Reza Alghurabi, Press TV, July 16 2019:… All of the Iranian Americans at the meeting, however, knew the group well and detested it. They knew its murderous history in Iran.” wrote Limbert. “They knew that a MEK-ruled Iran would bring them all the horrors of Stalinism—gulags, one-man (or -woman) rule, confiscations, and executions for being a member of the wrong social class . In its 1994 report about the group, the US Department of State emphasizes that the MEK would not be an authentic alternative to the Islamic Republic. MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran
Giuliani Bolton MEK and the Blood Money of Global Terrorism
MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran
1- The MEK is not a valid alternative
(Reza Alghurabi is an Arab journalist who lives in Iran. He is a former researcher at the Beirut Center for Middle East Studies and an independent researcher and journalist writing in Iranian newspapers including the Khorasan daily.)
Exploiting Washington’s hostile policy toward Tehran, the Mojahedin-e Khalq organization (MEK) posit themselves as the alternative to the current government of Iran. To achieve that goal, they claim they have the support of a majority of Iranians. This claim is much disputed by academics and other specialists on Iran, who assert that in fact, the MEK has little support among Iranians. They argue that the Mojahedin’s activities since the group’s leadership fled from Iran in 1981, particularly their alliance with Iraq and the group’s internal oppression, have discredited them among the Iranian politics.
Think of Iranians living in the US. According to a 2018 poll among Iranian Americans by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), only 6 percent said they supported the MEK as a legitimate alternative to the current government in Iran. This mirrors results of the organization’s survey at the previous year (2017) regarding favorability of Maryam Rajavi, leader of the MEK, which had shown that only 7% had a favorable view of her.
The MEK’s unpopularity in Iranian-American community is admitted by John Limbert, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran. In an article published in The American Prospect on June 5, 2019, Limbert has written about his recent lecture on the group and its influence to graduates of three of the world’s best universities.
“… All of the Iranian Americans at the meeting, however, knew the group well and detested it. They knew its murderous history in Iran.” wrote Limbert. “They knew that a MEK-ruled Iran would bring them all the horrors of Stalinism—gulags, one-man (or -woman) rule, confiscations, and executions for being a member of the wrong social class.”
In its 1994 report about the group, the US Department of State emphasizes that the MEK would not be an authentic alternative to the Islamic Republic:
Before that, in 1992, the then Assistant Secretary of State Robert Pelletreau through a written response to a subcommittee question about the MEK has referred to the group’s weak position among the Iranians:
The People’s Mojahedin Organization does not represent a significant political force among Iranians, partly because of its close links to the Iraqi Government.
The United States first placed the MEK on the Foreign Terrorist Organization list when the list was established in 1997. On its Background Information Appendix on the listed terrorist groups titled “Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1997,” the State Department confirmed that the group directs a worldwide campaign against the Iranian government that stresses propaganda and “occasionally uses terrorist violence.” The MEK’s stance among Iranians was not referred to in this report.
In 2009, RAND Corporation, an American think tank, released a Secretary of Defense’s sponsored investigation centering on the MEK titled The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum, in which the MEK’s unpopularity among Iranians was reflected:
Prior to its exile, the MEK was the most popular dissident group in Iran. It lost much of its popularity due to its willingness to fight with Saddam—the instigator of the destructive Iran-Iraq War—and to kill Iranian conscripts. It also lost much of its popularity due to Masoud Rajavi’s transformation of the MEK from an activist dissident group into an inward-looking cult.
Jeremiah Goulka, former RAND Corporation’s analyst who was the leading writer of the 2009 report, later explained the cause of this unpopularity:
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Assal Rad, Lobe Log, July 02 2019:… The MEK also utilizes promoted content on news sites. For instance, The Hill is running a 10-week mini-series on Iran sponsored by the Organization of Iranian-American Communities (OIAC), a front group for the MEK. Even more unsettling is the MEK’s creation of fake personas that publish in major U.S. outlets as a way to promote the pro-regime change… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams, July 01 2019:… Chief among these was the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), a State Department-designated terrorist group that had previously assassinated six US officials when it was fighting the Shah’s regime. Despite this, the US military secretly trained MEK fighters while the terror group paid leading US officials to lobby for its cause. USA Uses MEK Terrorist Against… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Press TV, June 30 2019:… A US and Saudi Arabia-backed anti-Iran terrorist group, which is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent Iranian civilians and officials, has announced a plan to assassinate a senior Iranian military commander and the country’s new Judiciary chief. Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) informed its members about the plan through a recent internal communiqué. MKO… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Soraya Sepehrpour Ultich, American Herald Tribune, June 30 2019:… What is even more mind-boggling is the fact that Israel was supporting a terrorist cult that had massacred the Kurds in Iraq in 1991, and only a few year later, the Israelis were training the Kurds in Iraq who has survived the massacre (obviously something that has been lost on the… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Iran Interlink, June 29 2019:… Well, forget regime change in Iran, forget Trump losing his mind in America, Maryam Rajavi has lost her mind and gone berserk against Sweden over this. The MEK have gone full rant against the Swedish people. How dare they side with Iran. An audio of a phone conversation between two MEK members leaked to Iran… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

The Economic Times and The Telegraph, New Delhi, June 29 2019:… Iran also claimed it was a victim of terrorism — and had lost 17,000 citizens to acts of terror committed by the “US-supported terrorist group (MKO/PMOI)” and by being at the “forefront of fighting groups such as (the) ISIS”. The mission’s statement further accused the US administration of jeopardising… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

WIONews, June 27 2019:… “Iran as a victim of terrorism which has lost 17,000 of its citizens by US-supported terrorist group (MKO/PMOI) and being in the forefront of fighting these groups such as ISIS, has identified its regional interests with good-neighborliness, and peace and stability in the highly sensitive Persian Gulf region,” the statement added. “Iran is determined to actively… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Alexander Rubinstein, Mint Press News, June 25 2019:… Virtually every investigation into the so-called “People’s Mujahedeen” — whether by think tanks, NGOs, or the media — concludes that their support inside of Iran is virtually non-existent. The group participated in the revolution against the Shah but was not invited to the table as a new government was being formed. And… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Iran Front Page, June 22 2019:… In the audio, which is being released by the Iran Front Page for the first time, Shahram Fakhteh, an official member and the person in charge of MKO’s cyber operations, is heard talking with a US-based MKO sympathizer named Daei-ul-Eslam in Persian. Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, and Saudi Arabia have colluded to frame Iran for the… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Iran Interlink, June 21 2019:… Today, 21 June, marks the MEK’s annual celebration of armed struggle. Not only did France not allow the MEK to rally at Villepinte, the group’s planned street demonstration was also banned. An advertised demonstration in Germany was also not allowed to go ahead. The only place MEK gathered in Europe was in Brussels. Except for… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Reid Champlin Open secrets, June 21 2019:… Recent documents in accordance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act reveal that the council, the political arm of opposition group Mujahedeen Khalq or MEK, has been hosting opulent events at the National Press Club and elsewhere, publicizing itself through national and international media, and meeting with dozens of current and former government officials, all with the end goal of toppling the… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran

Nejat Society, June 21 2019:… Twitter has turned out to be a field for a “troll farm” of a thousand people inside the camps of Mujahedin Khalq (the MKO/ MEK/ PMOI/ Rajavi’s Cult) who work in three shifts to launch anti Iran disinformation advocating war and sanctions against Iran. Former member of the group Hassan Heirani who left it in… MEK Rajavi not a valid alternative for Iran