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“Support of 165 US lawmakers for MKO proves deep bonds between #US and #terrorism,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani wrote on his Twitter page.

“No strange!” he noted, adding, “The regime that founded #Daesh & used it as tool, not ashamed of supporting and instrumental using of murderers of 17k Iranians.”

The bipartisan resolution was introduced to the House by Congressman Tom McClintock on February 7 and has 164 other cosponsors. It has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Backing unrest in Iran, the resolution expresses support for what it calls the “Iranian people’s desire for a democratic, secular, and nonnuclear Republic of Iran.” It also levels baseless accusations against Iran for what it describes as “state-sponsored terrorism” and violation of human rights.

Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the notorious organization, also addressed a press briefing planned for the introduction of the resolution on February 8, lauding the representatives’ efforts.

American use of terrorism against Iran

Also, the Iranian foreign minister on Saturday slammed the House resolution, describing it as an indication of Washington’s insatiable appetite for employing terrorism for the purpose of “destroying” Iran.

“The US Congress’ worthless resolution in support of Monafeghin (MKO) terror cult demonstrates, just once more, their insatiable appetite for instrumentalizing terrorism and DAESH modeled scenarios -that wrecked Syria and Iraq- for destroying Iran,” Hossein Amir Abdollahian tweeted.

More than 17,000 Iranians, many of them civilians, have been killed at the hands of the MKO in different acts of terrorism including bombings in public places, and targeted killings.

The MKO, that was on the U.S. terrorist list until 2012, fled Iran in 1986 for Iraq and was given a camp by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

They fought on the side of Saddam during the Iraq’s war on Iran (1980-88). They were also involved in the bloody repression of Shiite Muslims in southern Iraq in 1991 and the massacre of Iraqi Kurds in the north.

This is not the first anti-Iran resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives. Back on January 25, American lawmakers adopted a resolution praising rioters and calling for more sanctions against Iranian officials.

It also encouraged the administration of President Joe Biden “to immediately impose, under existing authorities, additional human rights sanctions on officials and entities responsible for the repression of the current protests.”

*Congressman Tom McClintock addresses a briefing about an anti-Iran resolution on February 8.

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One of these grouplets has been Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MKO) which has committed many crimes and terrorist acts in the country and they were forced to leave the country and to take shelter abroad mainly in the Western countries and they continue their crimes under supports of the West.

The members of this grouplet despite receiving financial supports from the West commit illegal activities in those countries which have angered Western officials and people.

After it was founded more than 50 years ago, the MKO launched a campaign of bombings and assassinations in Iran. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the group’s acts of terror.

The ill-famed terror group is currently based in Albania, where it enjoys freedom of activity after being delisted by the European Union and the United States in 2009 and 2012 respectively.

On Friday senior Iranian Judiciary official Kazem Gharibabadi warned Europe that its support for the anti-Iran terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) will come at a price just as it did with the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

He reacted to a report published that an Albanian historian and journalist has said the country’s police have alerted the U.S. embassy that members of the so-called Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), an anti-Iran terrorist cult, are involved in various criminal activities in Europe, including human trafficking, with possible links to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

Olsi Jazexhi, citing Albanian media reports, said in a tweet on Thursday that some MKO operatives, headed by the terrorist group’s leader, Maryam Rajavi, and based in a camp near the capital, Tirana, have attempted to traffic over 400 of the group’s own members to France.

Jazexhi added that a number of the terrorist cult’s members have been detained for trafficking people from the Middle East to Europe, who were probably Daesh members.

He went on to say that some senior MKO members have been also arrested while trying to traffic drugs to Italy, with police having prosecuted another member over theft charges.

In another string of tweets later on Thursday, the journalist said in one instance, the MKO cult “forced Gazeta Shqiptarja to take offline its article” about their drug and human trafficking arrests in Albania.

Olsi noted that he has an official document from the office of Tirana Prosecutor, which proves that one of the notorious MKO commanders, called Mohammad Sadat Darbandi, has been arrested for robbing a pharmacy in Tirana.

The journalist then said that Albanian prosecutors have already filed 100 criminal cases against the MKO on charges of major drug smuggling operations and connection to Ndrangheta.

