Iran’s intelligence forces have managed to discover a CIA’s espionage network in the country and in the region, said Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi on Friday.
“In a complicated process against the US Central Intelligence Agency, its espionage network was identified with 290 spies in different countries, including Iran,” he said, adding that the information was offered to friend countries which led to arrest of CIA agents.
He made the remarks before the start of Tehran’s Friday prayers while briefing the nation about achievements of Intelligence Ministry.
The forces have also given a similar blow to UK’s MI6, he highlighted, noting that details of both these operations will be announced soon.
Alavi went on to say that dozens of spies who had been working in the country’s sensitive sections have been identified and arrested.
In the past [Iranian calendar] year 1397 (March 2018-March 2019), intelligence forces have dismantled 114 Takfiri terrorist teams, 116 circles related to MKO, 44 anti-Revolution teams, and 380 drug smuggling bands, he added.
Furthermore, the ministry has neutralized 188 operations, he noted, adding that the last of which was carried out in the south of the country, leading to the arrest of 4 individuals and seizing 15,000 Ak47 bullets.
Mehr News Agency
Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, retweeted a post from MEK terrorist group to prove that she is a jingoist and war-mongering woman like the ringleader of the terror cult, Maryam Rajavi, an Iranian journalist wrote on Monday.
Her blatant support for a terrorist group, whose members are deeply hated by masses of people in Iran, sparked anger among Iranian netizens who did not expect such a rude move by a woman who was speculated to be very close to acquiring the position of the US Secretary of State.
Her history of support for anti-Iranian sanctions and criticism against other countries who backed Iran came once again under the spotlight and some journalists and internet users compared her with Maryam Rajavi, the ringleader of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO).
Some other Iranian social media activists have said while Nikki Haley might have never explicitly expressed her opinion about the MKO, her last night move in retweeting a post of MKO demonstrated her support for the Marxist terror cult.
But Nikki Haley is not the first American official who voiced support for the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization as before her US President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s third national security adviser John Bolton had explicitly exhibited their support for the hated cult.
A twitter account affiliated with MKO had posted earlier on July 19, “US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley emphasizes how #Iran’s “horrendous” regime faced massive protests in the Dec/Jan period. And yet the UN Human Rights Council remained silent.”
Now that Nikki Haley has retweeted the post, Iranian users of Twitter are angry with blatant expression of support for a terrorist group which is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians in Iran.
Some also have said that while the American officials used to support the terrorist group secretly, now they are publicly announcing their support for them.
Here come some of the tweets posted by Iranian users:
US Government is shamelessly supporting a terrorist group, MEK, who stood against their own fellows in 8 years of the imposed war against Iran (and actually the whole western world, who was supporting her) #StopMeddlingInIran SHAME ON U Nikki Haley.
The American government is the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the world. It’s governed by those cartels benefit from Syriazation of other countries. Their new target is Iran. But we, Iranians, won’t let it happen! #StopMeddlingInIran
Trump and Pompeo say they support the Iranian people! But they have implemented several policies negatively impacting all Iranians. Iranians worldwide are raising their voice against Trump’s Iran policy using the hashtag #StopMeddlingInIran on twitter.
Let’s review Trump’s actions to judge Pompeo’s empty words about supporting Iranian people: Trump imposed a travel ban on Iranians. Against the advice of experts +US allies, he violated the Iran nuclear deal & reinstated sanctions hurting the people of Iran. #StopMeddlingInIran
Even a journalist who writes for UK’s the Guardian reacted to this move of Nikki Haley, posting “Embarrassing for a sitting US official @nikkihaley to be retweeting the MEK cult”.
On the other hand, a squad of fake accounts with no identity started a robotic campaign of support for Nicky Haley’s remarks. The interesting irony of the tory was that the so-called Iranian users who pretended to be supporting Nikki Haley were users with no identifiable name and background who used hashtags spread by MEK cult to frame as if Iranian people support Maryam Rajavi.
These robotic users were trying to win credit for domestic protests over the past few months inside Iran as a result of the secret activities of the Mojahedin Khalq terror organization, and called on US officials to levy more sanctions on Iranian people.
They all used the same message, “Thank you Ambassador @nikkihaley for your most inspiring message and support of Iranian people and their main opposition!
The MKO has a dark history of assassinations and bombings against the Iranian government and nation. It notoriously sided with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s.
Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist assaults since the victory of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, about 12,000 have fallen victim to MKO’s acts of terror.
