Iran-Interlink

++ Unconfirmed reports from medical personnel in Mother Theresa hospital in Tirana suggest that at least one MEK member has died of COVID-19 in the past week.

++ MEK are on overdrive to fetch up anyone who can string a sentence together to attack Olsi Jazexhi, Gjergji Thanasi and other journalists. As usual, these MEK members are people who are not accessible, who are confined to the camp. MEK knows that anyone outside the camp – lobbyists and others who still have a place in society – will be questioned and challenged. The people in the camp have no stake in society. Analysts say this a panicked reaction by Rajavi because she is confined to Albania and has nowhere else to go. She is spending all the money and energy that she used to spend elsewhere in Albania to keep her foothold there. An Iranian analyst says it’s like she’s in solitary confinement and every now and then the door opens, and a plague of journalists is poured in. Rajavi is phobic about journalists and she is screaming with fright. Some analysts say Albania is the last graveyard of the MEK, they will sit there and rot.

++ This week marked the anniversary of the killing of 51 people in Camp Ashraf in Iraq, 10 Shahrivar 1392. Some former MEK members who were there and are now out have written about the situation. Many write about Massoud Dalili who was the 52nd victim; tortured and killed and his face burned so he would not be recognised. He was identified by the Americans from his DNA. Rajavi kept these one hundred members in the camp to get money – as leverage. Some writers remember that when they were killed, Mohsen Rezai said “never mind about 51 people, just see how much coverage we have got. If we do a hunger strike as well, we’ll get more coverage. That’s more important.” They tried to sell this to us as a victory – as they tried to sell us deportation from Iraq to Albania as a historical victory, comparing it with prophet Mohammad going from Mecca to Madina.

In English:

++ MEK has been left reeling from the inescapable reaction by Albanians to its attacks on journalists and academics. In particular, Olsi Jazexhi, who is a well know academic with a strong media presence, has invited Maryam Rajavi to a public debate about her activities in his country. In another interview, he pointed out that MEK were imposed on Albania by the US and that Albanians, since then, have protested and demanded that MEK should not be located in their country.

++ Nejat Society CEO Ebrahim Khodabandeh and member Soraya Abdullahi have both written to Maria Arena, MEP, Head of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), describing the situation of MEK members in the camp in Albania, the families’ efforts to make contact with them and the Albanian government’s silence over their pleas.

++ Mazda Parsi writing for Nejat Society says

‘Families of the MEK members should plant the seed of hope for their loved ones’. Parsi points out that cults work vigorously to break family ties to create insecurity. “Family relation is important since our mental growth, well-being, and stability all depend on our family relations. Children brought up in a healthy family will be able to establish better bonds outside their home… A family makes all its members feel safe and connected to one another.

It provides them with the comfort of having people by their side during tough times, helping them to manage and control the stress. A family allows its members to feel safe, protected, accepted and loved despite all shortcomings. Families are the basic units of the society that teach children about relationships.

Now imagine the children who lived and grew up in a cult-like system. Children in the MEK – who are now in their thirties or forties—do not know how to build trust in others.” Parsi relates a parallel situation to MEK. Glenn Stok helped free his sister from Scientology. Stok had an opportunity to reach out to his sister at a family funeral. But MEK families have no way of contacting their loved ones.

And their loved ones have no way of contacting them. “Glenn Stock knows that some destructive cults prevent any possibility for their members and their families to communicate. ‘If you have a family member or a friend in Scientology, or any religious cult, and you’ve lost the ability to communicate, plant that seed and wait for the opportunity to help’, he suggests. ‘Do it before it’s too late, and be ready to do whatever you can when the call for help arrives’.”

++ Yaran Iran Association in Paris reported that a delegation of former MEK members visited the Albanian embassy in Paris to present over 11,000 letters and signatures of the families and friends of MEK members who have been taken hostage by the Rajavi cult. They demanded that the Albanian authorities take action to end MEK human rights abuses and enable the families to make contact with their loved ones in Albania.

Sep 11, 2020

4++ An article by Gareth Porter, published by The Greyzone, has been translated into Farsi. Porter reveals new information about the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Argentina which was blamed on Iran. Porter shows that there is no evidence of this and that a “former infiltrator’s account provided the first clear indication that anti-Semitic veterans of Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’ and their allies in the Argentine police and intelligence service orchestrated the explosion.” At the time of “Nisman’s 2006 indictment of seven Iranian officials for the terror plot relied completely on the claims of senior members of the Mujahedin-E-Khalq (MEK), the Israeli and Saudi-backed Iranian exile cult. Not only were none of the MEK members in any position to provide reliable information about a supposedly high-level Iranian plot because they had been actively engaged in a terrorist campaign of their own against the Islamic government by helping Iraq’s then-President Saddam Hussein select targets in Iran. Mossad info, MEK sources – Resorting to bribery, to blame Iran for AMIA.”

++ Iran has arrested Jamshid Shahmahd head of the Tondar Association based in America. Tondar claims it is responsible for several terrorist operations in Iran. According to Iranian officials Shahmahd was arrested in Iran. But MEK said “no, we know he was arrested outside Iran and illegally taken to Iran”. They came up with various locations where the arrest took place, from Tajikistan to Dubai and others. In the end what MEK say is that because of this America has to attack Iran in retaliation. Farsi commentators scathingly remark about how low MEK are that on the back of anything happening anywhere they demand the US attacks Iran. Yet the US doesn’t even acknowledge them.

++ This week marked the 30th anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Some wrote about the MEK in that time. The US asked Massoud Rajavi to leave Iraq with the promise of a new base. But Rajavi decided to stay thus betraying his bigger boss. One article commenting on this is titled ’40 years of pot strategy’ This uses an Iranian proverb to say that for 40 years MEK has been waiting for someone to break the pot and spill the yoghurt so they can lick the remains from the floor. Another article uses MEK’s logo as its title: ‘Toppling at any price’. This explains how Rajavi started with this slogan and kept his word by paying any price. The writer asks, “What is the toppling for? You have been anti-imperialist and then gone along with America. Believing that the end justifies the means is your mistake.”

