People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The '''People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI)''', also known as '''Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK)''' or '''Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO)''' ({{lang-fa|سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران|sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân}}),{{efn

|The most common denominations in English sources are People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) and Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/politics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mujahedin-e-khalq-organization-mek-or-mko |title=Mujahedin-E Khalq Organization (MEK Or MKO) |encyclopedia=encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Some sources have used literal translations such as People's Struggler's<ref>{{cite book|author=Amin Saikal|title=The Rise and Fall of the Shah|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|page=xxii}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=US Foreign Policy and the Iranian Revolution|author=Christian Emery|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|year=2013|page=60}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Mohsen Sazegara and Maria J. Stephan|title=Civilian Jihad|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|page=188}}</ref> or People's Holy Warriors.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gavin R. G. Hambly|title=The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 7|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|page=284}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Conflict in the Modern Middle East: An Encyclopedia of Civil War, Revolutions, and Regime Change|entry=Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK)|page=208|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Mahan Abedin]]|title=Iran Resurgent: The Rise and Rise of the Shia State|publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co.]]|page=60|year=2019}}</ref> The group had no name until February 1972.{{sfn|Vahabzadeh|2010|p=100, 167–168}}

}} an Iranian political-[[militant]] organization.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crane |first1=Keith |last2=Lal |first2=Rollie |title=Iran's Political, Demographic, and Economic Vulnerabilities |year=2008 |publisher=Rand Corporation |isbn = 978-0-8330-4527-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PmlMdb5ACHEC&pg=PA26 |access-date=11 September 2018 |quote=The Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) [...] is a militant organization}}</ref> that advocates overthrowing the [[Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran]] and installing its own government.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=2}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=23}} Its revolutionary interpretation of Islam contrasts with the conservative Islam of the traditional clergy as well as the [[populist]] version developed by [[Ayatollah Khomeini]] in the 1970s.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=1}} TheIt MEKis was at one pointalso Iran's "largest and most active armed dissident group",<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_jh4VBi_HYC |title=Mujahideen-e-Khalq Organization |work=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism |edition=2nd |publisher=Sage |editor-link=C. Augustus Martin |date=2011 |editor-first=Gus |editor-last=Martin |isbn=9781412980166}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Cimment|first=James|year=2011|title=World Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Political Violence from Ancient Times to the Post-9/11 Era, 2nd Edition|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0765682840|doi=10.4324/9781315697994|pp=276,859|quote=The strength of the movement inside Iran is uncertain [...] MEK is the largest and most active Iranian dissident group; its membership includes several thousand well-armed and highly disciplined fighters.}}</ref> and some sources today still present it as a major political opposition group,.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=97}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Ban on Iran opposition should be lifted, says EU court|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/lawreports/joshuarozenberg/3247818/Ban-on-Iran-opposition-should-be-lifted-says-EU-court.html |work=Telegraph |location= |quote=Iran's main opposition group}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The People's Mujahidin: the Iranian dissidents seeking regime change in Tehran|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/peoples-mujahidin-mek-dissidents-seeking-regime-change-in-tehran-rch5w8knc |work=The Times|location= |quote=the biggest and most resilient Iranian opposition group}}</ref> though it is known to be unpopular within Iran.<ref name=ipgbu/><ref name="auto34"/>

The MEK was founded on 5 September 1965 by leftist Iranian students affiliated with the [[Freedom Movement of Iran]] to oppose the [[Shah]] [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]].<ref name="Iranian Politics"/><ref name="auto10">{{cite book |first=Michael|last=Newton|title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia|volume=1|date=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-286-1|page=28|entry=Bahonar, Mohammad-Javad (1933–1981)|quote=}}</ref> The organization engaged in armed conflict with the [[Pahlavi dynasty]] in the 1970s{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=1–2}} and contributed to overthrowing the Shah during the [[1979 Iranian Revolution]]. It subsequently pursued the establishment of a democracy in Iran, particularly gaining support from Iran's middle class [[intelligentsia]].