Press TV

Canada drops Washington backed MKO from blacklist

The Canadian government says it has removed the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from its blacklist of terrorist organizations.
Canada drops Washington backed MKO from blacklist
Ottawa’s move to delist the MKO terrorist group followed similar moves by the United States and the European Union.

In September, Washington formally removed the MKO from its list of terror organizations one week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent the US Congress a classified communication about the move.

The MKO is responsible for numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and officials.

Out of the 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, 12,000 of them have fallen victim to the acts of terror carried out by the MKO.

The MKO terrorists fled to Iraq in the 1980s, where they had the support of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and set up Camp Ashraf in the eastern province of Diyala near the Iranian border. They even helped Saddam to crush the uprisings of Iraqi Kurds and Shias in the 1990s.

The group acted as a spy apparatus for US forces in Iraq after Saddam’s fall in 2003.

December 22, 2012 0 comments

Former members of the MEK

Ex-MKO member slams UK terror support

A former member of the anti-Iranian Mujahedeen-e Khalq Organization (MKO) has denounced Britain and the West for supporting the internationally condemned terrorist group.

In an interview with Press TV’s political program ‘The Monarchy’, former MKO member Massoud Khodabandeh pointed out that the anti-Iranian terrorist group would not survive without support from Britain and other Western states.

“I don’t see any terrorist organization capable of continuing, unless somebody wants it. Somebody has got to want this terrorist organization [MKO], somebody has got to finance it and somebody has got to arm it,” Khodabandeh said.

“One of the reasons that I am saying they have support is; not facing them directly to stop their violent activities in the West and to stop their money laundering in the West. When I say money laundering, I have been in it, I have seen it. This is not an unknown concept for the British government”, he added.

This comes as an unnamed British company recently bought the movable property of Camp Ashraf, located in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala near the Iranian border, worth $25 million. The UK company also plans to buy the former home of the MKO terrorists.

During the interview, Khodabandeh was asked if the MKO terrorists pose a threat to British citizens. The former member replied by referring to the incident in 2003 where two members of the MKO cult died while setting themselves on fire in London, as well as other members of the group carrying out the same act in other European capitals.

“Can you imagine if someone can burn himself or herself by order? It is much easier to kill me,” Khodabandeh warned.

Moreover, Khodabandeh explained that the current members of the MKO at the camp in Iraq are treated like hostages and are denied being up-to-date with modern society such as; not being able to use a mobile phone and not understanding the changes in the language of the people of Iran.

December 20, 2012 0 comments

Iran

Americans should first stop using terror groups like MKO

Iran dialogue or US diplomatic detour?
Americans should first stop using terror groups like MKO
It is very unfortunate to note that the United States has constantly sought to depict the Islamic Republic in the light of a tenacious nation resilient to any logic and dialogue whatsoever.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has emphasized the Islamic Republic’s readiness to hold negotiations on the country’s nuclear energy program in a win-win situation.

“We have repeatedly expressed our readiness and announced that we are ready for talks in a win-win situation.”

He added that Iran has never lost the “opportunity for diplomacy.”

Iranian officials are pessimistic about any upcoming dialogue with the US as they almost unanimously believe that Washington is not consistent in its policies and that it should first show some good will instead of resorting to an unacceptable bullying attitude. Spokesman for Iranian Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Hossein Naqavi Hosseini slams the contradictions between what Washington says and what it does and urges the US to show some goodwill if it ever seeks to hold talks with the Islamic Republic.

“The Americans are not honest in their words….there is no consistency in their words and actions.”

A historical look at Tehran-Washington relations testifies to the antagonistic nature of Washington in dealing with Iran.
According to Tim Guldimann, former Swiss ambassador to Tehran, Iran issued a proposal to the United States in May 2003 and called for negotiations on a number of issues.

Based on the proposal, the US should accept a dialogue “in mutual respect” and agree that Iran put the following aims on the agenda:

1) Halt US hostile behavior and rectifications of status of Iran in the US: (interference in internal or external relations, “axis of evil”, terrorism list.)

2) Abolishment of all sanctions: commercial sanctions, frozen assets, judgments (FSIA), impediments in international trade and financial institutions.

3) Iraq: democratic and fully representative government in Iraq, support of Iranian claims for Iraqi reparation, respect for Iranian national interests in Iraq and religious links to Najaf/Karbala.

4) Full access to peaceful nuclear technology, biotechnology and chemical technology.

5) Recognition of Iran’s legitimate security interests in the region with according defense capacity.

6) Terrorism: pursuit of anti-Iranian terrorists, above all the MKO and support for repatriation of their members in Iraq, decisive actions against anti-Iranian terrorists, above all MKO and affiliated organizations in the US.