++ Massoud Khodabandeh wrote a note which was published by Iran’s Centre of Documentation. Khodabandeh gives a fresh analysis of Iran’s acceptance of the 1988 ceasefire of the Iran Iraq war. He explains that contrary to the accepted ‘forced surrender’ narrative, the Americans tried everything they could to prevent Ayatollah Khomeini from accepting the UN ceasefire because this would signal a defeat for Saddam Hussein. As long as Iran kept fighting, the country could be demonized. Several attacks were launched to provoke Iranian retaliation, including the shooting down of a civilian airplane. The last-ditch attempt to derail the signing was MEK’s failed Eternal Light operation. Rajavi had gone to Saudi Arabia shortly before this to take orders in person. The Iranian military defeated the MEK forces and the ceasefire was signed.

++ Over the last week MEK brought a lot of the members to their TV to swear at their families. One of these families is an elderly mother who has 3 children in MEK. She wrote answering the TV onslaught, asking her sons, “What did I say to make you all swear at me? I only asked you to talk to me. Do you expect me to abandon my children and accept they are willingly swearing at their mother for no apparent reason. If this was in the western media, wouldn’t you accuse MEK of ‘forced confessions’? Apparently, it’s OK if your puppets in Albania do it.”

++ Information leaked from inside MEK in Albania two days ago tells of a memo distributed to leading members. The memo details a changed work schedule for the Click Farm. Farsi social media accounts should be deleted, and Arabic accounts related to Lebanon created in their stead. The aim is to target the Lebanese people and convince them that Iran and Hizbollah were behind the port explosion. The click farm workers are given various Arabic hashtags and phrases to use which reinforce the message behind the posts – such as “Strike them hard and God will revive you even from death and show you his signs.” فَقُلْنَا ٱضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُحْىِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ وَيُرِيكُمْ ءَايَٰتِهِ from the Qoran.

In addition to these posts there are photoshopped images showing protestors in Beirut with anti-Iran and anti-Hezbollah placards along with the images of Khamenei and Nasrollah crudely placed in some shots. BBC Persian, VOA Persian and other Persian and Arabic outlets have gone into overdrive to use these posts and photos to claim these are by genuine people. However, it is clear from examining events in Beirut that there has been some paid infiltration in the protests against Iran/Hezbollah with some arrests. At the same time, Facebook and Twitter rigorously censor posts which appear to explain the Hezbollah position in Lebanon which say that Hezbollah did not store any of its missiles at the port and do not have any governmental positions which would implicate them in anything that may have caused the explosion.

The MEK click farm in Albania is being used to put pressure on the Lebanese government to say something against Iran and Hezbollah. The problem for MEK is that the members don’t know Arabic, so the social media posts purporting to be from Lebanese citizens are written in Farsi along with the Arabic hashtags and phrases. An example is a Lebanese woman Tweeting in Farsi:

من به عنوان یک زن لبنانی ، می خواهم از همه ایرانیانی که از انقلاب ملت لبنان در برابر طبقه فاسد سیاسی حاكم بر لبنان حمايت ميكنند تشكر ميكنم، متأسفانه، این طبقه حاکم بر ملت لبنان توسط رژیم ایران پشتیبانی می شود، راه آزادى بيروت از طريق تغيير رژيم در طهران ميگزرد! #بيروت #تهران pic.twitter.com/LidXK1uZNG

— Daniella Semaan (@firstLadyD4) August 8, 2020

من به عنوان یک زن لبنانی ، می خواهم از همه ایرانیانی که از انقلاب ملت لبنان در برابر طبقه فاسد سیاسی حاكم بر لبنان حمايت ميكنند تشكر ميكنم، متأسفانه، این طبقه حاکم بر ملت لبنان توسط رژیم ایران پشتیبانی می شود، راه آزادى بيروت از طريق تغيير رژيم در طهران ميگزرد! #بيروت #تهران pic.twitter.com/LidXK1uZNG

— Daniella Semaan (@firstLadyD4) August 8, 2020

Daniella Semaan is a model and footballer’s wife. In Farsi she says Lebanon’s problem is Hezbollah and that they were behind the explosion. The Tweet was heavily promoted by MEK’s click farm and then BBC Persian broadcast it, claiming it has been retweeted thousands of times.

Trump sees Iran’s regime as America’s biggest enemy – and his advisers have long touted a shadowy exiled cult as an alternative to the Iranian government. @LindseyHilsum has been to their secretive camp in Albania to investigate. https://t.co/4npOdh5obE

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) September 6, 2018

Aug 07, 2020

++ Last week saw the anniversary of the 1988 Forouq-e Javidan or Mersad operation in which MEK tried to invade Iran and march on Tehran. Around half the group’s forces were killed and many injured when the Iranian military drew them into an ambush and attacked them. This week MEK said nothing about the operation in English or any other language but they did publish a lot in Farsi pretending it was a great victory for them. This prompted many to write. Several commentators point out that only a cult member would accept this as a victory. Some compared this to other so-called MEK victories – such as running away from Iran, going to Iraq, and being removed from Iraq even though they said they would not leave. All these were victories according to MEK. Some writing points out that this actually was a victory for Rajavi because he didn’t really want to go to Iran. He just wanted people to get killed so he could bank their blood to insure the future of the cult. MEK is proud of its long list of martyrs as ‘proof’ of its success.

++ On the subject of families, some commentators have written about Rajavi’s Zoom conference. Most say ‘Rajavi boasted she could link up thousands of online connections, could you not even link up to a single family from your own side in this event!” Some wrote that Rajavi didn’t even mention the word ‘family’ in this event even though this is her main problem in Albania. One family member wrote a letter to Rajavi saying ‘unfortunately the closest person to your organisation is me because you have my family member there. If you don’t acknowledge my existence and people like me as families of your members, who are your audience? Certainly not Iranians.’ Others point out that Saudi Arabia as usual is wasting money flogging a dead horse because these expensive gatherings and well-paid lobbyists don’t give any return. What is their aim? They are not addressing Iranians.

++ During the last few weeks some elderly parents have died and in Albania some of the members have died. This is becoming a trend.

++ The day before Rajavi’s Zoom carnival the families held a Zoom conference. It was just themselves, ordinary families sharing their experiences. There are around a thousand families campaigning to get in touch with their loved ones but because of the coronavirus pandemic they joined in as small groups from every province. They asked Albania to not copy Saddam Hussein or at least not to be as bad as him. Some days after Rajavi’s event, some ex MEK members also held a conference in which formers from all over the world talked together.

