Paris-based Rajavi, is the ëpresident-electû of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which Tehran has accused of waging an armed struggle against the country’s government. She met members of the Norwegian Parliament’s foreign affairs committee in a closed session on Tuesday to brief them on her group’s criticism of the state of human rights and democracy in Iran, as well as the country’s nuclear program, which many in the West see as an attempt to develop atomic weapons.
Paris-based Rajavi, is the ëpresident-electû of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which Tehran has accused of waging an armed struggle against the country’s government. She met members of the Norwegian Parliament’s foreign affairs committee in a closed session on Tuesday to brief them on her group’s criticism of the state of human rights and democracy in Iran, as well as the country’s nuclear program, which many in the West see as an attempt to develop atomic weapons.
ëThe Mullahs and their regime are not just a threat against the Iranian people, but against all of humanity,û she was quoted telling the Norwegian news agency NTB outside Parliament.
She said she hopes Norway and the rest of the world will maintain pressure on Iran’s government. ëEveryone knows that Iran is sitting on large oil and natural gas reserves,û she was quoted as saying. ëWhy are the Mullah’s wasting that prosperity in atomic weapons? Yes, so they can threaten the whole Middle East.û
Word of the visit immediately sparked anger in Tehran. On Friday, Iran’s ambassador to Norway Abdul Reza Faraji Rad met foreign affairs committee chairman Olav Akselsen and threatened serious consequences for Norwegian-Iranian relations if the meeting with Rajavi was held. On Sunday, the Iranian government followed up by summoning the Norwegian ambassador to Tehran to protest the Rajavi visit.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry responded by saying warnings and veiled threats from a foreign government were not acceptable, and that it was up to members of parliament, rather than the Norwegian government, to decide whom they would meet.
After the Tuesday meeting in Parliament, committee member Marit Nybakk of the Labor Party, told NTB that ëIt is important for us to meet all of those who oppose the Iranian regime, which at the moment is one of the worst in the world. But talking to them is not the same as supporting them.û
The NCRI is the political wing of the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, an opposition group founded by students at Tehran University in the 1960s. The Mujahedeen now advocates the overthrow of Iran’s government and regards itself as legitimate opposition to the hardline clerical regime in Tehran.