An official source, who requested to remain anonymous, told Exit that the documents claim that information on these crimes has been handed over to the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, and that the Albanian paper has contacted the mission for comments but no formal response has been given.

Gharibabadi, the Judiciary chief’s deputy for international affairs and secretary of the country’s High Council for Human Rights, reacted to this report and censured the European Parliament for supporting the MKO and referring to it as ‘political opponents’.

It is shameful for members of the European Parliament to pursue their own political interests and turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by the MKO, which has killed over 12,000 innocent Iranians and still continues its terrorist activities while freely traveling through European countries, he said.

“The Europeans should know that as their support for Daesh has backfired on them in a way that more than 4,000 Daesh members were European citizens and created insecurity for them, their support for the MKO will equally be costly,” the senior Iranian human rights official said.

Gharibabadi said the United States and Europe have committed the most heinous crimes against Iran by supporting terrorist groups, sheltering them and excluding them from the list of terrorist groups as well as imposing or implementing unlawful and oppressive sanctions.

“The European Parliament and European countries must stand accountable for their human rights violations against Iranians. They are in no position to preach others in the field of human rights,” the top Iranian rights official stated.

Regardless of its disrepute around the world, the MKO has in recent years held numerous big events, attended by senior American, Israeli and Saudi officials, including former U.S. Senator John McCain, former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, and former director of Saudi intelligence agency Turki bin Faisal Al Saud.

These moves once again prove this fact that the MKO is a puppet of the West to destabilize the Islamic Republic but the West should know this fact that such terrorist groups have no room among the nations especially in Iran and MKO will sooner or later will face the fate like what the Daesh face and will be destroyed by brave heroes like martyr Qasem Soleimani because nobody and no terrorist group is able to stop Iran and this point has been proved in more than four decades of the life of the Islamic Revolution and the West and any reactionary country which is financing and supporting such groups is wasting its time and money.

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Kazem Gharibabadi, the Judiciary chief’s deputy for international affairs and secretary of the High Council for Human Rights, censured the European Parliament for backing the MKO members by referring to them as “political opponents”.

It is shameful for members of the European Parliament to pursue their own political interests and turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by the MKO, which has killed over 12,000 innocent Iranians and still continues its terrorist activities while freely traveling through European countries, he stated.

“The Europeans should know that as their support for Daesh has backfired on them in a way that more than 4,000 Daesh members were European citizens and created insecurity for them, their support for the MKO will equally be costly,” the Iranian human rights chief cautioned, Press TV reported.

Gharibabadi said the United States and Europe have committed the most heinous crimes against Iran by supporting terrorist groups, sheltering them and excluding them from the list of terrorist groups as well as imposing or implementing unlawful and oppressive sanctions.

“The European Parliament and European countries must stand accountable for their human rights violations against Iranians. They are in no position to preach others in the field of human rights,” the top rights official stated.

After it was founded more than 50 years ago, the MKO launched a campaign of bombings and assassinations in Iran. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the group’s acts of terror.

In a report in November 2018, the British newspaper Guardian reported that Saddam Hussein, who was fighting a bloody war against Iran with the backing of the UK and the U.S., saw an opportunity to deploy the MKO fighters against the Islamic republic. In 1986, he offered the group weapons, cash and a vast military base named Camp Ashraf, only 50 miles from the border with Iran.

For almost two decades, under their embittered leader Massoud Rajavi, the MKO staged attacks against civilian and military targets across the border in Iran and helped Saddam suppress his own domestic enemies. But after siding with Saddam – who indiscriminately bombed Iranian cities and routinely used chemical weapons in a war that cost a million lives – the MKO lost nearly all the support it had retained inside Iran. Members were now widely regarded as traitors.

For most of its life in exile, the MKO was funded by Saddam. After his downfall, the group says it raised money from Iranian diaspora organizations and individual donors. The MKO has always denied it is financed by Saudi Arabia – but Prince Turki al-Faisal, former director of Saudi intelligence agency, made waves when he attended the group’s 2016 rally in Paris and called for the fall of the Iranian government.