The terrorist group also helped Saddam in his brutal crackdown on his opponents.
The MKO was once listed as a terrorist organisation in the US and Europe and is still widely viewed as a Marxist cult built around the personality of its leader, Maryam Rajavi.
Some of its uncouth practices include forcing the group’s male members to divorce their wives and have them married to Rajavi’s husband Massoud.
The terrorist group is also known for its extremely suppressive control over members in its camps where access to the Internet and other information sources is prohibited.
In the following report provided by MNA staff members, a summary of France’s playing with Iran at different stages is discussed with the hope that our Foreign Ministry takes a tougher stance against the European country.French foreign minister has finally arrived in Tehran.
The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Tehran early on Sunday March 5, 2018 and so far, he has met with Iran’s SNSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Jean-Yves Le Drian had postponed his trip to Tehran, which had been planned for January 5, 2018.
The decision for postponing the trip came as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on January 3, 2018, calling on France to “take its legal responsibility to combat terrorism and violence,” criticizing that a terrorist group, called Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), has a base in Paris, operating against the Iranian people and provoking and persuading people to take violent actions in Iran.
France’s support for terrorist MKO
Mohahedin-e Khalq (MKO) is a terrorist organization in exile that has carried out a lot of brutal attacks against civilian and government officials in Iran killing a large number of them.
The terrorist MKO has been supported by the Western governments since its founding.
The terrorist organization operates freely in France and holds regular conferences in French capital Paris every year in order to recruit many more terrorists.
They were involved in the recent riots in the Iran. On January 5, 2018, Iran’s intelligence ministry said on Friday that a MKO terrorist cell was discovered and dismantled in Boroujerd, Lorestan province, saying they were involved in sabotaging actions during recent protests.
Prior to that on July 2, 2017, Iran’s foreign minister had warned against activities of the MKO in France, saying “giving permission to carry out activities to a group which is loathed by the Iranian people, has a dark history of assassinations, had sided with Saddam regime, and has been making attempts to carry out attacks on the Iranian soil leaves a black stain on the countries that cooperate with such groups.”
Zarif added that the MKO had become an instruments in the hands of Iran’s enemies.
Now with all these in mind, the Iranian policy makers are expected to transfer Iranian people and government’s worries about the terrorist MKO’s activities in France.
France’s playing with the JCPOA
The level of hostility of the current US government towards the nuclear deal with Iran is clear to everyone, but Europeans’ position toward the pact is different. Some of them verbally continue to support the implementation process and want to keep things going. In this regard, Tehran has repeatedly stated that oral support is not enough and the Europeans have to take action against US’s moves in violation of the JCPOA.
Foad Izadi, professor of American studies at the University of Tehran believes that France has taken a hypocritical stance towards the nuclear deal with Iran and wants to relate the JCPOA with Iran’s missile program.
The continuation of making anti-Iran accusations and uncalculated remarks
In the past months, French senior officials including President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has uttered baseless claims and accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. They have explicitly named Iran as a threat to the region and the world and these claims have been of course condemned by statements issued by the Iranian foreign ministry. However, the effectiveness of these claims, considering their frequent expression, can be sized up.
Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Le Drian criticized Iran for destabilizing measures in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
“The other condition for building trust is keeping one’s word. The destabilizing actions carried out by Iran in Syria, in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Yemen, or in the Gulf region—whether directly or through the groups it supports—these initiatives cannot be tolerated. And I’m stated this very bluntly. Likewise, for ballistic activities carried out by Iran, which are incompatible with the resolutions of the Security Council. This attitude runs contrary to our interests, and runs contrary to the U.S.’s interests. This attitude is a threat to the security of countries in the region. We certainly share the objective to curb this policy, because he cannot accept interfering and the desire for hegemony that they testify to.”
While visiting UAE and Saudi Arabia, French President Macron repeated in Dubai that he wanted to keep the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump has challenged.
But he said he was “very concerned” by Iran’s ballistic missile program, mentioning a missile fired from Yemen and intercepted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and raised the prospect of possible sanctions with regard to those activities.
“There are extremely strong concerns about Iran. There are negotiations we need to start on Iran’s ballistic missiles,” he said.
“Like what was done in 2015 for the nuclear activities, it’s necessary to put a framework in place for Iran’s ballistic activities and open a process, with sanctions if needed, of negotiation that would enable (that).”
It is worth to mention that in the past months, Mr. Macron shared the same views against Iran in his meetings with US President Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu.
