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In recent meetings and conferences convened by the Iranian Resistance on various occasions, speakers have spotlighted a recurrent tactic employed by purported members of the Iranian diaspora. These individuals caution against engagement with the People’s Mojahedin Organization (PMOI/MEK), whether through social media, email bombardment, or persistent phone calls, claiming that the MEK lacks support within Iran and should be avoided at all costs.
This approach, however, is not novel. For decades, whenever a former foreign leader or a sitting MP engages with the National Council of Resistance (NCRI), an umbrella coalition that includes the MEK, the Iranian regime’s embassies around the globe target these individuals. They inundate them with emails, books, leaflets, and flyers, warning of the purportedly cultish and terrorist nature of the MEK, urging them to steer clear of the organization.
In 2011, British MP Steve McCabe wrote to his fellow members in the House of Commons, “You might be contacted by people purporting to be ordinary Iranians living in the UK and warning you not to support the PMOI… I’m afraid this is a standard ploy of MOIS (Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security) and the individuals they mention are actually their agents. You might also receive a barrage of emails and phone calls as well as an expensive booklet produced by the Iranian Embassy. I’ve experienced this situation before as have a number of other members who have, over the years, supported the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom.”
It is remarkable, however, that these warnings and hate letters seem to originate from sources ostensibly opposed to the terrorist regime in Iran, yet curiously, they align themselves with efforts that undermine initiatives most effectively targeting Tehran.
At a conference in the French Parliament in early 2023, former Colombian Senator Ingrid Betancourt recounted her ordeal of being heavily targeted by individuals who accused her of defending a dangerous cult. She explained how she was taken aback and started doing her own investigation to understand what she was experiencing.
However, the sheer volume of insults and severe attacks has led many to question the validity of these claims, raising doubts as to whether they serve their intended purpose.
#Iran’s Regime Admits Failure in 44-Year Effort to Discredit #MEKhttps://t.co/rgxK3iXWrE
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 29, 2024
A year later, at a major event in Paris honoring International Women’s Day, Mrs. Ingrid Betancourt asserted, “The Iranian regime has an entire diplomacy built to confront the MEK and demonize Maryam Rajavi… If this movement wasn’t important, why bother? Recently, we’ve been informed about leaked messages from the Foreign Minister and intelligence inside Iran. There is a strategy to pay academics, scientists, people who normally feel neutral and objective, and say they’re unbiased, they’re paid by the regime to demonize the PMOI.”
During a conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on November 22, former German Minister of Defense Dr. Franz-Josef Jung stated, “Recent revelations about a network of so-called experts associated with the Iranian regime highlight the demonization of Iran’s resistance. One of the strangest claims by these individuals on behalf of the Iranian regime is that the National Council of Resistance of Iran has no support among the Iranian people. If this is true, I ask why supporters of the National Council of Resistance have been arrested, and some of them executed. Why demonize the NCRI? The truth is that the National Council of Resistance receives support from the Iranian people, is well-organized, and, with Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point plan, has a democratic platform for Iran’s future.”
At an event on March 9, former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed the Iranian-American community, “I remember when I became Secretary of State, I found it interesting that the mullahs constantly say there is no alternative to their regime, and yet spend billion dollars to defend against that very alternative. They spend all of their political capital, they spend all their time, and all their resources denying the alternative possibilities. They waged several rounds of major cyber-attacks against Albania, asking the government to silence the main opposition. What is it they are afraid of if there’s no alternative? Every single week, inside every single city in Iran, the regime directs its Friday prayers to its leaders to chant against a non-existent alternative. All this energy should encourage us. It should remind us that the only alternative is the Resistance and the efforts to upend this evil regime.”