“The money definitely comes from Saudis,” says Ervand Abrahamian, a professor at the City University of New York and author of the definitive academic work on the group’s history, The Iranian Mojahedin. “There is no one else who could be subsidizing them with this level of finance.”

After the U.S. invasion of Iraq, it launched a lavish lobbying campaign to reverse its designation as a terrorist organization – despite reports implicating the group in assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists as recently as 2012, the Guardian said.

Rajavi has not been seen since 2003 – most analysts assume he is dead – but under the leadership of his wife, Maryam Rajavi, the MEK has won considerable support from sections of the U.S. and European right, eager for allies in the fight against Tehran.

The cultish group is currently based in Albania, where it enjoys freedom of activity after being delisted by the European Union and the United States in 2009 and 2012, respectively.

Regardless of its disrepute around the world, the MKO has in recent years held numerous big events, attended by senior American, Israeli and Saudi officials, including former U.S. Senator John McCain, former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, and Turki bin Faisal Al Saud.

Bolton, who has made multiple appearances at events supporting the group, is estimated to have received upwards of $180,000. According to financial disclosure forms, Bolton was paid $40,000 for a single appearance at the Free Iran rally in Paris in 2017.

An Albanian historian and journalist said in a tweet on Thursday that the country’s police have alerted the U.S. embassy that the MKO members are involved in various criminal activities in Europe, including human trafficking, with possible links to Daesh.

Olsi Jazexhi, citing Albanian media reports, said some MKO operatives, headed by the terrorist group’s leader Maryam Rajavi and based in a camp near the capital Tirana, have attempted to traffic over 400 of the group’s own members to France.

‘Politically-motivated’

Gharibabadi also denounced a recent resolution by the European Parliament on death penalty in Iran, saying it is based on political goals and fails to represent the existing realities in the country.

“This resolution encompasses distorted and fabricated issues and is not consistent with the existing realities in Iran, but it has been prepared with completely political purposes.”

The official said the execution penalty is being implemented in 55 countries throughout the world and urged the European Parliament and European countries to respect other nations’ laws and cultural diversity when it comes to human rights issues.

According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the death penalty is permissible when it comes to capital crimes, he said, criticizing the Europeans for imposing their own standards on other countries in contradiction to their sovereignty.

Europeans must learn to respect national sovereignty of other countries and know that they cannot support their criminal citizens and demand their release through threats, the Iranian official said.

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Mojahedin-e-Khalq, also known as MKO, began its annual three-day conference online on Saturday with several former and current American and European officials delivering paid speeches via videoconference. The officials mostly launched into blistering tirades about Iran’s internal and foreign policy.

About 30 members of the U.S. Congress are expected to participate in this year’s conference of MEK, including Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Senator Ted Cruz, and Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, as well as former ministers and officials from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

The Slovenian prime minister, who delivered a speech at the conference, drew a harsh criticism from Iran and promoted the Iranian Foreign Ministry to summon the Slovenian ambassador to Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif condemned the prime minister’s unacceptable participation and imprudent remarks in the virtual gathering of the MKO terrorist group, and called on the European Union to express its position on the issue in view of the fact that Slovenia holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

Zarif made the remarks in a Sunday phone conversation with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

The chief European diplomat, in turn, expressed regret over the issue, and stressed that Jansa’s remarks, by no means, reflected the EU’s stance on relations with Iran, according to a statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Borrell underscored that the EU’s position is expressed by the chairperson of the European Council at the level of heads of state, and by the EU foreign policy chief at the ministerial level.

He said the Slovenian prime minister’s remarks have not at all been made in the EU’s capacity.

Earlier in the day, the Slovenian ambassador to Tehran was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry where she received Tehran’s strong protest over the matter.

The ambassador was told that Iran wants the Slovenian government to give explanation in that regard, and that Tehran will accordingly show the necessary reaction.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry described the Slovenian prime minister’s move as “unacceptable and undiplomatic.”