The French Foreign Minister Le Drian has also made threats against Iran saying that if Iran does not take care about the concerns over its missile program, new sanctions may be levied on Iran.
Of course, it is to be borne in mind that the negative report card of the French in dealing with the Iranian nation is not limited to these remarks in regards with the JCPOA, Iran’s missile program, and defense capabilities.
HIV-Infected Bloods Case
The case of “HIV-Infected Bloods” dates back to approxmately three decades ago and came to being in the course of Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). However, the case is one of the other unpleasant and unforgettable measures taken by the French authorities against Iranians.
Mérieux Institute, which currently is at the ownership of French Sanofi-Aventis Company, exported HIV-contaminated coagulation factors, for being used by patients suffering from hemophilia, to some countries including West Germany, Italy, Argentine, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran.
In the same direction, exporting HIV-infected bloods claimed lives of many patients suffering from hemophilia.
The necessity of Iran’s Foreign Ministry taking legal action against France’s baseless accusations
With all the above considerations, the widespread accusations made by Paris authorities against Tehran indicate that the approach taken by French authorities after the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is based on double-standard, bias, an unilateral policy.
In this regard, Naqavi Hosseini Spokesman for Parliament National Security Commission said, “it has already been reiterated that Iran’s defensive power is not negotiable and in my opinion, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs should take urgent action against the issue seriously.”
“In general, the respected government of the Islamic Republic of Iran should revise its relations with French authorities categorically,” he maintained.
For his part, Ali-Akbar Velayati Senior Advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in International Affairs pointed to baseless remarks raised by French officials with regard to renegotiating with Iran’s missile power and said, “defensive preparedness is of the initial and inalienable rights of any nation and no country is allowed to interfere in internal affairs of other countries.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi also showed harsh reaction in this respect and said, “the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will never allow others to undermine its missile power since it is for peaceful purposes.”
Iranian Leader’s Aide, Ali Akbar Velayati, says that some Europeans are trying to deceive because sometimes they repeat what US President Trump says.“We can’t understand that the woman who is representing US at UN is an international affairs expert or missiles expert. And then she shows something and makes some claims that Iranians have done something. These are just claims,” said Ali Akbar Velayati, the Aide to Iranian Leader on International Affairs.
![](https://www.nejatngo.org/en/wp-content/uploads/Velayati_1.jpg)
He made the remarks on Sunday at an event in Islamic Azad University.
“This person does not have the minimum required knowledge and information in this field and even is not courteous enough and just says baseless and groundless things,” reiterated the Iranian former foreign minister.
“Experts see this woman’s words in disdain,” added the official. “Iran, in no ways, has given any missile to Yemen,” asserted Mr. Velayati.
“France, from the beginning of the Islamic Revolution till today, has shown very little honesty,” he said touching upon the French government permitting MKO members to convene in France.
The organization has claimed the responsibility for thousands of terrorist operations which have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iranian civilians in blind terrors.
“They are using a group of mercenaries as MKO members who have betrayed their own country in France is an old weapon of no use anymore,” he condemned the organizers of the convention who are trying to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran taking advantage of a group of political asylum seekers.
“If France is after international reputation, they should stop acting as the naïve followers of US,” he advised French officials. “France is Trump’s puppet in Europe,” he added accusing the French government to be obeying what the Americans order them to do in Europe.
“Niether Saudi Arabia, nor the Zionist regime are capable to do anything against Iran,” he underlined.
“Since the establishment of the Israeli regime, Saudi Arabia has had secret relations with the Zionists and now these relations have been disclosed and it shows the full desperation of Saudis who think they can do something relying on the Zionists,” affirmed the Iranian official.
“If the Zionist knew what to do, they would have stopped their own citizens escaping the settlements and would have made walls preventing the Palestinians to enter their settlements,” he added.
Parl. decides on US entities subject to punishment
Iran’s parliament has decided on a list of American legal and natural entities subject to punishment and countermeasures under a bill passed Sun. against US acts of terror in region.On Sunday, Iranian lawmakers unanimously passed the general outlines of a countermeasure bill to US acts of exploitation and terrorism in the region in a 240-0 vote with one abstention. Article 4 of the bill includes a list on US legal and natural entities that will be subject to punishment and countermeasure acts under the bill.
The full text of Article 4 is as follows:
Due to the covert and over support of US government and its intelligence and military forces to terrorist groups, and repeated confessions by some American officials (including the then US Secretary of States) on the US part in the formation of terrorist groups and all-out sponsoring of them such as ISIL, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the following individuals subject to punishments included in Article 6 of the bill:
1- US military and intelligence organizations, as well as senior commanders and officials, that have greatly contributed to the financing, intelligence, military, and arms support, as well as the training of terrorist and extremist groups in the region, such as ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra.