++ Anne Khodabandeh’s Open letter to the EU negotiators for Albanian accession was translated into Farsi and published. On Farsi outlets many commented on the situation of MEK in Albania and the pressure that places on the Albanian people. They conclude that Albania is not a country, it is a subsidiary of the Neocons.

++ Massoud Khodabandeh and Soraya Abdullahi – one of leading family campaigners with Faraq Organisation (Nejat in Ardebil) – took part in an hour and a half interview with GEE Radio. Khodabandeh explained the situation of MEK in Albania – how they were supposed to be deradicalized, but Trump stopped that, since when the US has supported their activities in Albania. Abdullahi explained the human rights situation of the members and the families who are denied contact with their loved ones.

In English:

++ Many pieces have been written by the families and about the families of MEK members. The campaign to make contact with their loved ones is ongoing. The MEK response is low class swearing, labelling the families agents of the Iranian regime and crying that these families intend to come to the camp and kill their loved ones. Albanian historian Olsi Jazexhi questions how they intend to get their missiles into the country and who has trained an eighty plus year old to fire them? Jazexhi conducted a series of online interviews with some of the families in Iran with English interpretation.

++ Iran Interlink translated an article by Atefeh Nadalian of Nejat Society, titled ‘A Step Further Than Saddam Hussein!’ In it she points out that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is the only other head of state to directly support the MEK other than Saddam Hussein. But, she explains, Saddam only used MEK for his own military and intelligence purposes. He kept them under total control otherwise, not allowing them any civil freedoms whatsoever. On the contrary, Edi Rama has granted MEK full freedom over every aspect of the state of Albania. Thus allowing MEK to corrupt politicians, bribe media heads, pervert foreign policy, undertake illegal and immoral activities with impunity, kill their own members and hide in an extra-territorial garrison where the Albanian security and state institutions have no jurisdiction.

++ Maryam Rajavi’s Zoom conference was ridiculed and denounced from various quarters. Nejat Society CEO Ebrahim Khodabandeh queried on behalf of the families why if it was possible for Rajavi to connect online to so many of her ‘fans’, she couldn’t connect the families to their loved ones online to have supervised meetings. He pointed out that the families are more Iranian than any of the participants in Rajavi’s event. How does she claim to lead Iranians if she excludes them!
Press TV denounced London based Saudi network Iran International TV for live streaming the whole of Rajavi’s event. On the other hand some commentators thought that Iran state television should have done the same because that would allow everyone in Iran to witness what a charlatan and traitor Rajavi is first hand. American writer Stephen Lendman also wrote a scathing piece on the event saying “NCRI has nothing to do with democratic values, everything to do with wanting Iran transformed into a US controlled fascist police state as it was from 1953 to 1979 under US installed Mohammad Reza Palavi.”

++ Anne Khodabandeh’s Open Letter to the Negotiators for Albania’s Accession to the EU was published by The Iranian. The letter lists MEK activities in Albania which “displays a pattern not of simple disregard for the laws and norms of the host community, but a deliberate exploitation of weaknesses in every aspect of the Albanian state from local to national level”. Khodabandeh points out that the MEK will not be allowed to re-enter Europe through the back door of accession now that they have been exiled to Albania. The solution is to dismantle the group and the best help toward that goal is to involve the families of the members who are desperate to help their loved ones.

++ The anniversary of the 1988 Forouq-e Javidan or Mersad operation has thrown up the usual reminders of what a disaster this was for MEK. Alireza Niknam in Geopolitica quotes some of the Iraqi military and intelligence officers who were involved. Niknam says “The MEK / MKO was so bent on seizing power that its leadership willingly plotted a war against their own, putting millions of innocents in harm’s way. Most striking remains the group’s divorce from reality as its leaders continue, even to this day, to believe they have some form of popular legitimacy.”

++ Usually during the month of Ramazan, Maryam Rajavi likes to ‘entertain’ in ways that amplify her contrived public persona. This year due to the lockdown in Albania, she cannot go out or bring people to her headquarters. Instead she’s taken to writing. Several people have commented on this writing. Ali Shirzad from Norway says: “Among your multiple complaints against Iran you say that Iran has been burying chickens without killing them first and that this doesn’t match with the spirit of Ramezan. May I remind you that last week a rejected member of your MEK had staged a picket outside the Interior ministry of Albania asking for food because, after over twenty years working for you without payment, you had cut the money you are obliged to pay him in Albania under agreement with the government there. For the whole of last week, you brought all your money, power and backers to attack this person saying, ‘how dare you ask for food’. Never mind about chickens, what are you actually doing and talking about during Ramezan?”

++ Eighty percent of this week’s MEK Farsi output has been dedicated to attacking the families and their petition addressed to Albanian PM Edi Rama asking for help to contact their loved ones in the MEK camp. The other twenty percent has been the usual; repeating what the Saudis and Americans say with gross exaggeration. Many Farsi commentators have been surprised that this has been such an important issue for the MEK. Some have questioned why MEK has even wheeled out some of their veteran members like Mohammad Mohaddessin to come to their TV to talk and to answer supporters’ questions. Ironically, Mohaddesssin couldn’t explain why for decades the MEK has not allowed families meet with their relatives. Indeed, he clearly revealed in this programme that he is personally affected by this issue and is ‘gone’ – what the MEK call ‘borideh’. Ebrahim Khodabandeh, CEO of Nejat, wrote a note on this issue. In it he explains “we have news from inside the camp that the hostages are really happy that there is support for them from outside. The MEK’s counter-attack to suppress any hopes of the members is to declare that ‘nothing will happen, there will not be any meetings with families’. However, we also have news from inside the camp saying that even if this doesn’t happen, these families putting pressure on the Albanian government for our human rights results in the pressure on us inside lifting as MEK don’t want anyone to rebel or leave. A few members were brought to the TV to swear at their own families. One was the mother of Amir Vafa Yaghmai, who was clearly reading from a prepared statement as she swore against her own son. Amir had recently made a video pleading with MEK to allow him to visit his mother in the camp. Some of the families welcomed these theatrics because at least ‘we now know that these people are still alive. The fact that MEK is forced to bring them out for us to see is welcome’.”