<ref name="auto7">{{cite news |url= http://www.france24.com/en/20180103-peoples-mojahedin-exiled-iranian-opposition |title=The People's Mojahedin: exiled Iranian opposition |work= France24 |access-date=24 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525211316/https://www.france24.com/en/20180103-peoples-mojahedin-exiled-iranian-opposition |archive-date= 25 May 2019 }}</ref><ref name="auto8">{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xnqXs2PKgNcC |title=Ending Holy Wars: Religion and Conflict Resolution in Civil Wars |last=Svensson |first=Isak |date=1 April 2013 |publisher=Univ. of Queensland Press |isbn = 978-0-7022-4956-3 }}</ref>{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=100}} The MEK boycotted the [[December 1979 Iranian constitutional referendum|1979 constitutional referendum]], which led to Khomeini barring MEK leader [[Massoud Rajavi]] from the [[1980 Iranian presidential election|1980 presidential election]].{{efn|Khomeini declared that "those who had failed to endorse the Constitution could not be trusted to abide by that Constitution."{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=198|ps=. "The Mojahedin also refused to participate in the referendum held in December to ratify the Constitution drafted by the Assembly of Experts [...] Once the Constitution had been ratified, the Mojahedin tried to field Rajavi as their presidential candidate [...] Khomeini promptly responded by barring Rajavi from the election by declaring that those who had failed to endorse the Constitution could not be trusted to abide by that Constitution."}}}}<ref name=Katz=boycott>{{harvnb|Katzman|2001|p=101|ps=. "Khomeini refused to allow Masud Rajavi to run in January 1980 presidential elections because the PMOI had boycotted a referendum on the Islamic republican constitution."}}</ref>{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=2}} On June 20, 1981, the MEK organized a [[20 June 1981 Iranian protests|demonstration against Khomeini]] with the aim of overthrowing the regime. Some 50 demonstrators were killed in the protests.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=206-207,219|ps=. "by the fateful day of 20 June, the Mojahedin - together with Bani-Sadr - were exhorting the masses to repeat their 'heroic revolution of 1978-9'...The success of 1978-9 had not been duplicated. Having failed to bring down the regime, Bani-Sadr and Rajavi fled to Paris where they tried to minimize their defeat by claiming that the true intention of 20 June had not been so much to overthrow the whole regime."}}<ref name=merat2018>{{cite news |last1=Merat |first1=Arron |title=Terrorists, cultists – or champions of Iranian democracy? The wild wild story of the MEK |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/nov/09/mek-iran-revolution-regime-trump-rajavi |access-date=9 February 2019 |work=News agency |agency=theguardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date=9 November 2018|quote=On 20 June 1981, the MEK organised a mass protest of half a million people in Tehran, with the aim of triggering a second revolution… 50 demonstrators were killed, with 200 wounded. Banisadr was removed from office...}}</ref><ref name=Katz=boycott/> On June 28, the headquarters of the Islamic Republic Party was [[Hafte Tir bombing|blown up]], allegedly by MEK, and more than 70 members of the leadership were killed..<ref>{{cite book |first=Bayram |last=Sinkaya |title=The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn = 978-1-138-85364-5 |page = 105 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kp3wCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA105|quote=The most drastic show of terror instigated by the MKO was the blast of a bomb placed in the IRP headquarter on 28 June 1980 that killed more than seventy prominent members of the IRP, including Ayatollah Beheshti, founder of the IRP and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; four cabinet ministers; and twenty-seven members of the Majles.}}<br />*{{cite book |last1=Fayazmanesh |first1=Sasan |title=The United States and Iran Sanctions, wars and the policy of dual containment |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-94620-6 |pages=79–80 |quote=In 1981, the MEK detonated bombs in the head office of the Islamic Republic Party and the Premier's office, killing some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei, and Premier Mohammad-Javad Bahonar}}<br />*{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/212 212]|publisher=Greenwood|year=2004|first1=Stephen E.|last1=Atkins|isbn=978-0-313-32485-7|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/212|quote=the MEK leaders found that they had no role in the new regime…In response, supporters launched a terror campaign against Khomeini's regime. On June 28, 1981, two bombs killed 74 members of the Khomeini Islamic Republic Party (IRP) at a party conference in Tehran.}}<br />*{{cite web |last1=Pedde |first1=Nicola |title=ROLE AND EVOLUTION OF THE MOJAHEDIN E-KA |url=https://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/vaseteh/article/download/3153/3137 |website=ojs.uniroma1}}<br />*{{cite web |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title=Q&A: what is the MEK and why did the US call it a terrorist organisation? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/sep/21/qanda-mek-us-terrorist-organisation |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 September 2012 |access-date=21 September 2012}}</ref><ref name=Petro>{{cite book |last1=Colgan |first1=Jeff |title=Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War |date=31 January 2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press 2013 |isbn=978-1-107-02967-5 |page=167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enReCU97-zQC&pg=PA167}}</ref><ref name=source2>{{cite book |last1=S. Ismael |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Perry |first2=Glenn |last3=Y. Ismael |first3=Tareq |title=Government and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East: Continuity and change |date=5 October 2015 |publisher=Routledge (2015) |isbn=978-1-317-66283-9 |page=181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AKpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181}}</ref><ref name="ABC-CLIO">{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia |date=17 April 2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO (2014) |isbn=978-1-61069-286-1 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27}}</ref>{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|page=57|ps=. "The most ambitious attack attributed to the MeK was the bombing of the IRP's Tehran headquarters on June 28, 1981. This attack killed more than 71 members of the Iranian leadership, including cleric Ayatollah Beheshti, who was both secretary-general of the IRP and chief justice of the IRI's judicial system."}} Facing the subsequent repression of the MEK by the IRP, [[Massoud Rajavi|Rajavi]] fled to Paris.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=58|ps=. "Khomeini's Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps brutally suppressed the MeK, arresting and executing thousands of members and supporters. The armed revolt was poorly planned and short-lived. On July 29, 1981, Rajavi, the MeK leadership, and Banisadr escaped to Paris"}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=219|ps=. "The success of 1978-9 had not been duplicated. Having failed to bring down the regime, Bani-Sadr and Rajavi fled to Paris where they tried to minimize their defeat by claiming that the true intention of 20 June had not been so much to overthrow the whole regime"}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/212 212]|publisher=Greenwood|year=2004|first1=Stephen E.|last1=Atkins|isbn=978-0-313-32485-7|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/212|quote=These attacks led to a brutal crackdown on all dissidents. Throughout 1981 a mini - civil war existed between the Khomeini regime and the MEK . By the end of 1982, most MEK operatives in Iran had been eradicated . By the time, most MEK leaders left Iran for refugee in France.}}</ref>

On June 20, 1981, the MEK organized a [[20 June 1981 Iranian protests|demonstration against Khomeini]] with the aim of overthrowing the regime. Some 50 demonstrators were killed in the protests.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=206-207,219|ps=. "by the fateful day of 20 June, the Mojahedin - together with Bani-Sadr - were exhorting the masses to repeat their 'heroic revolution of 1978-9'...The success of 1978-9 had not been duplicated. Having failed to bring down the regime, Bani-Sadr and Rajavi fled to Paris where they tried to minimize their defeat by claiming that the true intention of 20 June had not been so much to overthrow the whole regime."}}<ref name=merat2018>{{cite news |last1=Merat |first1=Arron |title=Terrorists, cultists – or champions of Iranian democracy? The wild wild story of the MEK |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/nov/09/mek-iran-revolution-regime-trump-rajavi |access-date=9 February 2019 |work=News agency |agency=theguardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date=9 November 2018|quote=On 20 June 1981, the MEK organised a mass protest of half a million people in Tehran, with the aim of triggering a second revolution… 50 demonstrators were killed, with 200 wounded. Banisadr was removed from office...}}</ref><ref name=Katz=boycott/> On June 28, the headquarters of the Islamic Republic Party was [[Hafte Tir bombing|blown up]], allegedly by MEK, and more than 70 members of the leadership were killed..<ref>{{cite book |first=Bayram |last=Sinkaya |title=The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn = 978-1-138-85364-5 |page = 105 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kp3wCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA105|quote=The most drastic show of terror instigated by the MKO was the blast of a bomb placed in the IRP headquarter on 28 June 1980 that killed more than seventy prominent members of the IRP, including Ayatollah Beheshti, founder of the IRP and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; four cabinet ministers; and twenty-seven members of the Majles.}}<br />*{{cite book |last1=Fayazmanesh |first1=Sasan |title=The United States and Iran Sanctions, wars and the policy of dual containment |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-94620-6 |pages=79–80 |quote=In 1981, the MEK detonated bombs in the head office of the Islamic Republic Party and the Premier's office, killing some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including Chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei, and Premier Mohammad-Javad Bahonar}}<br />*{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/212 212]|publisher=Greenwood|year=2004|first1=Stephen E.|last1=Atkins|isbn=978-0-313-32485-7|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/212|quote=the MEK leaders found that they had no role in the new regime…In response, supporters launched a terror campaign against Khomeini's regime. On June 28, 1981, two bombs killed 74 members of the Khomeini Islamic Republic Party (IRP) at a party conference in Tehran.}}<br />*{{cite web |last1=Pedde |first1=Nicola |title=ROLE AND EVOLUTION OF THE MOJAHEDIN E-KA |url=https://ojs.uniroma1.it/index.php/vaseteh/article/download/3153/3137 |website=ojs.uniroma1}}<br />*{{cite web |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title=Q&A: what is the MEK and why did the US call it a terrorist organisation? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/sep/21/qanda-mek-us-terrorist-organisation |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 September 2012 |access-date=21 September 2012}}</ref><ref name=Petro>{{cite book |last1=Colgan |first1=Jeff |title=Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War |date=31 January 2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press 2013 |isbn=978-1-107-02967-5 |page=167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enReCU97-zQC&pg=PA167}}</ref><ref name=source2>{{cite book |last1=S. Ismael |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Perry |first2=Glenn |last3=Y. Ismael |first3=Tareq |title=Government and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East: Continuity and change |date=5 October 2015 |publisher=Routledge (2015) |isbn=978-1-317-66283-9 |page=181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AKpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181}}</ref><ref name="ABC-CLIO">{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia |date=17 April 2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO (2014) |isbn=978-1-61069-286-1 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27}}</ref>{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|page=57|ps=. "The most ambitious attack attributed to the MeK was the bombing of the IRP's Tehran headquarters on June 28, 1981. This attack killed more than 71 members of the Iranian leadership, including cleric Ayatollah Beheshti, who was both secretary-general of the IRP and chief justice of the IRI's judicial system."}} Facing the subsequent repression of the MEK by the IRP, [[Massoud Rajavi|Rajavi]] fled to Paris.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=58|ps=. "Khomeini's Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps brutally suppressed the MeK, arresting and executing thousands of members and supporters. The armed revolt was poorly planned and short-lived. On July 29, 1981, Rajavi, the MeK leadership, and Banisadr escaped to Paris"}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=219|ps=. "The success of 1978-9 had not been duplicated. Having failed to bring down the regime, Bani-Sadr and Rajavi fled to Paris where they tried to minimize their defeat by claiming that the true intention of 20 June had not been so much to overthrow the whole regime"}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/212 212]|publisher=Greenwood|year=2004|first1=Stephen E.|last1=Atkins|isbn=978-0-313-32485-7|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/212|quote=These attacks led to a brutal crackdown on all dissidents. Throughout 1981 a mini - civil war existed between the Khomeini regime and the MEK . By the end of 1982, most MEK operatives in Iran had been eradicated . By the time, most MEK leaders left Iran for refugee in France.}}</ref> During the exile, the underground network that remained in Iran continued to plan and carry out attacks{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989 |p=220-221,258|ps=. "By the autumn of 1981, the Mojahedin were carrying out daily attacks...The number of assassinations and armed attacks initiated by the Mojahedin fell from the peak of three per day in July 1981 to five per week in February 1982, and to five per month by December 1982."}}{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=85}} and it allegedly conducted the [[1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing|August 1981 bombing]] that killed Iran's president and prime minister, [[Mohammad-Ali Rajai|Rajai]] and [[Mohammad-Javad Bahonar|Bahonar]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |date=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-286-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 |access-date=19 July 2019|page=27|quote=On August 30, 1981, a bomb exploded in the Tehran office of Iranian prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. The blast killed Bahonar, as well as President Mohammad-Ali Rajai...Survivors described the explosion occurring when one victim opened a briefcase, brought into the office by Massoud Kashmiri, a state security official. Subsequent investigation revealed that Kashmiri was an agent of the leftist People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK)}}</ref>{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=101}}{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=85}}

During the exile, the underground network that remained in Iran continued to plan and carry out attacks{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989 |p=220-221,258|ps=. "By the autumn of 1981, the Mojahedin were carrying out daily attacks...The number of assassinations and armed attacks initiated by the Mojahedin fell from the peak of three per day in July 1981 to five per week in February 1982, and to five per month by December 1982."}}{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=85}} and it allegedly conducted the [[1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing|August 1981 bombing]] that killed Iran's president and prime minister, [[Mohammad-Ali Rajai|Rajai]] and [[Mohammad-Javad Bahonar|Bahonar]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |date=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-286-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 |access-date=19 July 2019|page=27|quote=On August 30, 1981, a bomb exploded in the Tehran office of Iranian prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. The blast killed Bahonar, as well as President Mohammad-Ali Rajai...Survivors described the explosion occurring when one victim opened a briefcase, brought into the office by Massoud Kashmiri, a state security official. Subsequent investigation revealed that Kashmiri was an agent of the leftist People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK)}}</ref>{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=101}}{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=85}} In 1983, the MEK started ties with Iraq following a meeting between [[Massoud Rajavi]] and [[Tariq Aziz]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Shaul |last=Shay |title = The Axis of Evil: Iran, Hizballah, and the Palestinian Terror|date=October 1994 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLo6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT239|isbn=978-0-7658-0255-2|quote="The organizations' ties with Iraq (mainly Rajavi's meeting with Tariq Aziz in January 1983) were exploited to demonstrate the organizations betrayal due to its willingness to join forces with Iran's enemies on the outside." }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Piazza|1994}}: "At the beginning of January of 1983, Rajavi held a highly publicized meeting with then Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Tarqi Aziz, which culminated in the signing of a peace communique on January 9 of that year. Rajavi, acting as the chairman of the NCR, co-outlined a peace plan with Aziz based on an agreement of mutual recognition of borders as defined by the 1975 Algiers Treaty."