The leading exiled Iranian dissident group says the Biden administration is downplaying attacks against its followers in Europe to placate Iran’s hard-line theocratic regime and draw it back to the negotiating table over its suspect nuclear programs.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) came under renewed scrutiny after Albanian authorities raided a camp the group had established in Albania. The French government revealed last week that it would not allow an Iranian opposition rally planned for next month in the heart of Paris because of the risk of violence. The rallies have been held annually since 2008.
Ali Safavi, a representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran aligned with the MEK, told The Washington Times that the Biden administration is “maligning the MEK unjustly to appease Iran’s brutal rulers.”
The MEK has had a turbulent history with Washington. The group was once placed on and then removed from the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organizations list. It gained political influence in recent years by calling for Iranian regime change and aligning with the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran.
The Biden administration, which has sought detente with Tehran over the past three years, has held a cautious posture toward the MEK and downplayed the Albanian raid on the group’s complex. The White House has not protested the French decision to cancel the annual rally.
The MEK established a refuge in Albania under a deal brokered by the Obama administration. In the June 20 raid, Albanian authorities seized 150 computer devices, several people were injured and a 65-year-old Iranian dissident was killed, the group said.
The Iranian state-controlled Tasnim News Agency suggested that Albania carried out the raid at the behest of Tehran, which labels the MEK as a terrorist organization that it says is seeking to topple the Islamist regime.
“What happened in Albania was actually the result of the diplomacy of the authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the actions of various institutions,” a Tasnim report said.
In 2013, the Albanian government agreed to shelter MEK members on the condition that they not engage in any political activity and that they abide by the country’s laws. The Ashraf-3 camp now houses some 2,500 Iranian exiles in more than 125 buildings across a 100-acre property, according to The Associated Press.
The White House has not commented, but the State Department told The Washington Times that U.S. officials were informed of the raid and were confident that it was conducted lawfully. “We support the government of Albania’s right to investigate any potential illegal activities within its territory,” the department said.
Behind-the-scenes contacts between Washington and Tehran are designed to resurrect some version of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal repudiated by President Trump in 2018. The Biden administration’s top envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, has reportedly met multiple times with Amir Saeid Iravani, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, sparking speculation that the administration is eager to draw Tehran back into nuclear talks. Reports say Tehran’s programs are again nearing the “breakout” point for building a nuclear bomb.
A Biden administration attempt to lure Tehran to the negotiating table broke down last year after Iran rejected a compromise proposed by leading European nations. Iran says the U.S. is to blame for the collapse of the deal and the restoration of harsh economic sanctions. Tehran has demanded guarantees that future U.S. administrations will not follow Mr. Trump’s lead in rejecting any pact that limits Iran’s nuclear programs.
Anger on the Hill
Several prominent U.S. lawmakers have expressed outrage at the Biden administration’s response to the crackdown on the MEK.
The MEK filed a legal challenge after France released an Iranian diplomat convicted of plotting to bomb its annual rally in 2018.
“Deeply concerned that across Europe — and especially right now, France and Albania — our allies are appeasing the Iranian regime and cracking down on anti-regime dissidents,” Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, tweeted last week. “The Biden admin is reportedly supporting these pro-regime policies. … The crackdowns and appeasement will embolden and enable the Iranian regime to commit more global terrorism.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Democrat, said: “We must denounce activities to stop those freedom-loving Iranians in France and Albania from expressing their peaceful democratic views of opposition to the tyranny in Iran.”
Despite its outreach, the Biden administration has upheld the State Department’s long-standing designation of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism and kept in place a Trump-era designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Officials have said Mr. Biden would use force, if necessary, to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iranian dissidents associated with the MEK say the group is again caught in an on-again, off-again U.S. approach to negotiations.
The MEK was engaged in a power struggle against leaders of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and was known to have carried out terrorist attacks against Iranian government targets during the 1980s. U.S. officials say the MEK also participated in attacks on Americans, but representatives have long argued that no legitimate national security concerns drove Washington’s one-time listing as a terrorist organization.
The MEK says Clinton administration officials listed the group as a terrorist organization in the late 1990s as a sop to Tehran.
“We’ve witnessed this saga unfold before: a poorly constructed spectacle marked by the State Department’s incessant and unsuccessful attempts to appease Iran’s medieval mullah regime,” Mr. Safavi said.
“The credibility of the MEK doesn’t stem from the State Department’s absurd declarations but is firmly rooted in its relentless six-decade-long struggle and the significant sacrifices it has made in the fight for freedom in Iran,” he said.
• Ben Wolfgang contributed to this report.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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