2- American individuals who are actively involved in US military and intelligence activities referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
3- American individuals who are actively involved in organizing the financial or strategic support or the carrying out of terrorist acts against the interests of the government or the nationals and citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
4- American individuals who sponsor Mujahedin-e Khalq terrorist organization (MKO), or any other extremist and terrorist groups, including ISIL and the Nusra Front, either directly or indirectly, such as through financial, political, promotional, cultural, arms and intelligence support.
5- American individuals who support and have an active role in state terrorism, such as the one carried out by the Zionist regime against the people of the region, particularly in Palestine and Lebanon.
The Article obliges Iran’s Foreign Ministry to cooperate with IRGC Quds Force in identifying individuals who fall under these five categories within three months. The list of sanctions will be updated every six months.
FM spox: Statement of MEPs in support of hypocrites worthless
In response to statement of some European Parliament members, FM Spokesman Ghasemi said such false claims have no credibility or value for being based on deception and wrong assumptions.Bahram Ghasemi, who made the remarks in reaction to a recent statement by some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) against the Islamic Republic of Iran, said “a limited number of European parliamentarians, known for their ties with some hypocrite cults such as MEK (Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization aka MKO), have tried to abuse their position by making false claims about human rights situation in Iran.”
Ghasemi added that MEK terrorists, similar to the past, have published the same statements and statistics with the names of some MEPs as its sponsors without their knowledge and signature; “meanwhile, many active representatives of the European Parliament who are familiar with issues of Iran and the region, have consistently refused to accompany the statement for being aware of the nature of the non-professional and immoral act.”
FM spokesman deemed the measure as an attempt to influence process of engagement, cooperation and growing relations between Islamic Republic of Iran and European countries, which has had very constructive and positive effects in all areas for the parties.
Ghasemi emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran, condemning such psychological and promotional tactics, believes in a constructive interaction based on respect for the European Union in all areas of interest to the parties, including issues such as how to expand bilateral cooperation on environmental issues, counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism, human trafficking and organized crime, human rights and other issues affecting the international community.
“We believe that issuing such unfounded statements undermines the status and dignity of the European Parliament and expect MEPs to exercise necessary sensitivity against these measures with careful scrutiny and take action against designers and perpetrators of the recent statement,” he underscored.
He went on the note that, without a doubt, any attempt to bring specific values of a country or region to other societies with different cultures, customs and traditions is an effort to revert to old and outdated paradigms in international relations. We regard such claims based on deception as inappropriate and unconscious assumptions without any credibility or value.
At the end of his remarks, Bahram Ghasemi, emphasized determination of the Islamic Republic of Iran to combat the terrible phenomenon of terrorism adding “Iran has spared no effort in eliminating roots of terrorism, insecurity and instability in the region, and has fought the ugly scourge with all strength and power; as such, effective actions of armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially those by IRGC, will continue unabatedly by fighting against Takfiri and terrorist movements of the region, regardless of the rumors created by supporters of terrorists’ crimes.”
IRGC aerospace commander says next ballistic missile will be named after city of Dezful to mark its resistance during 8 years of Holy Defense.Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the Commander of IRGC Aerospace Force, who was addressing a gathering in city of Dezful, hailed the resistance of people of the city during Saddam’s war against Iran.
He pointed to the achievements of Iran in aerospace industry, particularly missiles and drones, to be in highest levels of the industry and its self-sufficiency in air defense, electronic warfare, radars, etc. “today, whole materials for missiles, from its body to fuel and other parts are made domestically by Iranian experts,” he emphasized.
Gen. Hajizadeh described that if enemies demand Iran to stop its missile program is because they know that this capability turns Iran into a power. “Security of our people is redline for both Army and IRGC and we continue to increase our missile power,” he said and continued to remind that “we never forget the United States supported Saddam’s Baath regime in its war against Iran, shut down our passenger flight, backed MKO, created ISIL and fueled war in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.”
He vowed that Armed Forces will never allow bittering events like Iraq war would occur again and stressed that expansion of missile and defense programs will continue in the future. “In future, the first ground to ground ballistic missile created will be named ‘Dezful’ after the city.”