In English:
++ Nejat Society has translated some of the messages and statements made by families with loved ones trapped inside the MEK cult. Their pleas all contain the same question ‘why’. Why are you not able to contact us? Why does MEK ban contact with family members? One mother says, “It is hard to believe that you are under such a control that you are not able to contact your parents. What a life do you have? Are you living under slavery? As far as we know, you have no free will to choose for your life. I wonder if your voice will be heard. I don’t think so. You are stuck in a foreign country with no plan for your future, but your father and me will not be disappointed. We are still waiting for you with our arms open.”

++ Anne Khodabandeh in The Iranian writes that the coronavirus crisis presents a unique opportunity for Albanian PM Edi Rama to take control of MEK activities in his country. Pointing out that the MEK operate in extrajudicial terms from an extraterritorial garrison, there is no accountability or access for Albanian officials, whether health officials or security officials. Khodabandeh points out that denying families visas to travel to Albania to find their loved ones “is just one element in a panoply of tactics designed to prevent defections. The MEK members have been denied the identity papers, travel documents and work permits which would enable them to live independently. This means that those who have managed to leave the MEK cannot work, cannot get a driving license and cannot even open a bank account to allow their families to transfer funds to cover their basic sustenance. These conditions of forced dependence are all part of a deliberate scheme to close every possible door to help from outside the MEK.” Stuck between the conflicting demands of the Trump administration and the European Union, Rama should address the MEK issue. The article concludes: “In a strange way then, the pandemic offers an opportunity for PM Rama to address this issue once and for all. To deal with the MEK not as a political or terrorist problem but instead as a social problem. The petition of the families points to an obvious solution to this problem: allow the families of MEK members to make contact with them and help them individually. But this relies on the acknowledgement of government that MEK poses a threat to Albanian society, along with the willingness to deal decisively with them. This is possible. But will PM Rama have the courage and wisdom to take this opportunity?”

++ In an interview with Balkans Post, investigative journalist Gjergji Thanasi, who lives in Durres county near the MEK camp, reveals some of the MEK’s activities, pointing out the differences between the ranks: Before the outbreak some of the rank and file inmates were allowed to go to Tirana… to do some shopping, to pay respects to the graves of dead MEK members, to see a doctor etc. They traveled in groups consisting of minimum 3 persons. The commanders were allowed to visit Tirana and other towns more freely. The rank and file inmates used to go to Tirana using public transport, while the commanders used private cars… The commanders used a couple of motorbikes to travel to the center of the small town of Manez or to reach the nearby highway linking Tirana to Durres… Up to the end of 2017 the rank and file inmates every couple of months were allowed to have a half day pleasure trip by bus… to different Albanian towns like Durres, Berat… to Kruja… etc. The rank and file inmates were allowed to have an ice cream, to drink tea at local cafes, to buy things at local shops during such pleasure trips.
“After the outbreak no rank and file members are allowed to go to Tirana, but for medical emergencies. The commanders continue to visit Tirana including the luxurious Tirana Hotel at Skanderbeg Square.”
Thanasi goes on to say, “the rules, regulations and Albanian law cease to exert power at the front gate of the camp. The degree of the extraterritoriality the camp enjoys vis-a-vis Albanian law comes close to that of the Camp in Guantanamo Bay vis-a-vis Cuban law.” He goes on to criticise the official response to MEK during the coronavirus outbreak: “The Health Ministry or its directorates in Durres has nothing to do with the camp. I defy the Health Ministry to make public even one document issued by the ministry or its local directorates regarding Camp Ashraf 3 during outbreak. This camp with its over 2,000 inmates simply does not exist for our Health Ministry. I defy the ministry to produce a scrap of paper to prove that Albanian doctors has inspected the camp even one time!”
Asked what he makes of the MEK’s allegation that he is an Iranian spy, Thanasi answered: “I love my country and I consider the MEK a security threat to my country… I have chosen to do my bit for my country regarding the MEK threat to Albania and Albanians… I am proud of myself as what I continue to do is not simply journalism. It is patriotism, too!”

++ The petition addressed to Albanian PM Edi Rama has gathered over ten thousand signatures. In response, MEK have put all their Farsi efforts into swearing at Ebrahim Khodabandeh and the families. In response, some commentators have pointed out that MEK are becoming so wobbly that they are ‘vaccinating’ the members by making them write against their own families. In their writings the MEK claim those who began the petition are not really families of MEK members, they are agents of the Iranian regime, and their intention in coming to the camp is “to attack us with missiles”. Some people have commented, ‘Perhaps Albania can check at the airport that they have not brought missiles! Anyway, if anyone doesn’t believe they are related, they can do DNA tests!’

++ On the subject of this petition, Mansour Nazari in Paris wrote a short piece in Iran-Interlink, pointing out that: “It is interesting for me there are some ex members or ex supporters that when it comes to supporting the families, they distinguish between those who live in Iran and those who don’t, as though those who live in Iran don’t have the same human rights as others. They talk about their own families and criticise MEK, but when it comes to those families living in Iran they shut up. If you ask them, they justify it by saying they have a red line between them and the Iranian government.” Nazari expands, saying: “Whether you do this deliberately or not you are saying in effect that Rajavi is right. Rajavi says they are agents of the regime and you are saying the same thing. You are politicizing the plight of the families. This is what Rajavi wants to do. Therefore, I suggest you go away and think about this. If you really believe Rajavi is right, then go back to them. If you think Rajavi is not right, then why are you sacrificing the human rights of the families because of your views of the government of Iran?”

In English:

++ Most of the articles and commentary about the MEK in English concerns the tragic situation of the members in Albania. The petition raised by families of these enslaved individuals has collected over ten thousand signatures. Prime Minister Edi Rama is yet to respond. An article by Massoud Khodabandeh titled ‘MEK cult in Albania poses public health risk’ published by Responsible Statecraft gives context to the families concerns. With the MEK unaccountable and unchecked in Albania according to investigative journalist Gjergji Thanasi, nobody knows whether the cult members are protected from coronavirus, or infected. Albanian historian Olsi Jazexhi interviewed Anne Khodabandeh to discuss the issue. Any way it is looked at, there are so many questions that haven’t been answered by MEK or by Rama.

