It seems as if the West has plans for Iran and it looks like the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO) terrorists will be useful tools, as long as neo-con bullies get a buy-in from the American public. The MKO seems to be OK with being used in such a fashion—because, for them, it means more free and more misleading publicity. The MKO raised eyebrows in 2002, when they first revealed the alleged Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz. Their Washington-based press conference was more like a massive political advertisement. They managed to gain a lot of airtime by major TV networks, while cunningly and quietly raising credit for terrorism. The press conference that year propelled the MKO to collaborate with the conservative media; in time, their chief propaganda artist, Alireza Jafarzadeh, became an analyst for Fox News and then produced an anti-Iran themed book. Since the first press conference in 2002, the group has deliberately hastened anti-Iran sentiment and fueled neocons of the Bush administration who consider the MKO a useful arm in advancing their warmonger policies in the Middle East. The MKO leaders are professional charlatans and they know how to raise money by using “human rights” poster children in order to gain sympathy. They are disgustingly slick. And now they have partners—Israel’s Mossad intelligence, the United State’s CIA, and Britain’s MI6.
In November 2010, two top Iranian scientists, who were also university professors, were assassinated in Tehran. The incident occurred following a seemingly unrelated event in which European Union parliament members asked their foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to pressure the United States to remove the MKO from its list of foreign terrorist organizations. In addition, two other events occurred. Yossi Melman of Israel’s Haaretz reports that one was “the leaking of State Department documents, many of which deal with the world’s concern about Iran’s nuclear program,” and the other was “the appointment of Tamil Pardo as the new head of Mossad, Israel’s foreign espionage agency.” [1] Melman, an Israeli intelligence expert, asserts that these events have an obvious link and that “they are part of endless efforts by the Israeli intelligence community, together with its Western counterparts including Britain’s MI6 and America’s CIA, to sabotage, delay and if possible, to stop Iran from reaching its goal of having its first nuclear bomb."[2].
The allegations of Yossi Melman can be confirmed by MI6 chief, John Sawers, who has publically recommended a solution on the Iranian Nuclear Program. In his first public speech as chief, he said that “intelligence activities were responsible for Iran’s admission last year of a second enrichment plant, which in turn led to tougher diplomatic pressure.” He also said that “stopping nuclear proliferation cannot be addressed purely by conventional diplomacy,” and that “we need intelligence-led operations to make it more difficult for countries like Iran to develop nuclear weapons.” [3] These words are like a green light for the MKO, who have worked with the CIA in the past, and received CIA money. [4] But more recently, the documents which allegedly proved an intention to build nuclear weapons by the Iranian government were actually composed and released by Israel’s Mossad. According to Gareth Porter, an investigative reporter, “Israeli intelligence was the source of the collection of intelligence documents which have been used to accuse Iran of hiding nuclear weapons research” and once the documents were released, they were laundered through the MKO. [5] Other journalists, both Connie Bruck and Seymour Hersh, have exposed the true source of the MKO’s so called revelation on Iranian sites—that they actually come from the Mossad. [6]
As far as the plot to assassinate the two scientists, those same intelligence agencies were involved. Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said that the US, Israel and British spy agencies and the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization are conducting joint terrorist operations to assassinate Iranian university professors and scientists. He said, that "this inauspicious act was sponsored by the Zionist regime and in coordination with the western intelligence agencies, the US and Britain in particular, and was carried out by MKO hirelings.” [7]
The attack on Iranian scientists preceded the two talks between Iran and the 5+1 group in Geneva and Istanbul. In Geneva, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili slammed his Western counterparts for the assassinations. "Terrorists targeted two Iranian scientists and one of them was martyred," Jalili announced. [8] Iran has been the biggest victim of MKO terrorist attacks—attacks which are well documented in the West, and actually go back decades.
Perhaps the Geneva talks were a small step forward for Iran if only because Iran had the opportunity to finally be heard. Kaveh Afrasiabi who reports from the Asia Times writes that “the two-day multilateral talks on Iran’s nuclear program in Geneva were branded by Iran as ‘positive and constructive’ and by Western diplomats as ‘difficult and candid.’” According to the European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, discussions in Geneva, the first for more than a year, were "detailed and substantive," Covering nuclear as well as non-nuclear issues. [9] In January of this year, the new rounds of discussions in Istanbul made no real progress, but both sides think that future talks could happen. No date has been set. [10]
The response to the January talks is alarming. On the last day of the Istanbul discussions, a recent article on CNN’s website quoted former State Department official Mitchell Reiss saying that "there is no reason to be shy about doing more to support the Iranian opposition," and that "a good step would be delisting the MEK." [11] Even though it has been established that the MKO has been laundering Israel’s information, the US neocons are still pushing the message that the MKO is a good intelligence source. They are banking on the fact most Westerners just don’t know the whole story. Reiss and his comrades believe that the public can be easily sold—as they were sold on the “axis of evil.” It’s clear that Reiss believes the public will buy in to the whole “human rights” message the MKO pushes, which is a façade. Michael Mukasey, who served as attorney general under former President George W. Bush, was quoted in the same article as saying, “it is certainly helpful that MEK remain a bone in the throat of Iran. … It has provided valuable intelligence and information on the Iranian nuclear program to the U.S." And then furthered that "it would be fair to say the U.S. would not know a great deal about Iran’s nuclear program without the information obtained by MEK." [12] With comments like this, it’s apparent that very influential players are preparing the way for military interference, and the MKO is their puppet of choice.