He also noted recent arms deal between the US and Saudi Arabia and emphasized that it was of no concern for Iran as “we are sure in future the same weapons will be sued against the Zionist regime.”
A deprogramming scholar believes MEK organization had been close to a cult, an adjective fitting their conduct within the organization and the manipulation of members.Rick Alan Ross is an American deprogrammer, cult specialist, and founder and executive director of the nonprofit Cult Education Institute. He believes the lack of transparency and accountability makes the leaders of cults such as MEK (Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization aka MKO) and ISIL almost insurmountable in their shameful acts of sexual exploitation of members; in such cults, he contend, the personality of the member is dissolved to a greater entity, i.e., the collective spirit which is imbued by the Big Brother mentality who control their thought and action. As such, members of such organizations are prone to extreme mental states edging psychopathy and usually display unconventional belief systems:
In response to the charge of being a cult, the MEK claims that it is actively engaged in political action. In your opinion, can political action alone be a discriminator between cults and other groups?
What the group believes does not define it as a destructive cult, this is instead determined by how the group behaves, its dynamics and structure. The group could be based upon philosophy, politics, religion, therapy, personal growth training seminars, UFOs, pseudo-sciences or martial arts. There are three core characteristics that form the nucleus for a definition of a destructive cult, which I point out in my book “Cults Inside Out” in the chapter “Defining a Destructive Cult.” These three criteria were first identified by psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, who wrote the definitive book about thought reform (often called “brainwashing”) and a paper titled “Cult Formation” that was published by Harvard. Lifton defined a cult as having the following three primary characteristics:
1. A charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose power.
2. A process [is in use] is ‘coercive persuasion’ or ‘thought reform.’
3. Economic, sexual, and other exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie.
In my opinion, the MEK fits well within the three core criteria often used to define a destructive cult based upon the structure, dynamics and behavior of the group. MEK also uses thought reform and coercive persuasion to gain undue influence over its members.
Are there other criteria to identify cults? Do these features exist in the MEK?
MEK practices conform to all of Lifton’s eight criteria used to identify a thought reform program: Milieu Control, Mystical Manipulation, the Demand for Purity, the Cult of Confession, the “Sacred Science,” Loading the Language, Doctrine over Person, and the Dispensing of Existence.
The MEK members are obliged to attend some meetings, in which they should talk about their thoughts and apologize for their so-called mental deviations. Is this practice common in other cults?
What you describe is detailed again by Lifton in his book “Thought Reform and Psychology of Totalism” in Chapter 22 and in my book within the chapter titled “Cult Brainwashing.” Lifton calls this type of exchange the “Cult of Confession” and I explain within my book how this becomes a device to gain control over and manipulate the follower. It provides intimate information, which can then be used as leverage to break down, manipulate and control the group member.
There are credible reports – including statements by Ms. Soltani, a former member of the MEK leadership who was close to Rajavi- that Rajavi has a variety of scenarios for sexual relationship with the cult’s women. The question is that how Rajvi could do these acts despite being under political pressure and involved in covert actions. How can this behavior be analyzed?
Leaders of authoritarian groups such as MEK or ISIS often sexually exploit members or followers. Leaders have no meaningful accountability. No one can effectively hold them responsible and stop them.
There are some rules within the MEK such as degrading of men and putting women in top of organizational positions, e.g. appointing Maryam Ghajar Azdanlou (later Maryam Rajavi) as President-elect of Iran, pretended as progressives and feminist acts. Do you accept that those acts are progressive? Are these rules exclusive to the MEK?
Whatever the rules are within MEK is not the point. What is relevant is that the Rajavis can make new rules, change rules and do whatever they want. Their rules are typically used to manipulate and control their followers. They like what they control and don’t like what they don’t control. The Rajavis then use that undue influence to exploit and manipulate MEK members for their own benefit and financial gain.
Would you please speak more about Rajavis?
Rajavi and his wife are the defining role of authoritarian charismatic leadership that has become the focus, defining element and driving force of MEK. There are no checks and balances to their power, meaningful accountability or transparency.
Mehr News and Habilain Association,
Iranian Parliament’s General Director for International Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian criticized US efforts to support MKO terrorists, saying the US is completely oblivious to the safety and honor of the people of Iraq and Syria.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in response to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks on securing the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) memebres , said “White House tries to establish a ceasefire in Aleppo to secure terrorists under siege by the Syrian army.”
He added that a review of US government actions and words clearly proves the country has not taken and will not take any single step to save people from the clutches of terrorists in the region and Syria.