May 08, 2020

++ Faragh Association in Iran has published a timely in-depth and very interesting piece about the misinformation and lies propagated by MEK. The piece identifies posts by MEK which claim that various Iranian leaders – the Minister of Health, or religious leaders in Qom – have said certain things, none of which are true, they have been made up by MEK. These persons have not even bothered to refute the lies; the MEK are irrelevant. On the same issue, Sputnik Farsi published an article referring to some of these things MEK are claiming, placing them alongside Pompeo’s pronouncements and social media blocking of every account except the MEK and such like. This paints a picture of a cohort coming together for a misinformation and demonisation campaign against Iran of which MEK are part. For Sputnik this begs the question, is it just about keeping themselves happy? Iranians inside Iran don’t buy it. Why are they doing it? On the same subject, some opposition leaders have complained that the amount of lies issued by Pompeo and MEK has created a situation in which nobody believes the truth either and Iran is benefitting from this situation by asserting that everything the west says about Iran is a lie. And we oppositionists can’t refute that because nobody believes anything we say anymore. In particular, they say, is all the MEK stuff about Coronavirus. Exaggerating that a million people have died. It’s not feasible, no one can believe that.

++ A so-called spokesman for MEK who has no name, alongside Massoud Rajavi – God knows where he is – have issued messages claiming that Coronavirus has been created by the mullahs to destroy the country. “We ask soldiers to desert and take sanctuary with us and bring your guns with you.” Commentators say that MEK has gone mad, that this is the height of madness. The army is helping people! From one side MEK say the army is there to kill people and on the other side you say desert and bring your guns with you. Why? Where? To Albania? Some comments remind us that these are the same people who ran to Saddam, then ran to MBS, who will do anything for some money. No sane person will take them seriously say Farsi commentators, but they feel sorry for the captive members. One comment quoted a poem by Saadi which reads ‘if you throw a stone at a dog, it gets excited thinking it’s a bone. If two people are carrying a body to the cemetery for a burial, the opportunist thinks they have brought him a meal’. That’s the story of MEK from forty years ago until now.

++ There is disturbing news emerging from inside the MEK camp in Albania which will be written about in detail later. The MEK leaders have blocked every form of access to medical care and hospital visits have been cancelled. There are reports that some people have gone missing. Everyone inside is worried about the virus and that they are getting no help. The Families are trying to get help from the Albanian authorities, saying this is not acceptable.

In English:

++ Murteza Hussain and Matthew Cole wrote two pieces for The Intercept concerning the MEK. In one, they spoke with former MEK members who detailed the gross human rights abuses they suffered inside MEK. The women were especially courageous in talking about the Rajavi’s sexual exploitation of female members as this is a taboo subject for most women. “Around 1998, an even more chilling directive came down from Rajavi to the female members of the organization. ‘I see some obstacles which have prevented us from reaching our goals and achieving victory’, Rajavi told members of the group, Sultani recalled. ‘That obstacle is hope for the future. We want to eliminate any kind of hope for the future from your mind. You are either with us or not!’
“Sterilization would be a means of focusing the women’s minds. ‘They said that this organ of the body, the womb, has made women want to be mothers someday and return to domestic life’, Sultani said. ‘And so, visits with women began, to get them to go in groups of 20 or 30 to have a hysterectomy.’”

++ The second piece ‘Leaked Intelligence Cables Detail a Secret Propaganda War Between Iranian Spies and Exiled Militant Group’ describes efforts by Iran’s intelligence services to counter the MEK’s long-term propaganda campaign against Iran. This reveals that the MEK has been reduced from its former claims to be able to effect regime change, backed by high-profile right-wing Americans to a group that now randomly asks people to post graffiti on walls. “An intelligence ministry officer in the Western city of Khorramabad claimed to have seen online messages from the group trying to recruit supporters in that city and ordering them to ‘write slogans and graffiti on the walls and make videos of these to share’.”

++ Anne and Massoud Khodabandeh published an article in The Balkans Post describing how the response of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the MEK have left them isolated in foreign policy and opposition circles. While realistic people the world over are looking for ways for countries and populations to work together to combat the global scourge of Coronavirus, “since the EU curtailed its activities there, the MEK has manipulated itself into a cosy symbiotic relationship with the U.S. Secretary of State. MEK social media combatants and its prolific websites echo Pompeo’s extremist anti-Iran statements and stances. In return, Pompeo references the MEK’s misinformation and propaganda in his speeches… At a time when the WHO urged self-isolation and social distancing to prevent the virus’ spread, the MEK leaders, giddy with the false hope of regime change, urged Iranians to come into the streets and attack the police. Such reckless and futile statements in the name of regime change will not be forgotten or forgiven by Iranians. Nor will the MEK positioning itself alongside the country’s most virulent enemy, the U.S., at its time of greatest need be forgotten or forgiven.”

April 03, 2020

++ Everyone in the world is affected by the Coronavirus crisis and the MEK are not excepted. Massoud Rajavi has issued yet another message ‘Payam number 22’, which prompted a lot of reaction. Commentators say, ‘there’s no way he’s written this because none of it matches up, every sentence is ridiculous’. For example, Rajavi claims “the regime has started this virus and spread it in Iran and beyond”. In another part he basically says “the only way to stop the virus is to attack members of pasdaran and the army in the street because the regime has created this virus as an excuse to bring the army in the street and is lying about self-isolation. You should come out and riot.” Commentators picked up various points and responded saying ‘Rajavi is either mad or just making things up’. Saber in Tabriz says ‘Yes, let’s say it’s all true. But I know that anytime you smell kabab you come out and want your share. I can tell you this time there is no kabab, what you smell is simply the branding of donkeys to separate them into which sides they are on. There’s nothing here for you.’

++ Over the past 2-3 weeks the MEK has been on overdrive to echo Pompeo, saying sanctions against Iran should be increased. The MEK are saying ‘the regime will collapse, and we will come to Iran and take over’. Every day, whatever Pompeo says the MEK say and whatever the MEK say, Pompeo says, copying each other., At the same time both are claiming there are no sanctions on essential goods and medicines. They claim that sanctions are aimed ‘at the regime not the people’. But everybody can see the effect and knows the truth. Some commentary described the MEK’s true situation as a purely mercenary force – running a troll farm; this is their only job. Mansour Nazari in Paris wrote article for Iran Interlink connecting this to events throughout Iran’s history and says that at this specific time when there is a crisis, they are siding with those who are committing crimes against humanity, the Americans. The MEK will go down in history as betrayers of the lowest sort.

