{"id":16392,"date":"2026-11-15T14:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-15T11:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/?p=16392"},"modified":"2026-11-15T14:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T11:14:12","slug":"the-online-campaign-asking-rubio-to-re-designate-the-mek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/posts\/16392","title":{"rendered":"The Online Campaign Asking Rubio to Re-designate the MEK"},"content":{"rendered":"

The online campaign organized by Iranian users on the X platform targeting United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, centers on demands to re-designate the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). According to historical records and United States government archives, the core grievance raised by these social media users\u2014that the group was linked to the killings of American military personnel and contractors in Iran during the 1970s\u2014is a documented part of the organization’s history.<\/p>\n

To understand the context of this digital protest, it is helpful to examine the historical trajectory of the MEK, its designation and subsequent delisting by the United States, and the complex diplomatic and political debates surrounding its current status.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1965 by leftist Iranian intellectuals, the MEK initially positioned itself as an Islamic-Marxist guerrilla movement dedicated to violently overthrowing the U.S.-backed regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. During the 1970s, the group carried out a series of urban guerrilla operations, bombings, and assassinations.<\/p>\n

\"Anti-MEK

Anti-MEK Online Campaign on X<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. government documentation confirms that during this pre-revolutionary period, the MEK targeted American interests in Iran. Notable incidents included the assassinations of U.S. military personnel and civilian contractors, such as Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Hawkins, Colonel Paul Schaeffer, and civilian defense contractors Donald Smith and Robert Krongard, who were working with the Electronic Data Systems corporation in Tehran. These actions cemented the group’s early reputation in Washington as a hostile, anti-American entity.<\/p>\n

Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the MEK experienced a violent falling out with the newly established clerical government, leading to the eventual exile of the group’s leadership to France and later to Iraq, where they aligned with Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War (1980\u20131988).<\/p>\n

Due to its violent campaign, ongoing military activities, and historical actions, the United States Department of State formally designated the MEK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in October 1997 under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.<\/p>\n

For the next decade and a half, the group remained on the FTO list. However, beginning in the late 2000s, the MEK launched an extensive, high-profile legal and public relations campaign in the United States and Europe. Backed by numerous prominent former U.S. officials, lawmakers, and retired military generals from both major political parties, the organization argued that it had renounced violence, closed its military wing, and cooperated with Western intelligence.<\/p>\n

On September 28, 2012, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially revoked the MEK’s terrorist designation. The decision was praised by the group’s supporters as a necessary correction, but it drew sharp criticism from human rights monitors and various Iranian diaspora groups who pointed to the organization’s past violence, authoritarian internal structure, and history of alignment with Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n

The opposition of Iranian social media users to MEK is deeply rooted in historical conflicts, political controversies, and a profound national trauma stemming from the Iran-Iraq War.<\/p>\n

The recent social media mobilization on X reflects deep divisions within the broader Iranian opposition and population regarding the future of Iran. While the MEK actively promotes itself as a viable democratic alternative to the Islamic Republic, its critics view the organization with intense skepticism and resentment.<\/p>\n

Many Iranian internet users argue that the group lacks genuine domestic popularity inside Iran due to its wartime alliance with Iraq and its radical history. The demand for Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2014known for his hawkish stance on the Iranian government\u2014to re-designate the MEK stems from a desire by these critics to hold the organization accountable for its historical acts of terrorism against both Iranian civilians and American nationals, while signaling opposition to foreign-backed regime change actors perceived as lacking legitimate grassroots backing.<\/p>\n

Mazda Parsi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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