However, the Bush administration rejected the proposal and exerted additional pressure on the Islamic Republic.

In August 2005, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom presented their proposal for a long-term agreement which was dismissed by Iran simply because it did not recognize Iran’s right to enrichment.

In 2010, Brazil and Turkey conducted a diplomatic initiative to broker the TRR (Tehran Research Reactor) fuel swap with Iran. It was agreed that the Islamic Republic of Iran deposit 1200 kg LEU in Turkey. In an April 20 letter to the leaders of the two countries, US President Obama said, “For us, Iran’s agreement to transfer 1,200 kilograms of Iran’s low enriched uranium (LEU) out of the country would build confidence and reduce regional tensions by substantially reducing Iran’s LEU stockpile. I want to underscore that this element is of fundamental importance for the United States.”

The fruit of the initiative was the May 17 Tehran Declaration agreed among Lula da Silva, Erdogan, and Ahmadinejad. While the trio recalled “the right of all State Parties, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy (as well as nuclear fuel cycle including enrichment activities) for peaceful purposes without discrimination”, they agreed:

1) The nuclear fuel exchange is instrumental in initiating cooperation in different areas, especially with regard to peaceful nuclear cooperation including nuclear power plant and research reactors construction.

2) Based on this point the nuclear fuel exchange is a starting point to begin cooperation and a positive constructive move forward among nations. Such a move should lead to positive interaction and cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear activities replacing and avoiding all kinds of confrontation through refraining from measures, actions and rhetorical statements that would jeopardize Iran’s rights and obligations under the NPT.

3) Based on the above, in order to facilitate the nuclear cooperation mentioned above, the Islamic Republic of Iran agrees to deposit 1200 kg LEU in Turkey. While in Turkey this LEU will continue to be the property of Iran. Iran and the IAEA may station observers to monitor the safekeeping of the LEU in Turkey.

4) Iran will notify the IAEA in writing through official channels of its agreement with the above within seven days following the date of this declaration. Upon the positive response of the Vienna Group (US, Russia, France and the IAEA) further details of the exchange will be elaborated through a written agreement and proper arrangement between Iran and the Vienna Group that specifically committed themselves to deliver 120 kg of fuel needed for the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR).

However, France, Russia, and the United States rejected the Tehran Declaration for reasons only known to themselves and easily comprehensible to others.

In 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made an unprecedented move and sent an 18-page letter to George W. Bush, the then US president, an act which was interpreted by some as an invitation to dialogue with the United States.

While the letter – thought to be the first from an Iranian president to a US leader since Iran’s 1979 revolution- addressed the paradoxical nature of Washington’s policies all across the world and addressed crucial issues such as the fake claim that Iraq possessed WMDs as a pretext to launch an invasion of the country, and billions of dollars spent from the common purse to inflict pain and misery upon the people of Iraq and America, it could have been used by the United States as a first step towards resolving an old-time gaping problem between the two countries.

Instead, Washington officials made a strategic mistake, ponderously ignored the letter and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed the letter as "offering nothing new" and the White House said there would be no formal written reply.

The letter was favorably received by many media channels. The Peninsula, a Qatari news site, saw it as "a taboo-breaking initiative … an opening-even if only slim-for the longtime foes to engage in a dialogue." Arab News of Saudi Arabia hailed it as "remarkable and encouraging … an unexpected diplomatic opening." Germany’s Der Spiegel calls it "a deft move for Ahmadinejad’s image in the Middle East."

After all, the letter was a good sign that Iran was interested in talks but on equal terms and in an ambience of mutual respect, a condition the US has spitefully declined.

In a sudden turn of events, however, things seem to be taking a new spin and the US has made some gestures to the effect that it wishes a direct talk with the Islamic Republic. A recent report indicates that US President Barack Obama is planning to propose to Iran that it negotiate directly with the Americans about its nuclear program. According to the report, Obama’s move was made without any coordination or consultation with Israel and that Washington will allow a period of four to five months for negotiations with Tehran. If the talks fail, the report says, they may then resort to the military option.

Be that as it may, so far, the Islamic Republic has taken constructive steps towards talks with Washington in order to allay international concerns and resolve any ambiguities surrounding its nuclear program and each time Washington has embarked on a crooked diplomatic detour and has demonstrated a strong penchant for political approach-avoidance.

Does it not mean that Iran’s nuclear issue is not an issue at all but part of their pretext to persevere in its path of political pungency?

By Ismail Salami

December 17, 2012 0 comments

MEK Camp Ashraf

UK buys former home of MKO terrorists, Saddam’s Private Army

A company considered a subset of the British Foreign Office has purchased the movable property UK buys former home of MKO terrorists, Saddam's Private Army of Camp Ashraf and plans to buy the former home of the anti-Iranian Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) in Iraq.