</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/10/world/iraqi-visits-iranian-leftist-in-paris.html|title=Iraqi Visits Iranian Leftist in Paris|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 January 1983|quote= The Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and the exiled leader of an Iranian leftist group met for four hours today and said afterward that the war between their countries should brought to an end. The conversations between Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz of Iraq and Massoud Rajavi, leader of the People's Mojahedin, an organization that includes a guerrilla wing active in Iran, were described by Mr. Rajavi as the first of their kind. He said the exchange of views had been "an important political turning point on the regional level and for the world in relation to the Iran-Iraq War"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Shaul |last=Shay |title = The Axis of Evil: Iran, Hizballah, and the Palestinian Terror |date=October 1994 |publisher = Routledge |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=uLo6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT239|isbn=978-0-7658-0255-2|quote="Despite the mortal blow inflicted on the organization, the Iranian regime continued to regard the Mujahidin as a real threat, and therefore continued to persecute its followers and damage their public image. The organizations' ties with Iraq (mainly Rajavi's meeting with Tariq Aziz in January 1983) were exploited to demonstrate the organizations betrayal due to its willingness to join forces with Iran's enemies on the outside."}}</ref> In 1986, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) requested France to expel the MEK from its Paris headquarters,{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}<ref name="auto23">{{citation |author1-link=Dominique Lorentz |last1=Lorentz |first1=Dominique |first2=Carr-Brown |last2=David |title=La République atomique |trans-title=The Atomic Republic |date=14 November 2001 |language=fr |publisher=[[Arte TV]]}}</ref> so in response it re-established its base [[Camp Ashraf]] in Iraq. It took part in [[Operation Mersad]],<ref name="Saeed Kamali">{{Cite news |last = Dehghan |first = Saeed Kamali |title = Who is the Iranian group targeted by bombers and beloved of Trump allies? |url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/02/iran-mek-cult-terrorist-trump-allies-john-bolton-rudy-giuliani |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2 July 2018 |quote = ...by then sheltered in camps in Iraq, fought against Iran alongside the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein...}}</ref><ref name="Farrokh 03">{{cite book |last=Farrokh |first=Kaveh |title=Iran at War: 1500–1988 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford, England |isbn = 978-1-78096-221-4 |date=20 December 2011 }}</ref> [[Operation Forty Stars]], operation Shining Sun<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Buchan |first1=James |title=Days of God: The Revolution in Iran and Its Consequences |date=15 October 2013 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4165-9777-3 |pages=317 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XY9FAQAAQBAJ&q=%E2%80%9COperation+sunshine%E2%80%9D&pg=PA317 |access-date=17 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Al-Hassan |first1=Omar |title=Strategic Survey of the Middle East |year=1989 |publisher=Brassey's |isbn=978-0-08-037703-2 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rv0xAQAAIAAJ&q=shining+sun |access-date=17 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite book |last1=Alaolmolki |first1=Nozar |title=Struggle for Dominance in the Persian Gulf: Past, Present, and Future Prospects |year=1991 |publisher=University of Michigan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8ZtAAAAMAAJ&q=operation+shining+sun |page=105|isbn=9780820415901 |access-date=17 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto26"/> and the suppression of the [[1991 Iraqi uprisings|1991 uprisings in Iraq]].{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=208}}<ref name="bdt45cgf112">{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1569788,00.html|title=Iran's Armed Opposition Wins a Battle — In Court|last=Graff|first=James|date=14 December 2006|magazine=Time|access-date=13 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428210515/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C1569788%2C00.html|archive-date=28 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="aph.gov.au">{{cite web |url = http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm |title = Behind the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK) |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090928061304/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm |archive-date=28 September 2009 |url-status=dead|access-date=3 August 2009}}</ref> Following Operation Mersad, Iranian officials ordered the [[1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners|execution of the prisoners]] said to support the MEK.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/02/04/wiran04.