++ The MEK have taken a reporter from AFP to their camp in Albania in an attempt to whitewash the NYT report. This invited reporter has then said some neutral things about what they observed in the camp and how the MEK behaved. The MEK is now rehashing this report and spreading it everywhere. Saber says, ‘OK, I accept all that is in this report, but surely you can admit that 80% of the truth about the MEK has been omitted – divorces, estranged families, etc. As one of the families of those stranded in Albania, I tell you there are many better paid jobs than doing this. You didn’t whitewash the MEK, you dirtied yourself to their level.’

In English:

++ Several pieces warn that the secret and closed lifestyle adopted by cults like the MEK makes them a danger to health and hygiene. The MEK’s camp in Albania is not accessible to the authorities, yet members are known to have travelled to Italy in recent weeks. The MEK never divulges the true cause of death of any of its members. With the lack of testing and medical support, many might die of COVID-19, but we will not know. This situation is of grave concern to the estranged families of MEK members who have no way of knowing what is happening to their loved ones inside the camp.

++ The Coronavirus crisis is revealing the true nature of various opposition groups and analysts. There are many posting in social media that although the Iranian government should be criticised for its early handling of the crisis, the time has come to show humanity and halt the sanctions so as to allow the country to combat the virus. Others, led by Pompeo and the MEK, see human misery as a political opportunity for them, and are clearly aiming to inflict maximum damage on the Iranian people in the belief that they will rise up and overthrow their government. There are various levels of delusion, this must be of the worst. Iranians commenting in English (and possibly every other language in the world), are rejecting this line of thinking. It remains to be seen if the American political establishment wakes up. The MEK never will.

++ Maryam Rajavi is panicking. She has been expelled from Europe and now has her headquarters in Albania. But with the Coronavirus threatening the great and the not so great alike, she is desperate to return to the relative safety of Europe where medical support and true isolation might mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic. Rajavi had one of her UK poodle MPs raise the issue in a Commons debate on 17 March. Toby Perkins asked “The Iranian regime has taken a country rich in natural resources and cultural history to a position of poverty that is brutal to its own people. However, rather than being supportive of the moderate opposition regime in exile, the UK Government have banned Maryam Rajavi instead of welcoming her here to promote the cause of peace that could prevail in Iran. Will the Foreign Secretary take steps to ensure that Maryam Rajavi is welcomed here, so that Iran can get back to becoming the wonderful nation that it really could be?”
Dominic Raab, Secretary of State, accepted the UK has a problem with Iran, but rejected this as a solution. All over Europe, political circles have turned their backs on the MEK. Rajavi will just have to sit it out like the rest of us wherever she is.

March 20, 2020

++ Coronavirus is, of course, a hot topic and the MEK has been on overdrive to keep itself relevant by falsifying films, audios, and reports so as to denounce Iran for its response to the virus. This has resulted in a backlash among Iranians, including the external opposition. People writing against the MEK in Farsi say simply that it’s a nasty thing to do. A few people go on to say that Rajavi has lost the plot. First, thinking Saddam would help topple the regime. Then thinking Giuliani and Bolton would do it and now Rajavi is left expecting Coronavirus to perform regime change. The MEK’s misinformation campaign has spawned the hashtag #MEKtrolls on Twitter.

++ While doing this, there are reports in Farsi about what is happening inside the camp in Albania. Some members have reported suspicious events – people vanishing and others showing cold like symptoms. The inference is that the virus is spreading in the camp but there are no testing kits or access to medical professionals. Families of MEK members are worried about their loved ones. They say the rumours are disturbing.

++ For the last two weeks the MEK has been working hard on damage limitation over the New York Times article. Those answering back against the MEK point out that all the MEK’s attacks are against the reporter. The only thing MEK says is that ‘because the NYT published this, the regime will come and kill us all’. There is no evidence of how that could be achieved since Albania is a NATO country. In addition, what does any of that have to do with this article and why do you never answer anything in the article itself – which bit is correct or which bit is wrong in your opinion. You just rant and hope the troll farm will sort you out. It doesn’t, it won’t.

++ 20th February was the anniversary of the murder of Zaha Rajabi in Turkey in 1996. Rajabi was a member of the leadership cadre, in charge of the MEK’s trafficking activity; mostly arranging for recruits to transfer to Iraq rather than Europe which they would have been promised. Suddenly, this year, Maryam Rajavi wants to call her the MEK’s human rights martyr. Some older people who remember those days have said no, Rajabi was killed in a room with her boyfriend and she was pregnant at the time. This was when the internal Ideological Revolution [forced divorces and celibacy] was in full swing and Rajavi imposed a harsh crackdown on all members. For this reason, nobody but the MEK would have killed her. Her role was trafficking people, but unfortunately for her she fell in love.

In English:

++ Robert Fantina in Global Research writes about continued U.S. support for the MEK terrorists. “So with fading support, and funding probably coming from Israel, and thus, at least indirectly, from the U.S., what is the MEK to do? Hapless Albania must continue to house them, against the wishes of Albanians, but their leaders are in a U.S. chokehold, so they don’t have much choice. The U.S. wants the MEK nearby in case it needs their terrorism for some reason; the U.S. is not averse to having some other country do its dirty work: witness the U.S.-financed Saudi slaughter of Yemenis, as just one example. And should the Albanian government decide to act as its people want, rather than as the U.S. demands, would the MEK then turn its terrorism on them? Albania has certainly been put between a rock and a hard place by the U.S., which doesn’t care in the least about it or the Albanian people; the whole nation is just a pawn in an international chess game that the U.S. is playing, that no one else is interested in.”

++ Alireza Niknam writing for Geopolitica examines definitions of terrorism – for example, in Europe operations that cause financial loss without risking lives are considered to be terrorist operations. Niknam covers the assassination of General Soleimani and the Ahwaz parade attack. The writer highlights the U.S. hypocrisy of killing a general who had contributed to the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, while supporting the terrorist MEK which has killed thousands of their own people.

++ Anne Khodabandeh wrote for The Iranian that U.S. Iran policy has been backed into a corner by misguided support for the MEK. “…continued engagement with the MEK indicates that the Trump administration still clings to the delusion that the MEK has leverage or influence or power in relation to events in Iran. It does not. The enduring support of MEK by anti-Iran pundits defies logic. Nothing has been gained throughout the past four decades. Much has been lost that can be linked to this support. The MEK promises regime change but cannot even come close to delivering.” This support, argues the writer, enabled the MEK to coerce Albania’s leaders into taking actions contrary to the country’s interests. This has not only enraged Albanian citizens and alienated the European Union, it will not further American policy toward Iran.

