he found an opportunity to run away to the Iraqis.

++ The Hajari family (2 brothers 1 sister and the mother) among others have strongly criticised the UN asking why they don’t open the gate of Camp Liberty to see if their relatives are alive or dead after all these decades. They say, “We will not give in to the backers of the MEK, in particular the Western intelligence services which want to keep the cult, and we will continue trying to get contact for as long as it takes.”

++ Several letters, mostly from inside Iran, were written about Maryam Rajavi’s Congress appearance saying that the Israeli lobby have made a disaster for themselves. This has exposed how corrupt they are.

++ Saber from Tabriz sent an article to Iran Interlink titled ‘Trusting Americans to this extent is not wise’. Directed at Massoud Rajavi, Saber examines the relations which the US secret services have had with Al Qaida, Libyan fighters, Saddam Hussein and others. He identifies different levels from foot soldier terrorists to head of state terrorists, all of whom the US used, then killed. He advises Rajavi not to be fooled. He will be next.

++ The President of Iraq, Fuad Masum, is visiting Iran. In meetings with top level Iranian leaders Masum said that work with Iran against ISIS is progressing well and will continue with military and intelligence cooperation to finish them off soon. He reported that the second-in-command of ISIS was killed in Mosul by an Iraqi aerial attack. Iran and Iraq agreed to remove visas between their countries. Responding to this visit, some of the Commentariat mention that it’s time for the Americans to take the MEK home. “Pack up the MEK along with ISIS and your other terrorists, leave the region and go home.”

In English:

++ Nick Hankoff writes in Voice of Liberty ‘Not The Onion: Tom Cotton Befriends Radical Marxist Muslim Cult’. The article exposes US Senator Tom Cotton’s efforts to prevent a negotiated nuclear agreement with Iran by allying himself with the MEK cult. Hankoff suggests: “It’s possible Tom Cotton is (willfully?) ignorant to the leftist, tyrannical values and aspirations of the MEK. But like Howard Dean, Rick Perry, Rudy Giuliani, and many other politicians, there are big opportunities to work together for mutual political growth and enrichment.”

++ Justin Raimondo in Antiwar.com ‘Follow the Money, Why Argentina is in the War Party’s sights’, analyses the MEK’s anti-Iran activities: “Over the years, MEK has carried out a persistent campaign to foment a similar US invasion of Iran, their mainstay being various attempts to document Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. Virtually all of these attempts have been debunked as either outright forgeries or else half-truths based on outdated and dubiously sourced information… Now they have tried a different tack: accusing Tehran of sponsoring an international terrorist conspiracy, one tentacle of which is the alleged 1994 plot to bomb a Jewish community center in Argentina.” Raimondo acknowledges that the MEK’s advocates, “the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Israel Project, and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group)… have no lack of means to publicize these theories: the campaign to tar Iran with the “terrorist” brush is fueled by the multi-millions of billionaires like Singer, Sheldon Adelson, and Norman Braman, whose insistence on 100 percent loyalty to Israel in the candidates and causes they support is remaking the political discourse in the US when it comes to foreign policy.”

Raimondo calls for “a mass mobilization by the American people against the drive to war – and, no, that’s not a pipedream. We did it when President Obama decided he wanted to bomb Syria and then gave Congress the last word. Congressional switchboards were soon inundated with calls opposing a new war one-hundred-to-one.”

++ Eldar Mamedov, an official in the European Parliament, writes: ‘MEK in the European Parliament

The Well-Funded Exile Group’s Desperate Attempts to Sabotage Diplomacy on Iran’. Among opponents of a negotiated settlement of the nuclear talks Mamedov says “The cult-like organization has spent vast sums of money to lobby political elites on both sides of the Atlantic for recognition as an alternative to the current Iranian government. Since a negotiated, multilateral deal with Iran would effectively bury prospects of Western-led regime change in Iran, the MEK is attempting to leverage its extraordinary influence to sink talks. Regime change in Iran, by any means, is the only item on the MEK agenda. Like experienced salesmen, its members employ different tactics to “sell” this approach to various audiences.” The article identifies the different tactics used by the MEK in America and Europe where the MEK have cleverly exploited MEPs sensitivities by targeting the issue of human rights. The author acknowledges this is an important issue but concludes “there are more effective ways to address these crucial issues than calling for regime change, undermining nuclear negotiations, or following the agendas of those with obvious ulterior motives.”

++ Sahar Family Foundation in Baghdad reveals ‘Rajavi preparing to battle the families: Killing two birds with one stone’. The article reports news from inside Camp Liberty that residents have been tasked to make and store Molotov cocktails. According to Sahar, residents “have been briefed that there is a danger that Iranian forces will attack the base under the cover of the families of the residents. Therefore they must be ready to defend themselves. Thus the members of the MKO have been mentally prepared to violently oppose the families.” Massoud Rajavi became alarmed when several families arrived at the camp looking for their loved ones. The article concludes: “Massoud Rajavi, like all cult leaders, considers the presence of the families outside the camp as a threat to his cult and like all dictators is against any information reaching the followers.

There is also another fact that some considerable numbers of members are old or sick or discontented and are not of any use to the cult. If they are dismissed or they defect in large numbers there would be a political damage to the organization. Therefore the best option for Rajavi is to get them killed as he planned in the past in the Ashraf Garrison in order to use them for propaganda purposes. In this way he would be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Rajavi is preparing his forces and arming them with Molotov Cocktails to wage battle against the Iraqis. He is using the excuse of the families’ presence at the camp gates in order for those who he considers no longer have any use for him to be killed.”

May 15 2015

Related posts

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 308

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 307

Iran Interlink Weekly Digest – 306