BERLIN, March 19, 2011 (AFP) – At a conference held on Saturday in Berlin by the Iranian opposition movement, several former U.S. officials, both civilian and military, asked the U.S. to remove the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) from the list of terrorist organizations.
“Madam Secretary of State, remove the PMOI from this list”, former FBI Director Louis Freeh (1993-2001) urged U.S. chief diplomat Hillary Clinton.
He said he hoped that Clinton would one day meet Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) – the opposition group in exile which has the PMOI as its main component – just like the U.S. met this week with Libyan dissidents.
Former Attorney General (Minister of Justice 2007-2009) Michael Mukasey also called fort the delisting of the PMOI, saying such a decision would allow the organization to raise funds in the U.S. and rent satellite networks to broadcast televised programs for Iran.
“It is time to rid ourselves of our own hypocrisy,” he said, explaining why the PMOI had been placed initially on the terrorist list in 1997. Washington blacklisted the group at the behest of Iran to open dialogue with the regime and maintained the listing because Iran threatened to attack U.S. troops in Iraq, he said.
Mitchell Reiss, former director of planning at the State Department, confirmed the explanation. He also said, “I can assure you that supporting the Iranian opposition would strengthen our negotiating position rather than weakening it.”