As Yossi Melman suggests, "what US and Israel fail to understand is that sabotage and even military assaults isn’t a substitute for a policy– it’s a stop gap and more a signal of a failure of policy. Engaging and negotiation, no matter how imperfect and frustrating they may be, are the only way forward."[13] No diplomatic or intelligence force should be engaging with the MKO terrorists. What the MKO says they stand for now is irrelevant. What the MKO has done to the Iranian people is unforgivable and—puppet or no puppet—they simply have no place in the equation.
By Mazda Parsi
References
[1] Melman, Yossi. "Yossi Melman: Mossad, MI6, the CIA and the case of the
assassinated scientist." Independent 30 NOV 2010: Web. 2 Feb 2011. <
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/ middle-east/yossi-melman-mossad-mi6-the
-cia-and-the-case-of-the-assassinated-scientist-2146995.html>.
[2] Ibid
[3] Roberts, Laura. "Sir John Sawers: MI6 chief says intelligence is key to
curbing Iran’s nuclear power." Telegraph 28 October 2010: Web. 2 Feb 2011. <
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/
terrorism-in-the-uk/8092419/
Sir-John-Sawers-MI6-chief-says-intelligence-is-key
-to-curbing-Irans-nuclear-power.html>.
[4] Woodward, Bob. "US, UK Roles in Iran’s Mass Executions." Washington Post
1986, and republished in August 2010 on PBS’ program, “Frontline”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ tehranbureau/2010/08/sources-say
-cia-gave-regime-list-of-kgb-agents.html
[5] Porter, Gareth. "Report Ties Dubious Iran Nuclear Docs to Israel." IPS
(Interpress Service News Agency (3 JUNE 2009): Web. 2 Feb 2011. <
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47081>.
[6] Bruck, Connie. "A Reporter at Large: Exiles." New Yorker 6 March 2006: 48.
Also see:
Hersh, Seymour. “Preparing the Battlefield: The Bush Administration steps up
its secret moves against Iran.” New Yorker. 07 July 2008:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh.
[7] "US, Israel, Britain, MKO Collaborating in Assassination of Iranian
Scientists, Says Iranian Defense Minister." Al-Jazeerah: Cross-Cultural
Understanding 30 November 2010: Web. 2 Feb 2011. <
http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2010/November/30%20nUS,%20Israel,%20Britain,%20MKO%20
Collaborating%20in%20Assassination%20of%20
Iranian%20Scientists,%20Says%20Iranian%20Defense%20Minister.htm>.
[8] "Iran questions West silence on terror hit." Press TV 07 December 2010:
Web. 2 Feb 2011. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/154318.html.
[9] Afrasiabi, Kaveh L. "Iran talks take small step forward." Asia Times 09
December 2010, http://www.atimes.com/ atimes/Middle_East/LL09Ak02.html
[10] "NO PROGRESS IN IRANIAN NUKE TALKS." Turkish Radio Television
Corporation: Posted 22.01.2011 12:30:06 UTC. Web. 2 Feb 2011.
<http://www.trtturkmence.com/trtworld/en/ newsDetail.aspx?HaberKodu=1f087b7c-1031-480d-94ff-7cb3d4d0916b>.
[11] Benson, Pam. "U.S. tempering expectations for multinational talks with
Iran." CNN United States 20 January 2010: Web. 2 Feb 2011. <
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-20/us/
iran.nuclear.talks_1_uranium-enrichment-
program-nuclear-program-iran-and-six-world?_s=PM:US>.
[12] Ibid
[13] Melman, Yossi. "Yossi Melman: Mossad, MI6, the CIA and the case of the
assassinated scientist." Independent 30 NOV 2010: Web. 2 Feb 2011.
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/
world/middle-east/yossi-melman-mossad-mi6-the
-cia-and-the-case-of-the-assassinated-scientist-2146995.html>.