“After the presence of Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa in the virtual meeting of Mojahedin-e-Khalq terrorist grouping, the Iranian foreign minister’s assistant and director general of the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe department of the foreign ministry summoned Slovenia’s ambassador to Tehran Ms. Christina Radi and after conveying Iran’s strong protest against this move and the baseless accusations leveled against the Islamic Republic of Iran, gave her Iran’s official notice of protest against the government of Slovenia,” the ministry said in a statement after summoning the Slovenian ambassador.

“During the meeting, it was emphasized that Iran condemns the virtual presence of Slovenia’s premier in the gathering of a terrorist group, loathed among the great Iranian nation, as well as the official’s false and nonsensical remarks, which run counter to diplomatic norms and the atmosphere of bilateral relations.”

“This is besides the fact that supporting a terrorist grouping violates the UN charter, recognized international principles and human rights values and is, under no pretext, acceptable.”

The ministry added that Tehran asked for an explanation from the Slovenian government on the issue.

According to the ministry’s press release, the Slovenian ambassador confirmed that she will urgently convey Iran’s message of protest to her government.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh castigated Western officials including former U.S. secretary of state and CIA chief Mike Pompeo for participating in the MKO gathering.

“Bought western politicians (incl #LyingCheatingStealing Pompeo) sell themselves cheap for a Europe-hosted circus arranged by a once Saddam-backed terrorist cult with Iranian blood on its hands. Insatiable thirst for $$ & anti-Iran obsession is driving shameful western hypocrisy,” he said on Twitter.

MEK is deeply loathed by large swathes of the Iranians due to its history of killing innocent people and aligning with Iran’s sworn enemy, Saddam Hussein.

MEK’s unpopularity among the Iranians stems from two things: First, the group had been implicated in many terrorist attacks and assassinations in Iran in the 1980s. Second, while the group was going on a killing spree in Iran, its leaders colluded with Iran’s number one nemesis, Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq who gave them many military bases near Baghdad. With the military support of Saddam, MEK mounted a devastating military attack on Iran that led to its forever eradication in the country. Iranians have never forgotten, nor have they forgiven, this act of treason by MEK.

In addition, over the past few years, the group has faced growing accusations of receiving money from Saudi Arabia. “Over the last few years, the terrorist group has developed close relations with the deep-pocket Saudis. The two sides have done little to hide their ties. Quite the contrary, every now and then they seek to flaunt their romance, in one way or another,” Press TV reported.

The MKO’s annual rallies often feature pro-Saudi speakers and sometimes even Saudi officials. For instance, Turki al-Faisal, a Saudi prince, former intelligence chief and key diplomat addressed the group’s rallies in Paris in 2016 and 2017, prompting accusations from Tehran that Riyadh supports terrorism.

Salman al-Ansari, president of the Saudi American Public Relations Affairs Committee, a pro-Riyadh lobby group in Washington, also spoke at the MKO conference in Albania on 13 July, 2019.

He was repeatedly interrupted by cheers from the group’s supporters as he bashed Iran in both Arabic and Farsi.

In an article published in 2018, Al Bawaba revealed that three tons of gold ingots and four suitcases of Rolex watches were given to the MKO by the Saudis when the group was still in Iraq.

Gold and other valuable commodities were later sold in black markets in the Jordanian capital, Amman, via Saudi-linked businessmen and the money went to offshore accounts linked to the MKO. The Saudis have in fact been supporting the MKO since Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran, as the group provided the Iraqi dictator with intelligence and military support, according to Press TV.

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“In the past week we did our best to blame the [Iranian] regime for the [oil tanker] blasts. Saudis have called Sister Maryam [Rajavi]’s office to follow up on the results, [to get] a conclusion of what has been done, and the possible consequences,” Fakhteh is heard saying.

“I guess this can have different consequences. It can send the case to the UN Security Council or even result in military intervention. It can have any consequence,” Daei-ul-Eslam says.

Attacks on two commercial oil tankers in the Sea of Oman on June 13, and an earlier attack on four oil tankers off the UAE’s Fujairah port on May 12, have escalated tensions in the Middle East and raised the prospect of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States.

The US, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have rushed to blame Iran for the incidents, with the US military releasing a grainy video it claimed shows Iranian forces in a patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from the side of a Japanese-owned tanker which caught fire earlier this month.