++ Ebrahim Khodabandeh, CEO of Nejat Society in Iran, has written an open letter addressed to those with awakened human consciences. The estranged families of MEK members have tried for decades to have human rights officials all over the world listen to their pleas for help. It appears they have no consciences. Let’s see if this letter finally reaches the eyes and ears of those who can and should help.

++ Award winning Albanian journalist Gjergji Thanasi wrote a response to the Nejat Society’s appeal. “As an Albanian who has extensive information about the MEK and their paramilitary facility near Manez town (Ashraf 3 Camp), I pity the rank and file MEK members who are little more than serfs to their lady owner, the old stateless harpy Maryam Rajavi!
“As an Albanian I consider Rajavi’s activity in Albania to be a threat to the national security of my homeland and a blatant violation of human rights of the poor cult members!

“Tell the families to wait and hope. Their loved ones momentarily are simply doomed. It is easier to break out from a low security jail than to leave Camp Ashraf 3. The quisling segments in the Albanian government and opposition behave shamefully like lap dogs to that evil woman Rajavi.
“Momentarily there is very little you can do. It is virtually impossible to receive an Albanian visa as a holder of an Iranian passport. Only those Iranians who are holders of EU, British, American, Canadian, Australian and New Zeeland passports can enter Albania. Even they will suffer a low-level harassment from our police.
“Nothing special that cannot be handled by your Albanian lawyer. They will face a vigorous slander campaign on the part of MEK. The usual stuff: spies of the Mullahs’ regime, terrorists of the Quds force, even in case of senior citizens 70 years old or more.”

++ Mazda Parsi writing for Nejat Bloggers examines the MEK’s love affair with other extremists. The MEK is an extremist movement because “studying the group’s substance and function, one can find out that the MEK has some traits in common with every extremist ideology”. Referencing Robert Fantina’s article in Global Research, Parsi lists other extremist allies, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the far-right Vox in Spain. As an extremist group MEK can align with other extremists regardless their stated ideological beliefs because they all “squeeze through the rifts they make in societies”.

++ Iran’s ambassador to the UK, Hamid Baeidinejad, denounced the MEK’s anti-Iran messaging over the Coronavirus outbreak in Iran. He accuses the MEK of trying to force public opinion into a “mental deadlock” through a duplicitous media and news campaign. “In the early stages of the virus’ emergence in Iran, when the country had not yet sensed the urgency to seek foreign aid, the media campaign tried to imply that the Tehran government would resist Western assistance even at the expense of its people’s lives, he said.

“At the time, they were trying to create the impression that Iran was facing international isolation, and that no country was willing to provide it with emergency aid, Baeidinejad noted.

“In the second phase, the propaganda drive alleged that the foreign medical supplies that had entered the country, including testing kits, were contaminated, he said.
“The official gave assurances that Iran procures the foreign items required through trusted suppliers, and that all the relevant sanitary standards are observed in the process.”

 Mar 06, 2020

++ Since Soleimani’s assassination Albania has been on overdrive to prove its ass licking credentials to Pompeo; left, right and center are praising Pompeo and ranting against Iran. To date, Iran has ignored this. The more silent Iran is the more Albania is pushed by Pompeo – from ordering the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats, to the point of placing ads in various media, arresting former MEK members and closing the private school which was funded by Iran. In the midst of this MEK is always there, as though Iran is so bothered about their existence in Albania. The Americans use MEK there to provoke Iran, but Iran doesn’t react. In Farsi this is a well-known scenario. Everyone knows what is happening. For the MEK it is a dream come true. This is what they have asked from the CIA before – to be able to silence ex members. Some writers have exposed dealing between the MEK and the CIA which mean that MEK have agreed to obey the order to leave Europe because this would happen anyway. In exchange, the CIA promises to make Albania safe for MEK to do what they want. According to this deal, MEK will rule Albania, not Rama. MEK will have the last word, not the government. Writers over last two weeks remind us that Saddam attacked Iran on the order of America. It was America that backed Saddam, who hosted the MEK. But this is something that Albania cannot replicate. The country is not big enough. The maximum that can be achieved is a military base like Israel. Albania is not capable of doing anything and the Americans are wasting their time.

++ As far as MEK is concerned, last week they have another three deaths. They have already gone to plan B – just die.

++ Rajavi jumped up trying to pretend that he’s crying for the airplane victims. This has attracted a very bad backlash, even among those close to MEK. Critics point out that for years Rajavi was giving directions for the Iraqi military to bombard civilians in Iran. Rajavi even praised America for hitting the Iranian Air passenger Flight 655 in 1988. ‘With this history’, they say, ‘you have nothing to say’.

In English:

++ Former MEK who live in Albania have written an Open Letter to the Minister of Justice, Etilda Gjonaj, concerning the detention of Ehsan Bidi who is being held without access to a lawyer. Bidi, who has a ten-year residence permit, is being threatened with deportation. The letter asks for justice to be served so that he is freed.

++ Pompeo’s flip flop over contact with militant Iranian exile and opposition groups was reported in various media. After the first directive was made public, James M. Dorsey, Euro-Asia Times concluded that “Mr. Pompeo’s directive is unlikely to persuade Iran that Washington has had a change of heart. Indeed, it hasn’t. Mr. Trump maintains his campaign of maximum pressure and this week imposed additional sanctions on Iran.” After the directive was overturned, The Daily Beast piece summed up the situation by quoting Jarrett Blanc, a former Obama administration official who worked on Iran policy: “There are at least two problems with this reversal. The first is that the policy is wrong. U.S. diplomats should not be meeting with MEK or its affiliates. They represent a dangerous cult. We should avoid all the mistakes of the Iraq war including being hoodwinked by purported diaspora opposition with no links at home. The second problem is that it reflects the total incompetence and chaos of this administration’s policy making —to send out an instruction and less than a week later countermand it. They just don’t know what they are doing.”

