New patronage resulted in a strategic shift for the MEK
After the fall of Saddam Hussain and the disappearance of Massoud Rajavi, leader of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) terrorist cult, the group’s members were forcibly deported to Albania where the MEK regrouped under the now open support of the Israeli right wing and the regime change pundits of the USA. In Paris, Prince Turki al Faisal al Saud of Saudi Arabia presented himself at a public rally alongside of Maryam Rajavi, wife of the cult leader, to announce the death of Massoud Rajavi, to introduce himself as the new direct benefactor of Mojahedin Khalq (MEK) and to acknowledge Maryam Rajavi as the new head of the terrorist cult.
Under new management the MEK has undergone rapid change and the system of ‘Saddam – Massoud Rajavi’ has transformed into a system of ‘Turki – Maryam Rajavi’. The old system of ‘military-based direct terrorism’ changed rapidly to the new system of ‘intelligence based covert terrorism’. This, of course, was not surprising since Saddam and Massoud had always believed in a show of strength to push their agenda. They believed in achieving their political aims by murdering, threatening and terrorising their opponents. On the other hand, Prince Turki and Maryam favour intelligence-based covert operations to attack, discredit and weaken (and eliminate) their opponents.
Massoud would send terror groups to bomb targets in the streets of Tehran or participate in the massacre of Kurdish people in Iraq. Saddam used chemical weapons in an attempt to eradicate the inhabitants of vast parts of Iraq. Now Maryam hires paid showmen, uses rent-a-crowd to create the illusion of mass demonstrations in Western capitals, and cries wolf as victim while sending club wielders to silence human rights activists. And Prince Turki is, of course, the famous brain behind many setups against opponents of the house of Saud in the west although he is best known as the head of Saudi intelligence who resigned 10 days before 9/11 tragedy carried out by Saudis in New York, later paying lobbying companies to blame Iran for the atrocities.
Attempts to drive a wedge between Iran and EU
Many believe that the latest series of “convenient” incidents attributed to Iranian diplomats in Europe has been the brainchild of Prince Turki who used the MEK to hinder possible rapprochement between Iran and the EU, especially after the EU refused to fall in behind President Trump (Netanyahu and Mohammad Bin Salman) in jeopardising the nuclear deal, which they hoped would trigger another war in the Middle East to reverse their losses on the ground in Syria and Iraq.
However, that strategy has not yielded the best results and the EU remains at best ambivalent about being seen to take sides. So now the Turki-Maryam system has opened a new front, this time in Canada, which has also sometimes been perceived to be wavering in relation to Iran.
MEK renewing its attacks on Iranian Canadians
In Canada, the main focal point for Iranians is the Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC). The MEK has been trying to push its agents into this organisation for years. They have had some success with the backing and finance of the Israeli lobby in getting their agents into the ICC, but recently these agents with their extremist agendas have been voted out by the Iranian Canadians who are increasingly worried about their future as Canadians with an Iranian background. They see what is happening in neighbouring USA and they don’t want to be degraded to second-rate citizens just because Israel or Saudi rulers have grievances against Iran. Indeed, the Iran Canadian Congress has been successful, not only helping Iranian Canadians in recent years, but has now moved to higher levels in social and political circles, influencing the policies which concern them in Canada. In recent weeks they have achieved big victories for their membership including but not confined to:
1- Helping secure governmental funding in response to the flood in Iran
2- Petitioning the government to investigate and bring to justice Mahmood Reza Khavari and Maryam Sheikholeslami Aleagha, the two Iranian Canadian fugitives wanted by Interpol who, while serving at highest ranks of Iranian government, misused their position to steal hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds before running away to Canada. (Taking refuge behind their Canadian passports and thereby discrediting Iranian Canadians). The petition has quickly reached over 17,000 and is increasing.
Saudi Arabia MEK Maryam Rajavi terrorism in CanadaKhavari spotted at a Canadian casino
Activities aimed at silencing these Iranian Canadians indicates that the above achievements have rattled the house of Saud and their paid MEK agents. It looks like the failure to drive a wedge between the Iranians and Europeans who insist on saving the nuclear deal against the will of Trump has angered Netanyahu and Mohammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.
