\n
\nCountry Reports on Terrorism 2010<\/p>\n
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
\n
\nCountry Reports on Terrorism 2010<\/p>\n
August 18, 2011<\/p>\n
Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). FTO designations play a critical role in the fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities.<\/p>\n
Legal Criteria for Designation under Section 219 of the INA as amended:<\/p>\n
1. It must be a foreign organization.
\n2. The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1182(a)(3)(B)), or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. \u00a7 2656f(d)(2)), or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.
\n3. The organization\u2019s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.<\/p>\n
U.S. Government Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations<\/p>\n
Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
\nAbu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
\nAl-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB)
\nAl-Qa\u2019ida (AQ)
\nAl-Qa\u2019ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
\nAl-Qa\u2019ida in Iraq (AQI)
\nAl-Qa\u2019ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
\nAl-Shabaab (AS)
\nAnsar al-Islam
\nAsbat al-Ansar
\nAum Shinrikyo (AUM)
\nBasque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
\nCommunist Party of Philippines\/New People\u2019s Army (CPP\/NPA)
\nContinuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
\nGama\u2019a al-Islamiyya (IG)
\nHamas
\nHarakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI)
\nHarakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami\/Bangladesh (HUJI-B)
\nHarakat ul-Mujahideen (HUM)
\nHizballah
\nIslamic Jihad Union (IJU)
\nIslamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
\nJaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
\nJemaah Islamiya (JI)
\nJundallah
\nKahane Chai
\nKata\u2019ib Hizballah (KH)
\nKurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK)
\nLashkar e-Tayyiba (LT)
\nLashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)
\nLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
\nLibyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)
\nMoroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM)
\nMujahadin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
\nNational Liberation Army (ELN)
\nPalestine Liberation Front \u2013 Abu Abbas Faction (PLF)
\nPalestine Islamic Jihad \u2013 Shaqaqi Faction (PIJ)
\nPopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
\nPopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)
\nReal IRA (RIRA)
\nRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
\nRevolutionary Organization 17 November (17N)
\nRevolutionary People\u2019s Liberation Party\/Front (DHKP\/C)
\nRevolutionary Struggle (RS)
\nShining Path (SL)
\nTehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
\nUnited Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)<\/p>\n
ABU NIDAL ORGANIZATION<\/p>\n
aka ANO; Arab Revolutionary Brigades; Arab Revolutionary Council; Black September; Fatah Revolutionary Council; Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims<\/p>\n
Description: …<\/p>\n
(…)<\/p>\n
MUJAHADIN-E KHALQ ORGANIZATION<\/p>\n
aka MEK; MKO; Mujahadin-e Khalq; Muslim Iranian Students\u2019 Society; National Council of Resistance; NCR; Organization of the People\u2019s Holy Warriors of Iran; the National Liberation Army of Iran; NLA; People\u2019s Mujahadin Organization of Iran; PMOI; National Council of Resistance of Iran; NCRI; Sazeman-e Mujahadin-e Khalq-e Iran<\/p>\n
Description: The Mujahadin-E Khalq Organization (MEK) was originally designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997. The MEK is a Marxist-Islamic Organization that seeks the overthrow of the Iranian regime through its military wing, the National Liberation Army (NLA), and its political front, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).<\/p>\n
The MEK was founded in 1963 by a group of college-educated Iranian Marxists who opposed the country\u2019s pro-western ruler, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The group participated in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that replaced the Shah with a Shiite Islamist regime led by Ayatollah Khomeini. However, the MEK\u2019s ideology \u2013 a blend of Marxism, feminism, and Islamism \u2013 was at odds with the post-revolutionary government, and its original leadership was soon executed by the Khomeini regime. In 1981, the group was driven from its bases on the Iran-Iraq border and resettled in Paris, where it began supporting Iraq in its eight-year war against Khomeini\u2019s Iran. In 1986, after France recognized the Iranian regime, the MEK moved its headquarters to Iraq, which facilitated its terrorist activities in Iran. Since 2003, roughly 3,400 MEK members have been encamped at Camp Ashraf in Iraq.<\/p>\n
Activities: The group\u2019s worldwide campaign against the Iranian government uses propaganda and terrorism to achieve its objectives. During the 1970s, the MEK staged terrorist attacks inside Iran and killed several U.S. military personnel and civilians working on defense projects in Tehran. In 1972, the MEK set off bombs in Tehran at the U.S. Information Service office (part of the U.S. Embassy), the Iran-American Society, and the offices of several U.S. companies to protest the visit of President Nixon to Iran. In 1973, the MEK assassinated the deputy chief of the U.S. Military Mission in Tehran and bombed several businesses, including Shell Oil. In 1974, the MEK set off bombs in Tehran at the offices of U.S. companies to protest the visit of then U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger. In 1975, the MEK assassinated two U.S. military officers who were members of the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group in Tehran. In 1976, the MEK assassinated two U.S. citizens who were employees of Rockwell International in Tehran. In 1979, the group claimed responsibility for the murder of an American Texaco executive. Though denied by the MEK, analysis based on eyewitness accounts and MEK documents demonstrates that MEK members participated in and supported the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and that the MEK later argued against the early release the American hostages. The MEK also provided personnel to guard and defend the site of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, following the takeover of the Embassy.<\/p>\n
