Bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia has been tenuous during the past years. So, to see a Saudi Prince in the annual gathering of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (the MKO) would not be surprising, neither it is surprising to see the prince speaking of the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. What is surprising is that the famous Saudi prince counts on the MKO for his hostile plan against the Iranian government.
Since last year, the Saudi prince Turki Al Faisal has turned into the key speaker of the MKO propaganda show held in Villepint, Paris every year. He is one of the most ardent speakers of the show advocating the agenda of regime change in Iran under the democratic gesture and the motto of freedom for Iranian people.
Conversely, Iranians are generally apprehensive of Saudi policies and have a negative attitude toward Saudi Arabia. It is never genuine that Iranians could buy into the narrative of Saudi support for a democratic government in Iran, particularly because the Saudi Arabia has a dark background of human rights violations.
On one hand, the MKO is doing another strategic miscalculation by aligning itself with a loathed rival of Iran. And on the other hand short-sighted support of American politicians for the MKO would poison the relations between the two nations.
“The MEK is hated in Iran for its role in the war and for its terrorism against Iranians over the years,” Daniel Larison of the American Conservative writes. “No one genuinely interested in the freedom of Iranians would have anything to do with such a group, but of course Saudi and American hard-liners couldn’t care less about Iranian freedom. They are simply looking for ways to stoke conflict with Iran, and they see this as a way to do that. Their desire for toppling Iran’s government is so great that they will pretend that a deluded cult is a legitimate opposition group because they think it creates the illusion that many Iranians share their goals. In reality, most Iranians don’t want regime change, and they definitely don’t want it forced upon them from the outside by people that clearly hate them.”
However, there is one true fact that supporters of the Cult of Rajavi seem to be ignorant of: the MEK doesn’t actually seek regime change in Iran. The self-appointed president elect of the group, Maryam Rajavi only longs for her own survival as the leader of the Rajavis’ cult of personality and the survival of the rank and files as her brainwashed followers. This has been the only agenda of the MKO authorities for the past decades –at least after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Indeed, regime change in Iran is the illusion of those who are unaware of the realities of the Iranian community as well as the true nature and situation of the MKO cult. However, even if the regime change is enforced in Iran it will be through too much bloodshed because both KSA and MKO are detested in Iran.
By Mazda Parsi