A British company bought the movable property of Camp Ashraf, located in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala near the Iranian border, worth $25 million. It also offered the Iraqi government $500 million for the camp, Afkar News reported.

The company has declared that 60 percent of the proceeds of the transaction will be given to MKO terrorists.

The MKO, which is responsible for the deaths of 17,000 Iranians since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, fled to neighboring Iraq in the 1980s. The group received military training from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and set up its camp near the Iranian border.

The group also cooperated with Saddam in the massacres of Iraqi Kurds and in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq.

About 3,100 MKO members have been transferred in the form of seven groups from Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf and situated about 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the border with Iran, to Camp Liberty.

December 9, 2012 0 comments

Iran

Iranian MP: U.S. orders UN chief to save MKO terrorists

An Iranian lawmaker has criticized the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s recent call on countries to grant asylum to the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO).

“The MKO terrorist cell is under the guardianship and leadership of the US, and the UN chief has asked UN member states to give asylum to the MKO based on a direct order from this country (US),” said Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani on Sunday.

“Ban Ki-moon took office with help from the West and the US and, therefore, to maintain his position, he has no choice but to follow their orders,” the member of the Majlis Foreign Policy and National Security Committee added.

“This cell has been reared by Western and particularly US dollars, and has turned into a major challenge for all world countries today. Neither Iran, nor Iraq, and not even the Western governments or the US want to accept the members [of this cell],” Ardestani stated.

The lawmaker noted that the US wants to settle MKO members in one of Iran’s neighbors like Turkey or Azerbaijan so that it can use them when necessary to carry out acts of sabotage and to create problems.

The MKO, which is responsible for the deaths of 17,000 Iranians since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, fled to the neighboring Iraq in the 1980s. The group received military training from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and set up Camp Ashraf in the eastern province of Diyala near the Iranian border.

On September 21, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent Congress a classified communication about removing the MKO from the US terror watch list.

The group, which had been described by the US State Department as a "foreign terrorist organization” for the past 15 years, was formally removed from Washington’s list of terror organizations one week after Clinton’s communication.

December 3, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

Report: No sympathizers for MKO terrorists in Iran

The terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) has no popular base inside Iran even among the opponents of the Islamic Republic, which try to keep their distance with it, a new report says. Report: No sympathizers for MKO terrorists in Iran

According to the report published by the Italian website www.diruz.it, the group is responsible for terrorist operations inside Iran during 1980s.

Members of the MKO, who had murdered over 17,000 Iranians since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, fled to the neighboring Iraq in 1980s, where they received military training from the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and set up Camp Ashraf in the eastern province of Diyala near the Iranian border.

During Iran’s eight years of Holy Defense against Iraq’s invasion of the country, the MKO terrorists sided with Saddam, who was armed by Western states especially the United States, with chemical and other weapons of mass destruction, against the Iranian people.

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Camp Ashraf was demilitarized and nearly 3,500 MKO members became unwanted guests of the new Iraqi government.

There is also substantial evidence that the terror group was involved in the suppression of Iraqi Kurds and assisted Saddam Hussein in Halabja massacre on March 16, 1988, when at least 5,000 Kurds were killed by the former dictator with chemical weapons, the report added.

Another 7,000 were injured, crippled, or suffered long-term health problems due to Halabja poison gas attack.

This is while on September 21, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent the Congress a classified communication about delisting the MKO from US terror watch list.

The group, which was described by the US State Department as a "foreign terrorist organization” for the past 15 years, was formally removed from Washington’s list of terror organizations one week after Clinton’s communication.

November 28, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

US move to delist MKO terrible in every respect: Ex-US top official

A former American official says the removal of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from the US’s blacklist of terrorist organizations was a “terrible move [by Washington] in all respects.”
Wilkerson, who served as the chief of staff to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell,
“I think [the delisting of the MKO] was a terrible move in all respects, … terrible move in the way the Iranians perceived it, and a terrible move because it basically acknowledged a terrorist group is now not a terrorist group anymore, and they clearly certainly still are,” Lawrence Wilkerson said in an interview with the Real News Network.

Wilkerson, who served as the chief of staff to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, stressed that despite the US measure to remove the group from its blacklist, the MKO is “still a terrorist group.”

On September 28, Washington formally removed the MKO from its list of terror organizations one week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent the US Congress a classified communication about the move.

The MKO is responsible for numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian civilians and officials.

In September, Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani said the terrorist group was responsible for the murder of over 17,000 Iranians.

The group also cooperated with the executed Iraqi dictator Saddam in the massacres of Iraqi Kurds and in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq.