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210125211/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F02%2F04%2Fwiran04.xml |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 February 2006 |title=Khomeini fatwa 'led to killing of 30,000 in Iran' |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=12 September 2021 }}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/i-was-lucky-to-escape-with-my-life-the-massacre-of-iranian-political-prisoners-in-1988-must-now-be-8779679.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/i-was-lucky-to-escape-with-my-life-the-massacre-of-iranian-political-prisoners-in-1988-must-now-be-8779679.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=I was lucky to escape with my life. The massacre of Iranian political prisoners in 1988 must now be investigated|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1=Buchta|first1=Wilfried|title= Who rules Iran?: the structure of power in the Islamic Republic|publisher=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung| place=Washington DC|year=2000|isbn=978-0-944029-39-8|pages=52–54}}</ref> In 2002, the MEK was a source for claims about the [[nuclear program of Iran]].{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=105}} In 2003, the MEK signed a ceasefire agreement with the U.S. and put down their arms in [[Camp Ashraf]].<ref>{{cite web|title=American Forces Reach Cease-Fire With Terror Group|work=The New York Times|first1=Douglas|last1=Jehl|first2=Michael R.|last2=Gordon|date=29 April 2003|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/29/international/worldspecial/29TERR.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/45323.pdf|title=Patterns of Global Terrorism 2004, U.S. Department of State|website=2009-2017.state.gov|access-date=21 July 2022}}</ref>▼

▲During the exile, the underground network that remained in Iran continued to plan and carry out attacks{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989 |p=220-221,258|ps=. "By the autumn of 1981, the Mojahedin were carrying out daily attacks...The number of assassinations and armed attacks initiated by the Mojahedin fell from the peak of three per day in July 1981 to five per week in February 1982, and to five per month by December 1982."}}{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=85}} and it allegedly conducted the [[1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing|August 1981 bombing]] that killed Iran's president and prime minister, [[Mohammad-Ali Rajai|Rajai]] and [[Mohammad-Javad Bahonar|Bahonar]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |date=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-286-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 |access-date=19 July 2019|page=27|quote=On August 30, 1981, a bomb exploded in the Tehran office of Iranian prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. The blast killed Bahonar, as well as President Mohammad-Ali Rajai...Survivors described the explosion occurring when one victim opened a briefcase, brought into the office by Massoud Kashmiri, a state security official. Subsequent investigation revealed that Kashmiri was an agent of the leftist People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK)}}</ref>{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=101}}{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=85}} In 1983, the MEK started ties with Iraq following a meeting between [[Massoud Rajavi]] and [[Tariq Aziz]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Shaul |last=Shay |title = The Axis of Evil: Iran, Hizballah, and the Palestinian Terror|date=October 1994 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLo6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT239|isbn=978-0-7658-0255-2|quote="The organizations' ties with Iraq (mainly Rajavi's meeting with Tariq Aziz in January 1983) were exploited to demonstrate the organizations betrayal due to its willingness to join forces with Iran's enemies on the outside." }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Piazza|1994}}: "At the beginning of January of 1983, Rajavi held a highly publicized meeting with then Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Tarqi Aziz, which culminated in the signing of a peace communique on January 9 of that year. Rajavi, acting as the chairman of the NCR, co-outlined a peace plan with Aziz based on an agreement of mutual recognition of borders as defined by the 1975 Algiers Treaty."</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/10/world/iraqi-visits-iranian-leftist-in-paris.html|title=Iraqi Visits Iranian Leftist in Paris|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 January 1983|quote= The Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and the exiled leader of an Iranian leftist group met for four hours today and said afterward that the war between their countries should brought to an end. The conversations between Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz of Iraq and Massoud Rajavi, leader of the People's Mojahedin, an organization that includes a guerrilla wing active in Iran, were described by Mr. Rajavi as the first of their kind. He said the exchange of views had been "an important political turning point on the regional level and for the world in relation to the Iran-Iraq War"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Shaul |last=Shay |title = The Axis of Evil: Iran, Hizballah, and the Palestinian Terror |date=October 1994 |publisher = Routledge |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=uLo6DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT239|isbn=978-0-7658-0255-2|quote="Despite the mortal blow inflicted on the organization, the Iranian regime continued to regard the Mujahidin as a real threat, and therefore continued to persecute its followers and damage their public image. The organizations' ties with Iraq (mainly Rajavi's meeting with Tariq Aziz in January 1983) were exploited to demonstrate the organizations betrayal due to its willingness to join forces with Iran's enemies on the outside."