The fingerprints of MEK activity are already being revealed. Infamous Persian speaking regime change proponents from the USA are invited to Toronto for propaganda meetings to promote their agenda. But this will only work if the voice of ordinary Iranian Canadians is silenced. This is why threats to the Iranian Canadian Congress alongside the IC Journal (an online Iranian Canadian magazine) have begun in earnest. Lawyer after lawyer threatens to take the individuals and organisations to court on a variety of charges. At the same time, agent after agent contacts these individuals (mostly volunteers who are students, working mothers, etc …) threatening to ruin their lives and livelihoods if they do not give up their work (such as justly asking for humanitarian aid to be sent to flood victims in Iran).
Hallmark MEK money laundry techniques
Two die-hard supporters of regime change, Shahram Tabe Mohammadi and Mehrdokht Hadi, who groups like MEK support – and who, by the way, failed repeatedly to infiltrate the ICC with the aim of derailing it from within – have apparently now been tasked to confront and silence the ICC so as to open the way for the Saudi backed lobbies engaged in stopping any dependable dialogue between Iran and Canada.
The authors of this agenda are more obvious when we observe hallmark MEK money laundry techniques being used to funnel money from the sponsors to the team of lawyers they have hired for threatening the volunteer workers and media.
At a time that the ICC volunteers are desperately working hard to raise money for the Canadian Red Cross to help the flood victims in Iran, Shahram Tabe Mohammadi shamelessly announced that he is collecting money to pay for six different lawyers he has proudly hired threatening to sue the Iranian Canadian Council (ICC) and the Iranian Canadian Journal (ICJ) for defamation. These kinds of announcement bear the hallmark of MEK money laundry; pretending to get money from ordinary people but in fact getting paid by their benefactors. The latest example of this was the funneling about a million dollars to a far-right anti-EU Spanish party (VOX) through Alejo Vidal-Quadra through a network of individuals and accounts across the globe.
Shahram Tabe Mohammadi names some of the people he is threatening with legal action as Mr Mohsen Khakiki, Mr Mehran Farazmand (IC journal), Mr Bijan Ahmandi, Mr Mehdi Samadian, Mr Parsa Beheshti (a high school student), Ms Elham Eslami, Mr Ehshan Hamidi, and Mr Pooria Zarasoed. Mohammadi also announced that he has hired a team of lawyers including but not limited to Anoosh Salahshoor, Phillip J. L. Trotter and Adam Wawrzkiewicz, (all from Lewis & Associates Immigration Lawyers) and has then asked for money (online through social media) to pay for these lawyers!
The targets of this legal attack have since reported receiving anonymous phone calls threatening that they will be forced to pay the full fees of all these lawyers plus compensation if they don’t back off and stop their activities.
If failure in Europe is replicated in Canada, what next?
Up to this point, this type of activity is perhaps not so new for those familiar with the modus operandi of the Saudi Secret services and the MEK in the west. What is worrying is what would be the next step if they fail to achieve their goal of silencing the Iranian Canadians and their media. The MEK has been on overdrive in recent years in Europe; their new tasks planned by Turki and carried out by MEK agents trained by Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard. Although this activity failed to disrupt or derail relations between the EU and Iran to the extent the Saudis had hoped, still, people were killed. For example, Mohammad Reza Kolahi in the Netherlands and Malek Sharaee in Albania. Both these deaths should be investigated with Maryam Rajavi the prime suspect as someone with the means, motive and opportunity to assassinate.
If these threats don’t work on the Iranian Canadians (which they most certainly won’t), then an escalation to the next steps by the Saudi backed MEK in Canada must be prevented. This rests on the shoulders of the Canadian government. Whatever the push and pull that goes on, we don’t want another murder or attempted murder in Toronto.
By: Massoud Khodabandeh (Middle East Strategy Consultants), Iranian.com