Amir-Abdollahian said Kafriya and Al‐Fu’ah people in Syria in recent months are besieged by terrorists and live under grave humanitarian crisis, including blackout and the acute shortage of drinking water, medicine and food; however, the US does not pay any attention to the catastrophe and crimes against humanity, and worse, the United Nations supporting Washington’s treatment, is not capable of helping Kafriya and Al‐Fu’ah people.
“While the safety and honor of the Muslim people of Syria and Iraq is completely disregarded by the United States, John Kerry speaks proudly of securing MKO terrorists,” he noted.
Hajj 2016 is proceeding while Iranian pilgrims didn’t attend one of the biggest Muslim ceremonies due to conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Meanwhile, some pilgrims from Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq were also prevented from travel to Mecca because of harsh policies of the new generation of Saudi rulers. Since 2011, Saudi Arabia has been supporting salafist groups in Syria and Iraq and have tried to spread insecurity to Lebanon and Iran as well. Consequently, in December 2015 German intelligence had warned that Saudi Arabia was at risk of becoming a major destabilizing influence in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Leader of Islamic Revolution on Monday September 5 issued an important message to all Muslims around the world in which he paralleled Saudi Arabian authorities with the Quranic term “evil progeny of the taghut” which refers to Umayyad dynasty in Islamic history. The message and its harsh rhetoric reflects deepened conflict between Tehran and Riyadh. The conflict, however, doesn’t seem to be only at political levels and majority of Iranians are strongly opposed to the Saudi regime.
Here are five major reasons Iranian people hate Saudi rulers:
1- The hajj stampede in 2015 caused a new flare-up in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The September 2015 stampede and crush of pilgrims killed at least 7,477 people, according to a list that was published by Saudi Ministry of Health. Tehran has said 464 of the dead were Iranian and those who survived blame the catastrophe on Saudi mismanagement of the annual pilgrimage. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on the United Nations to investigate the incident. Iran has urged Saudi Arabia to apologize for the disaster and form an international Islamic fact-finding committee, but it has so far been refuted by Saudi rulers. In his recent message, Iran’s Leader highlighted the problem; “instead of apology and remorse and judicial prosecution of those who were directly at fault in that horrifying event, Saudi rulers – with utmost shamelessness and insolence – refused to allow the formation of an international Islamic fact-finding committee.”
2) In April 2015, 2 Iranian teenage pilgrims were sexually harassed by two Saudi security officers at Jeddah Airport. After that, thousands of Iranians protested outside Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran over the abuse of these two Iranian pilgrims. On April 13th, Iran suspended minor hajj trips to Saudi Arabia until the Saudi government “applies a strong attitude” to the case. Although Saud al-Faisal, FM of Saudi Arabia, has pledged to Iran’s ambassador that his government will punish the two Saudi policemen very soon, nothing has happened yet!
3) On 31 July 1987 around 400 pilgrims, out of which two thirds had Iranian nationality were killed by Saudi security forces during a gathering. Iranian officials maintain that the Saudis had opened fire on the demonstrators without provocation, and that the demonstrations had been peaceful. For people of Iran and perhaps for the families of martyrs in other countries, that event is a sad event and that year’s Hajj is known and recalled as ‘Bloody Hajj’.
4) As the leading global exporter of oil, Saudi Arabia has refused to cut production in the face of plummeting oil prices to defend its market share. As a result, the world is now awash in cheap oil. The drop in prices already has forced Iran to splash its government budget. Saudi Arabia has used the oil price as a leverage to put pressure on Iran’s economy just at a time when the sanctions were imposed on Iran’s economy.
5) About a month ago, Saudi Arabia hosted Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) leader Maryam Rajavi and supported the militia group’s gathering in France. This group initially did find its place on some Western state’s terror list. The MKO terrorist organization has a long record of assassinations taking lives of around 12000 high ranking Iranian officials and civilians. One of the most terrible of such terrorist attacks by the MKO was the bombing of the Islamic Republic Party’s headquarters. During this terrorist attack then-Head of Iran’s Supreme Court, Ayatollah Beheshti along with 72 of Iranian ministers, MPs and politicians were killed. Saudi Arabia is trying to reinvigorate MKO and other terrorist groups against Iranian People. Moreover, Saudis have long supported separatists groups such as ‘Pan-Turkism Party,’ ‘Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz,’ ‘Jundallah,’ etc.
By Ali Rajabi,
Ali Rajabi is a Tehran-based journalist working as political editor of Hamshahri newspaper.