}}</ref> In 1986, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) requested France to expel the MEK from its Paris headquarters,{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}<ref name="auto23">{{citation |author1-link=Dominique Lorentz |last1=Lorentz |first1=Dominique |first2=Carr-Brown |last2=David |title=La République atomique |trans-title=The Atomic Republic |date=14 November 2001 |language=fr |publisher=[[Arte TV]]}}</ref> so in response it re-established its base [[Camp Ashraf]] in Iraq. It took part in [[Operation Mersad]],<ref name="Saeed Kamali">{{Cite news |last = Dehghan |first = Saeed Kamali |title = Who is the Iranian group targeted by bombers and beloved of Trump allies? |url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/02/iran-mek-cult-terrorist-trump-allies-john-bolton-rudy-giuliani |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2 July 2018 |quote = ...by then sheltered in camps in Iraq, fought against Iran alongside the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein...}}</ref><ref name="Farrokh 03">{{cite book |last=Farrokh |first=Kaveh |title=Iran at War: 1500–1988 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford, England |isbn = 978-1-78096-221-4 |date=20 December 2011 }}</ref> [[Operation Forty Stars]], operation Shining Sun<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Buchan |first1=James |title=Days of God: The Revolution in Iran and Its Consequences |date=15 October 2013 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4165-9777-3 |pages=317 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XY9FAQAAQBAJ&q=%E2%80%9COperation+sunshine%E2%80%9D&pg=PA317 |access-date=17 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Al-Hassan |first1=Omar |title=Strategic Survey of the Middle East |year=1989 |publisher=Brassey's |isbn=978-0-08-037703-2 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rv0xAQAAIAAJ&q=shining+sun |access-date=17 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite book |last1=Alaolmolki |first1=Nozar |title=Struggle for Dominance in the Persian Gulf: Past, Present, and Future Prospects |year=1991 |publisher=University of Michigan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8ZtAAAAMAAJ&q=operation+shining+sun |page=105|isbn=9780820415901 |access-date=17 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto26"/> and the suppression of the [[1991 Iraqi uprisings|1991 uprisings in Iraq]].{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=208}}<ref name="bdt45cgf112">{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1569788,00.html|title=Iran's Armed Opposition Wins a Battle — In Court|last=Graff|first=James|date=14 December 2006|magazine=Time|access-date=13 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428210515/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C1569788%2C00.html|archive-date=28 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="aph.gov.au">{{cite web |url = http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm |title = Behind the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK) |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090928061304/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm |archive-date=28 September 2009 |url-status=dead|access-date=3 August 2009}}</ref> Following Operation Mersad, Iranian officials ordered the [[1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners|execution of the prisoners]] said to support the MEK.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/02/04/wiran04.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210125211/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F02%2F04%2Fwiran04.xml |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 February 2006 |title=Khomeini fatwa 'led to killing of 30,000 in Iran' |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=12 September 2021 }}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/i-was-lucky-to-escape-with-my-life-the-massacre-of-iranian-political-prisoners-in-1988-must-now-be-8779679.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/i-was-lucky-to-escape-with-my-life-the-massacre-of-iranian-political-prisoners-in-1988-must-now-be-8779679.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=I was lucky to escape with my life. The massacre of Iranian political prisoners in 1988 must now be investigated|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1=Buchta|first1=Wilfried|title= Who rules Iran?: the structure of power in the Islamic Republic|publisher=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung| place=Washington DC|year=2000|isbn=978-0-944029-39-8|pages=52–54}}</ref> In 2002, the MEK was a source for claims about the [[nuclear program of Iran]].{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=105}} In 2003, the MEK signed a ceasefire agreement with the U.S. and put down their arms in [[Camp Ashraf]].<ref>{{cite web|title=American Forces Reach Cease-Fire With Terror Group|work=The New York Times|first1=Douglas|last1=Jehl|first2=Michael R.|last2=Gordon|date=29 April 2003|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/29/international/worldspecial/29TERR.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/45323.pdf|title=Patterns of Global Terrorism 2004, U.S. Department of State|website=2009-2017.state.gov|access-date=21 July 2022}}</ref>