November 7, 2012 0 comments

Iraq

Iraqis react over the removal of the MKO from the terrorism list

Ending the presence of the MKO in Iraq and the consequences of their remaining in the country are among the main topics discussed in Iraq’s political circles.

A number of Iraqis have come together to discuss the consequences of the removal of the MKO from the international terrorist Organizations list and its reflections on the country’s future.

In a conference organized by the Iraqi Center for Media Development, a number of Iraqi officials and ordinary people came together in the capital Baghdad to talk about the efforts of the US government to remove the MKO from the international terrorist organization’s list.

The tribal leaders criticized the silence of the United Nation’s towards this act and said that such step is raising doubts about the US intentions in the region and reveals the US future plans especially against Iran.

The organizers showed frustration toward the intervention of the US government in this issue, saying that the US is putting pressures on the Iraqi officials to keep the MKO in Iraq.

They said the main motive is to use MKO to launch attacks against the neighboring country.

Political observers say that the Iraqi government should take some serious steps toward the expulsion of the MKO.

The group is especially notorious in Iran for having sided with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

The attendees have condemned the efforts of the US government’s efforts in removing the MKO from the international terrorist Organization’s list and criticized the response of the United Nations towards such behavior, moreover many political observers have warned of the consequences of the remaining of the MKO in Iraq saying that the step has been taken to keep them in the country.

0Wisam al-Bayati, Baghdad

October 25, 2012 0 comments

Iran

US delisting terrorist MKO ‘shameful’

An Iranian lawmaker has condemned as “shameful” Washington’s decision to remove the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) from the US State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.

Fatemeh Alia, a member of National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran Majlis (parliament), said Saturday that the US delisting the terrorist cell was no surprise to Iran.

The Iranian lawmaker stated that the MKO receives orders from the US intelligence agency, CIA, Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, as well as the British intelligence agency, MI6, to carry out terrorist operations.

Members of the MKO, who had murdered over 17,000 Iranians since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, fled to Iraq in the 1980s, where they had the support of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and set up Camp Ashraf in the eastern province of Diyala near the Iranian border.

The terrorist group has carried out countless terrorist acts against Iraqi civilians.

Iran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to expel the MKO, but the US has been putting pressure on Baghdad to resist the calls.

October 14, 2012 0 comments

Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

NY Times: MKO bribed US politicians to get off terror list

The anti-Iranian Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) paid immense bribes to top American politicians to gain their support for delisting the group from the US terror watch list, a New York Times report says.

According to the NY Times report, former CIA and FBI officials as well as retired generals and well-known members of both political parties in the US were among those supporting the terror group.

The revelation comes as US State Secretary Hillary Clinton on September 21 sent the Congress a classified communication about delisting the MKO from the US terror watch list.

This comes as the group has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranian civilians and officials.

The terror group has also been involved in the suppression of Iraqi Kurds and assisted former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Furthermore, the group had for the last 15 years been formally described by the US State Department as a "foreign terrorist organization.”

The Bush administration had claimed that one of its reasons for attacking Iraq in 2003 was Saddam Hussein’s support of "international terrorism," for which he mentioned Iraq’s "sheltering" of the MKO as a major example.

Nonetheless, conservative politicians in the US seek to portray the MKO terror group as a Democratic option for Iran’s future, the report noted.

Two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in advance of an official announcement, said that Clinton’s decision to drop the group’s terror label was partly based on the group’s recent cooperation in moving more than 3,000 of its members from its longtime Iraq location, Camp Ashraf.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its Camp Ashraf near the Iranian border.

On Sunday a final convoy of 680 MKO members from Camp Ashraf arrived at the former site of Camp Liberty, located near the Baghdad airport.

The NY Times article reaffirms that the support of prominent American politicians for the MKO organization will undoubtedly play a role in the de-listing of the MKO organization as a terrorist group.

The long list of high-ranking US politicians supporting the MKO includes: former CIA Directors, R. James Woolsey and Porter J. Goss; former FBI director Louis J. Freeh; former US President George W. Bush’s homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge; Attorney General, Michael B. Mukasey; and President Barack Obama’s first national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones.

Many of MKO’s American supporters, yet not all, are said to have received fees of up to 15,000 to 30,000 USD to give speeches to the group, in addition to travel expenses to attend MKO rallies in Paris.

The former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Edward G. Rendell, admitted in March that he had received a total of 150,000 to 160,000 USD.

According to an American official, for the time being, about 100 of the group’s members are expected to stay at Camp Ashraf, with permission of the Iraqi government to oversee the group’s property there.

In the meantime, MKO members at the Camp Liberty site are being interviewed by United Nations officials who have granted refugee status to several hundred of them and are now looking for countries that are ready to accept them.

October 2, 2012 0 comments

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