Very soon after the US administration was starting to admit that the military option could not be on the table any more, the MKO and AIPAC lobbies came up with a new Iran sanctions bill designed to frustrate
Three top senators, including two Democrats, have begun circulating a draft of a new Iran sanctions bill that critics say could violate the terms of an agreement struck between Iran and the United States in Geneva last month, reported Ali Gharib of Foreign Policy. The resolution was introduced by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mark Kirk(R-IL) of which the goal is “the complete and verifiable termination of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program”.[1]
Two of AIPAC’s favorite senators from both parties, Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk(R-IL), are at this moment actively working with AIPAC to push for new sanctions, notwithstanding the warnings by the Obama administration that additional sanctions will violate the interim accord and put the entire diplomatic process at risk. [2]Senator Robert Menendez is also an ardent advocate of the MKO in the US Congress.
Menhendez backs the MKO operatives to the extent that he told Wendy Sherman the US State Department’s third person that the MEK should be invited to relocate to the United States. [3]
Earlier this year the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Menendez, said there is still time for diplomacy, but the United States needs to look closely at enhancing “military pressure” on Iran. [4]Once the diplomatic solution started working in Geneva, Bob Menendez said a briefing by Secretary of State John Kerry and others Wednesday failed to convince him that a proposed deal with Iran to loosen sanctions in exchange for a temporary freeze of the country’s nuclear program was worth pursuing on November 15. [Cheered by the MKO that published it on its propaganda website by the title "Menendez joins GOP in slamming Iran briefing"]
Jim White of the Emptywheel website confirms AIPAC’s part to pass the legislation against Iran but he also notifies the part of the MKO in the "warmongering aspects" of the bill. He writes," the work (and funding money) of MEK, which advocates for (in my opinion, violent) regime change in Iran, seems to be just as likely, if not more likely, to be behind this hideous piece of legislation." [5]
Although White gives too much credit to the cult of Rajavi, he accurately warns about the MKO’s crisis mongering propaganda to obstruct the Geneva deal in which Iran insisted on its right to low level enrichment to produce fuel for nuclear power plants. " Since that is seen as a deal-breaker for Iran, it is precisely what the MEK now sets as the determinant of whether sanctions that will certainly lead to war are enacted", he states. "What they want is a war to change the regime in Iran, not a diplomatic solution that prevents nuclear weapons being developed by Iran."[6]
Regarding the MKO as a cult-like group that had been on the FTO list until recently, the support it enjoys in the Congress is mostly linked to the financial donations it makes to its advocates rather than any deep loyalty to the group’s agenda. However, the support for the MKO agenda to violently overthrow the Islamic Republic is now paired with the long time efforts of AIPAC to drive the United States into a war with Iran.
The true fact about the MKO and AIPAC is that both are well connected with the Israeli intelligence Mossad. "Recently declassified FBI files reveal how Israeli government officials first orchestrated public relations and policies through the U.S. lobby," reported Granth Smith of the Antiwar. "Counter-espionage investigations of proto-AIPAC’s first coordinating meetings with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the head of Mossad provide a timely and useful framework for understanding how AIPAC continues to localize and market Israeli government policies in America."[7]
Concerning the MKO the relation with Mossad is mostly operational rather than political. US officials told NBC News in 2012 that Mossad has recruited and trained MKO operative for sabotage operations in Iran. [8]
Despite the hard work by war mongers’ parties and lobbies to launch another war in the Middle East, the White House has assured to veto any bills calling for new sanctions since they clearly violate the P5+1 agreement. Let’s hope that diplomacy will win over war this time.
Mazda Parsi
[1]Gharib, Ali, Exclusive: Top Senate Democrats Break with White House and Circulate New Iran Sanctions Bill, Foreign Policy, December 18, 2013
[2]Payvand Iran News, Top Jewish Non-Profit Heads Leading Iran Sanctions Call, December 21, 2013
[3] NIAC Staff, State Department Advises Senate to Hold off Iran Sanctions Until After Negotiations, October 4, 2013
[4] NIAC Staff, Congress Debates War, Sanctions, Diplomacy and MEK with Top Obama Officials, May 16, 2013
[5] White, Jim, MEK Purchases 27 US Senate Votes for War with Iran, Emptywheel, December 20, 2013
[6] ibid
[7] Smith, Grant, The Mossad Has Long Given Marching Orders to AIPAC, Antiwar.com, February 28, 2012
[8] Engel, Richard & Windrem, Robert, Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran’s nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News, NBC News, Feb 9, 2012