++ Jim Lobe, Lobelog: Even Bill Kristol is Worried about Bolton\u2019. \u201cKristol, who remains probably the single most influential figure \u2026<\/p>\n
++ Last week there were some small protests in Khuzestan against a TV programme which had used a map, with dolls displaying ethnicity, which had omitted to show Arab clothes. The protests soon died away after the producer apologised. All last week the Saudi backed MEK have talked endlessly about the separation of Khuzestan based on that incident. Farsi reaction to this is again \u2018Rajavi, shut up!\u2019 Many commentators published documents showing the MEK killing Arabs in the south of Iraq and Kurds in the north of Iraq. They say the last people who can talk about ethnicity with that background are the MEK.<\/p>\n
++ In Tirana this week the MEK held a big celebration over the appointment of John Bolton. People inside reported that Mehdi Abrishamchi (Rajavi\u2019s first husband) got up and danced. There was also a statement from (the late) Massoud Rajavi read out saying, \u201cIt is done and finished, the war has started, and we have won\u201d. All this has become a gif-worthy joke among many commentators.<\/p>\n
++ London Kayhan published an article about Iranian oppositions, saying it is necessary for them to get together and find common cause. The article referred to the past crimes of the MEK but indicated that if the MEK reject what they did, they can still join the opposition. \u2018You have wasted people\u2019s energies until now, stop that and become a real opposition with us.\u2019 In response to this article, ex-member Davoud Baghervand Arshad has written a lengthy explanation about how the MEK have always fought against other opposition groups and tried to eliminate them so as to be the only one, instead of opposing the IRI. His article concludes, \u2018if you still think there is a one in a million chance of bringing along this cult and integrating it into the opposition groups then you are badly mistaken and still don\u2019t get who they are\u2019.<\/p>\n
In English:<\/p>\n
++ An article by Ted Regencia in Aljazeera charts the MEK\u2019s violent history, before showing that the group\u2019s claim to have given up violence does not match with its continued support for regime change as expressed by John Bolton and Turki bin Faisal al Saud. Regencia quotes analysts and reports which confirm the Iranian people\u2019s deep hatred and mistrust of the group because of its anti-Iranian behaviour.\u201cI have not heard anyone asking them [MEK] to make a comeback [in Iran] or anything like that,\u201d said Tehran-based journalist Saeed Jalili. MEK advocate Senator Robert Torricelli did not comment for the article, \u201cBut in an article published in Politico in 2016, Torricelli said he has seen \u2018no evidence\u2019 that the MEK \u2018took part in terrorist activities against Iranians or Americans\u2019. Torricelli said the group saved American lives following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, by identifying locations of improvised explosive devices.\u201d<\/p>\n
++ Tony Cartalucci, Global Research, writes \u2018US National Security Advisor John Bolton Backs MEK Terrorists\u2019. As well as Bolton\u2019s role in George Bush\u2019s Iraq war, his lobbying for a dangerous terrorist organisation \u2013 MEK \u2013 has greater implications. Even Bolton\u2019s supporters are worried. \u201cA National Security Advisor openly guilty of violating US anti-terrorism laws having provided material support to a US State Department-listed foreign terrorist organization for years illustrates just how profoundly compromised US institutions are and reflects an agenda that not only exclusively serves special interests \u2013 but does so at the cost of the American people\u2019s actual security.\u201d<\/p>\n
++ Jim Lobe, Lobelog: Even Bill Kristol is Worried about Bolton\u2019. \u201cKristol, who remains probably the single most influential figure in the increasingly fractious neoconservative movement, expressed some serious discomfort about the appointment\u201d of John Bolton. Apparently even the most hawkish anti-Iran pundits find Bolton \u2018utterly unfitted\u2019 for office in the White House. Of course, Bolton\u2019s long-term support for the MEK contributes to that view.<\/p>\n
++ MEP Ana Gomes and MEP Patricia Lalonde will host a debate in the European Parliament next week about the MEK threat in Albania. Interested persons are asked to contact Ms Gomes\u2019 office. Speakers include Anne Khodabandeh, De-Radicalisation Consultant.<\/p>\n
April 06, 2018<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MEP Ana Gomes and MEP Patricia Lalonde will host a debate in the European Parliament next week about the MEK threat in Albania. Interested persons are asked to contact Ms Gomes\u2019 office. Speakers include Anne Khodabandeh, De-Radicalisation Consultant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[669],"tags":[180],"module":[67],"ctype":[17],"blog":[117],"class_list":["post-8151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran-interlink-weekly-digest","tag-iran-interlink","module-news","ctype-story","blog-iran-interlink"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8151","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=8151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8151"},{"taxonomy":"module","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/module?post=8151"},{"taxonomy":"ctype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctype?post=8151"},{"taxonomy":"blog","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog?post=8151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}