++ As Pompeo flip flopped over contact with MEK, a significant amount of commentary focused on the MEK in Albania and that country’s relationship with America and Iran. Along with the UK, Israel and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Rama came out strongly in support for the illegal assassination of general Qassem Soleimani. But Rama confessed that although Albania had accepted to host the MEK as a humanitarian gesture, the group now posed a national security issue. Elis Gjevori for TRT World reported in detail the problems caused by the MEK presence in that country. Dr Olsi Jazexhi, an Albanian academic and expert who has been tracking MEK activities in Albania, said “The reason for the MEK being brought to Albania is the general ignorance of Albanian politicians who do not understand the danger of international terrorism and the implications that this terrorism has on nation-states.” Adding, “MEK with its paramilitary camps that they have in Manza has created a state within a state.” The article concludes that “MEK actions in an impoverished country like Albania, which is still struggling to emerge from a communist dictatorship, doesn’t bode well for its long-term stability or rule of law. Iraq has become a battleground of influence between the US and Iran, a faraway conflict for many Albanians.”

++ Several pieces also focused on MEK’s role in online propaganda with the enslaved members in Camp Ashraf 3 used for cyber activity. In Mother Jones, Daniel Moattar interviewed Peyman Jafari, researcher and historian at Princeton University’s Center for Iran Persian Gulf Studies. Jafari mentioned the disinfo campaigns which emanate from Iran and the US. “Trump was bragging about his tweet in Persian being the most retweeted Persian-language tweet. But much of that retweeting happens by these bots, and through these online activist cyber armies like the MKO. Their activism, now, is basically tweeting. They have these halls of aging activists sitting behind computers and sending out tweets all day long… When Trump tweeted in Persian, a lot of Iranians’ reaction was just, ‘Shut up. You have instituted a travel ban. You have targeted our cultural sites. You have been sanctioning us.’ People are aware of that.”

++ Deutsche Welle reported on Albania’s involvement in the standoff between the US and Iran. But reporting MEK spokesman Behzad Safari crying wolf and Rama cringeworthily comparing MEK with persecuted Jews in WW2 does not have the effect they hope for. Instead, placing Albania in the crosshairs of Iran means that hosting the MEK is a disaster for the Albanian people. Mazda Parsi writing for Nejat Society which helps former MEK to rehabilitate, warns that the “Albanian government is definitely gaining advantages by offering safe haven to the MEK but they should be absolutely warned that a terrorist cult-like establishment like the MEK will come back to haunt their country someday. This is a serious warning.”
Jan. 24 , 2020

++ After the illegal assassination of general Qassem Soleimani, videos and audios in support of president Trump flooded Farsi social media. These all turned out to be fake. The only ones that were true were MEK outlets, which genuinely support Trump. Very quickly an audio emerged from Massoud Rajavi – presumed dead – as the only Iranian who officially and publicly supported Trump and endorsed the assassination. As usual in the audio he threatens the ex-members with death. But, his message and further statements by Maryam Rajavi say this assassination is not enough. ‘Now you have bombed the convoy in Iraq you should hit them and their places in Iran and Iraq and Syria’, scream the Rajavis. In the end Massoud and Maryam both ask the Americans to re-arm the MEK. Other MEK outlets ranted, using foul language against anyone who doesn’t praise Trump. Ironically that includes the poet laureate of Iran who says he feels sad they have killed Soleimani. All the MEK sites went on full on attack against Mahmoud Dolatabadi. ‘How dare you say you are sad; your hands are soaked in blood and etc’, they screamed. This ranting caused a serious backlash for Rajavi, especially after everything died down and Trump didn’t go to war with Iran. News from inside MEK says that members of the NCRI are really angry about Rajavi jumping on the bandwagon without thinking it through. One spoke to MEK supporters in London. They told him ‘we have a thousand questions after this. Not least is that we MEK are on our backs, Maryam Rajavi has been deported from EU to Albania, Massoud has not been seen for decades and the US government is saying nobody allowed to talk to you. Instead of working on this you are asking for arms in Albania. To do what? Where? How?’ Further questions spilled out: ‘Are we Iranian or not? If we are, didn’t we see the number of people who came out in support of Soleimani?’ The NCRI representative says that ‘we [in the NCRI] all say the same things, we also have the same questions, but nobody in MEK is answering. It is a self-inflicted wound. You didn’t have to do this. Even the US and Israel didn’t ask us to support the assassination like that. This is the madness of Maryam Rajavi.’ As for the audio being genuine or not. Most MEK supporters think not. Especially after it was pointed out that the voice is that of a 30-year-old man. Rajavi – if alive – is around 70. So, members don’t believe this is his voice. Javad Firouzmand from Arya Association in Paris put out a short note directed at Rajavi in which he reminds him he’s always been trying to jump on somebody’s bandwagon – Khomeini, Saddam, Pompeo. He ends it by saying ‘once again you smelled a barbeque and invited yourself to the feast. But you are mistaken, that is the smell of branding donkeys!’

In English:

++ Before the illegal assassination of general Soleimani, Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and those accompanying them, news about the MEK focused on their failure to influence the fuel protests in Iran and their continued efforts to use social media to create fake news and pervert the narrative on Iran toward their regime change agenda. Post-Soleimani, it became clear that the MEK are totally isolated on this issue as the only Iranians who praised Trump and condemned Soleimani. Massoud Khodabandeh pointed out, in an article published by The Iranian and Responsible Statecraft, that “the blinkered aim of the Trump administration’s foreign policy to manufacture regime change against Iran by any means possible including all-out war has in fact resulted in the opposite result. Regime change is now in its coffin and the assassination of general Soleimani is the last nail hammered in.” And concluded that “the unwanted assassination of Soleimani will result in tectonic shifts in the world order. No matter how hard mainstream media in the West works to normalize America’s actions, security and military experts the world over will have their own ideas about what the future holds.”

++ The MEK is also mentioned in some articles as having a negative influence on US foreign policy, acting through proxies like Giuliani, Bolton and Mukaskey. This led to Pompeo ordering American officials not to talk with them according to Nick Wadhams in Bloomberg. “’Direct U.S. government engagement with these groups could prove counterproductive to our policy goal of seeking a comprehensive deal with the Iranian regime that addresses its destabilizing behavior,’ the cable said. Exiled Iranian opposition groups ‘try to engage U.S. officials regularly to gain at least the appearance of tacit support and enhance their visibility and clout.’ Cut Ties With MEK – Pompeo Ordered Officials.”
2020/01/10