In 1981, MEK leadership attempted to overthrow the newly installed Islamic regime; Iranian security forces subsequently initiated a crackdown on the group. The MEK instigated a bombing campaign, including an attack against the head office of the Islamic Republic Party and the Prime Minister\u2019s office, which killed some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei, and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. These attacks resulted in an expanded Iranian government crackdown that forced MEK leaders to flee to France. For five years, the MEK continued to wage its terrorist campaign from its Paris headquarters. Expelled by France in 1986, MEK leaders turned to Saddam Hussein\u2019s regime for basing, financial support, and training. Near the end of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, Baghdad armed the MEK with heavy military equipment and deployed thousands of MEK fighters in suicidal, mass wave attacks against Iranian forces.<\/p>\n
The MEK\u2019s relationship with the former Iraqi regime continued through the 1990s. In 1991, the group reportedly assisted the Iraqi Republican Guard\u2019s bloody crackdown on Iraqi Shia and Kurds who rose up against Saddam Hussein\u2019s regime. In April 1992, the MEK conducted near-simultaneous attacks on Iranian embassies and consular missions in 13 countries, including against the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York, demonstrating the group\u2019s ability to mount large-scale operations overseas. In June 1998, the MEK was implicated in a series of bombing and mortar attacks in Iran that killed at least 15 and injured several others. The MEK also assassinated the former Iranian Minister of Prisons in 1998. In April 1999, the MEK targeted key Iranian military officers and assassinated the deputy chief of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff, Brigadier General Ali Sayyaad Shirazi.<\/p>\n
In April 2000, the MEK attempted to assassinate the commander of the Nasr Headquarters, Tehran\u2019s interagency board responsible for coordinating policies on Iraq. The pace of anti-Iranian operations increased during \u201cOperation Great Bahman\u201d in February 2000, when the group launched a dozen attacks against Iran. One attack included a mortar attack against a major Iranian leadership complex in Tehran that housed the offices of the Supreme Leader and the President. The attack killed one person and injured six other individuals. In March 2000, the MEK launched mortars into a residential district in Tehran, injuring four people and damaging property. In 2000 and 2001, the MEK was involved in regular mortar attacks and hit-and-run raids against Iranian military and law enforcement personnel, as well as government buildings near the Iran-Iraq border. Following an initial Coalition bombardment of the MEK\u2019s facilities in Iraq at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, MEK leadership negotiated a cease-fire with Coalition Forces and surrendered their heavy-arms to Coalition control. Since 2003, roughly 3,400 MEK members have been encamped at Ashraf in Iraq.<\/p>\n
In 2003, French authorities arrested 160 MEK members at operational bases they believed the MEK was using to coordinate financing and planning for terrorist attacks. Upon the arrest of MEK leader Maryam Rajavi, MEK members took to Paris\u2019 streets and engaged in self-immolation. French authorities eventually released Rajavi.<\/p>\n
Strength: Estimates place MEK\u2019s worldwide membership at between 5,000 and 10,000 members, with large pockets in Paris and other major European capitals. In Iraq, roughly 3,400 MEK members are gathered at Camp Ashraf, the MEK\u2019s main compound north of Baghdad. As a condition of the 2003 cease-fire agreement, the MEK relinquished more than 2,000 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and heavy artillery.<\/p>\n
Location\/Area of Operation: The MEK\u2019s global support structure remains in place, with associates and supporters scattered throughout Europe and North America. Operations have targeted Iranian government elements across the globe, including in Europe and Iran. The MEK\u2019s political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, has a global support network with active lobbying and propaganda efforts in major Western capitals. NCRI also has a well-developed media communications strategy.<\/p>\n
External Aid: Before Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003, the MEK received all of its military assistance and most of its financial support from Saddam Hussein. The fall of Saddam Hussein\u2019s regime has led the MEK increasingly to rely on front organizations to solicit contributions from expatriate Iranian communities.<\/p>\n
(…)
\nU.S. State Department, August2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
… MUJAHADIN-E KHALQ ORGANIZATION. aka MEK; MKO; Mujahadin-e Khalq; Muslim Iranian Students\u2019 Society; National Council of Resistance; NCR; Organization of the People\u2019s Holy Warriors of Iran; the National Liberation Army of Iran; NLA; People\u2019s Mujahadin Organization of Iran; PMOI; National Council of Resistance of Iran; NCRI; Sazeman-e Mujahadin-e Khalq-e Iran. Description: The Mujahadin-E Khalq Organization (MEK) was originally designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[112,2,20,39],"module":[38],"ctype":[17],"blog":[220],"class_list":["post-3855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mujahedin-khalq-organization-as-a-terror-group","tag-hot-topics","tag-mujahedin-khalq-list-fto","tag-third-view-mek","tag-true-facts","module-documents","ctype-story","blog-us-state-department"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3855"},{"taxonomy":"module","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/module?post=3855"},{"taxonomy":"ctype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctype?post=3855"},{"taxonomy":"blog","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog?post=3855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}