The following report has been prepared at the request of congress. Section 525 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995, public Law No. 103-256, requires the president to submit”a report detailing the structure, current activities, external support, and history of the people’s Mojahedin of Iran .
The MEK’s relationship with the former Iraqi regime continued through the 1990s. In 1991, the group reportedly assisted in the Iraqi Republican Guard’s bloody crackdown on Iraqi Shia and Kurds who rose up against Saddam Hussein’s regime; press reports cite MEK leader Maryam Rajavi encouraging MEK members to”take the Kurds under your tanks.”
The State Department Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism on April 30 released the list of designated terrorist organizations. Once again Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) continues to occupy the status it has been designated since 1997. MEK is also active under a variety of other pseudonyms known as MKO;..
Mr Araghchi, a career diplomat seen as a potential interlocutor with Washington, insisted the US presence was part of Iraq’s problem. “Iraq is suffering a vicious cycle. There are foreign forces who have occupied Iraq and justify their presence under the pretext of the ‘war on terror’ and there are terrorists who claim they are fighting occupiers.”
MEK is also active under a variety of other pseudonyms known as MKO; Mujahedin-e Khalq; Muslim Iranian Students’ Society; National Council of Resistance; National Council of Resistance (NCR); Organization of the People’s Holy Warriors of Iran; The National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA); The People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI); National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI); Sazeman-e Mujahedin-e Khalq-e Iran.
This new report has more serious tone on MKO than previous ones. One of the aspects of this report is its stress on issues like: MKO’s violence, its cult-like properties and being dangerous, that it is hated by Iranians, groups internal relations and compulsory divorces as well as weekly cleansing sessions and separating kids from their parents, and MKO leaders and members’ readiness to repeat terrorist..
Pointing to the assassination of US military and civilian personnel in Iran during 1970s, – Stressing the ability and the will of MKO members and leadership to conduct terrorist operations across the world, – Introducing the MKO as one of the most violent political groups, established during 60s,
The move came in the wake of last year’s EU high court ruling which ordered the 27-nation bloc to give rights to all parties on the list. Those listed will now be able to request the reasons why they are on the list and why their assets are frozen, officials said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
According to the report, several hundred chanting, flag-waving demonstrators paraded on Parliament Hill on Thursday, urging the government to drop an Iranian opposition group from the formal list of banned, terrorist organizations
The decision, to be adopted Monday by EU foreign ministers, was made in the wake of a ruling last year by Europe’s second-highest court annulling a freeze on the assets of the main Iranian opposition group in exile.