It later released some images of the purported Iranian operation after the video was seriously challenged by experts and Washington’s own allies.

The MKO which has assassinated over 17,000 Iranians receives support from the US and its allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia.

The MKO which is said to be a cult which turns humans into obedient robots, turned against Iran after the 1979 Revolution and has carried out several terrorist attacks killing senior officials in Iran; yet the West which says cultism is wrong and claims to be against terrorism, supports this terrorist group officially.

After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the MKO began its enmity against Iran by killings and terrorist activities.

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The letters, dated 11 July, 2018 but revealed to the press on Tuesday, were addressed by Gholamali Khoshroo to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the President of the Security Council Olof Skoog.

The letters read as follows:

Upon instructions from my Government and following my letters dated 3 January 2018 (S/2018/8), 13 October 2017 (S/2017/862) and 19 June 2017 (S/2017/521) regarding the United States hostile, interventionist and destabilizing approach towards the Islamic Republic of Iran, I have the honour to bring the following to your attention:

Some political figures and associates of the United States Government like Rudolph William Louis Giuliani and Newton Leroy Gingrich participated in a gathering held in Paris on 30 June 2018 by an anti-Iranian terrorist cult that openly incites blind violence against Iranian civilians. These associates of the United States Government have contributed to, and made baseless allegations and false statements against, the Islamic Republic of Iran in the said gathering.

The so-called Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) is a notorious terrorist cult responsible for the death of more than 17,000 Iranians, including parliamentarians, high-ranking governmental and military authorities, innocent ordinary citizens as well as foreign nationals, documented with different United Nations bodies and independent organizations (see, for instance, S/1994/983, S/1998/817, A/54/81, S/2000/128, S/2000/164, S/2000/216, S/2000/912, S/2000/1036, S/2000/1169, S/2000/1170, S/2001/271, S/2006/649 and S/2008/675).

This terrorist and violent cult had also been listed and sanctioned for years as terrorist group by the United States, and other States and regional unions for committing terrorist crimes. It is clear that removal of the cult from the United States list in 2012, done after intense lobbying by the United States politicians who have been paid by this group, was just a manifestation of double standard and selective approach of the United States Government in fighting terrorism.

Contrary to the recent misleading claims by this terrorist group, there is enough proof and evidence to the continuation of their dangerous deviant ideology and despicable modus operandi as well as involvement in terrorist operations for all of which the United States has international responsibility. As a case in point, the cult cooperated with adversaries’ intelligence services in the plots to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists between 2010 and 2015. This terrorist group has also militarily assisted Saddam Hussein’s regime in its aggression against the Iranian nation (September 1980–August 1988) and was directly involved in the massacre of Kurds and Arab people in Iraq.

The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns in the strongest terms the illegal measures of the United States Government against Iranian people including through supporting and financing of MKO as terrorist group, and considers this unlawful action in violation of international law, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations as well as the well-established international rules on countering terrorism, in particular international obligations of United States Government to prevent, prosecute and punish terrorist crimes. The United States Government shall cease and desist from such illegal measures and discontinue this policy.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as a document of the Security Council.

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On Saturday, a number of zealots got together in Paris to mark the annual meeting of the Mujahedin Khalgh Organization (MKO), also referred to as Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) in foreign media outlets.

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 Iranian foreign minister has reacted to the reports saying that an Iranian diplomat was arrested on suspicion of plotting a bomb attack on a meeting of MKO terrorist organization.

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“#Canada should seriously investigate the scope and nature of @stephenharper [Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister Stephen Harper] and @Baird’s [Former Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird] relationship with the #MEK [MKO] cult during their tenure as Prime and Foreign ministers,” Reza Nasri wrote on his Twitter account.

Harper attended the MKO gathering in Paris on Saturday. The event was addressed by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

“@stephenharper also spoke at the event, which lets presume that his irrational hostile policies toward #Iran (namely the closure of embassies and the de-listing of #MEK from terror list) were not predicted upon #Canada’s national interests as claimed, but upon lobby influence,” he added.

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