The MEK is currently designated as a [[List of designated terrorist groups|terrorist organization]] by Iran and Iraq.<ref name="bdt45cgf112"/> Between 1997 and 2013, the MEK was also on the lists of terrorist organizations of the US, Canada, EU, UK and Japan. In June 2004, the U.S. designated MEK members in Camp Ashraf ‘protected persons’ under the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]], relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1394212018ENGLISH.PDF |title=URGENT ACTION DETAINEES HELD INCOMMUNICADO RISK TORTURE|date=4 December 2018 |access-date=2 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBLA646389 |title=FACTBOX-Who are the People's Mujahideen of Iran?|website=[[Reuters]]|date=26 January 2009 |access-date=2 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wills |first1=Siobhán |year=2010 |title=The Obligations Due to Former 'Protected Persons' in Conflicts that have Ceased to be International: The People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran|url = https://academic.oup.com/jcsl/article-abstract/15/1/117/768740?redirectedFrom=PDF |journal=Journal of Conflict and Security Law|volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=117–139 |doi=10.1093/jcsl/krq002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Said |first=Wadie |title=Crimes of Terror: The Legal and Political Implications of Federal Terrorism Prosecutions|date=2015 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=978-0199969494 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8sG6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA166|access-date=2 April 2022|quote="in 2004 obtained 'protected person' status under the Fourth Geneva Convention for all PMOI members at Camp Ashraf based on the U.S. investigators' conclusions that none was a combatant or had committed a crime under any U.S. laws; disbanded its military units and disarmed the Pmoi members at Ashraf, all of whom signed a document rejecting violence and terror"}}</ref> which expired in 2009 after the attainment of the full sovereignty of Iraq.<ref name="cfr"/>▼

Critics have described the group as "resembling a cult",<ref>{{cite book |last=Erlich |first=Reese |title=The Iran Agenda Today: The Real Story Inside Iran and What's Wrong with U.S. Policy |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-94157-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PUNvDwAAQBAJ&q=Iran+Agenda:+The+Real+Story+of+U.S.+Policy+and+the+Middle+East|access-date=14 January 2020|quote="But critics question that commitment given the cult of personality built around MEK's leader, Maryam Rjavi."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/Iranian-MEK-US-terror-list-halls-congress-PMOI-Iran|title=How Iranian MEK went from US terror list to halls of Congress|website=Middle East Eye}}</ref><ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-july-4-2018-1.4732996/stephen-harper-criticized-for-speaking-at-free-iran-event-hosted-by-dissident-group-1.4733009 CBC]</ref> while its backers, which in 2019 notably included [[Donald Trump]]'s inner circle, have described the group as proponents of "a free and democratic Iran" and viable alternative government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/15/trump-allies-visit-throws-light-on-secretive-iranian-opposition-group-mek|title=Trump allies' visit throws light on secretive Iranian opposition group|date=15 July 2019|website=The Guardian}}</ref>▼

▲TheIn 2002, the MEK iswas currentlya designatedsource asfor aclaims about the [[Listnuclear program of designatedIran]].{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=105}} terroristIn groups|terrorist2003, organizationthe MEK signed a ceasefire agreement with the U.S. and put down their arms in [[Camp Ashraf]].<ref>{{cite byweb|title=American IranForces andReach IraqCease-Fire With Terror Group|work=The New York Times|first1=Douglas|last1=Jehl|first2=Michael R.|last2=Gordon|date=29 April 2003|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/29/international/worldspecial/29TERR.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite nameweb|url="bdt45cgf112"https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/45323.pdf|title=Patterns of Global Terrorism 2004, U.S. Department of State|website=2009-2017.state.gov|access-date=21 July 2022}}</ref> BetweenThe 1997European andUnion, 2013Canada, the MEKUnited wasStates, and Japan have alsopreviously onlisted the listsMEK ofas a terrorist organizationsorganization. The MEK is designated as a [[List of thedesignated US,terrorist Canada,groups|terrorist EU,organization]] UKby Iran and JapanIraq.<ref name="bdt45cgf112"/> In June 2004, the U.S. designated MEK members in Camp Ashraf ‘protected persons’ under the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]], relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1394212018ENGLISH.PDF |title=URGENT ACTION DETAINEES HELD INCOMMUNICADO RISK TORTURE|date=4 December 2018 |access-date=2 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBLA646389 |title=FACTBOX-Who are the People's Mujahideen of Iran?|website=[[Reuters]]|date=26 January 2009 |access-date=2 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wills |first1=Siobhán |year=2010 |title=The Obligations Due to Former 'Protected Persons' in Conflicts that have Ceased to be International: The People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran|url = https://academic.oup.com/jcsl/article-abstract/15/1/117/768740?redirectedFrom=PDF |journal=Journal of Conflict and Security Law|volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=117–139 |doi=10.1093/jcsl/krq002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Said |first=Wadie |title=Crimes of Terror: The Legal and Political Implications of Federal Terrorism Prosecutions|date=2015 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=978-0199969494 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8sG6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA166|access-date=2 April 2022|quote="in 2004 obtained 'protected person' status under the Fourth Geneva Convention for all PMOI members at Camp Ashraf based on the U.S. investigators' conclusions that none was a combatant or had committed a crime under any U.S. laws; disbanded its military units and disarmed the Pmoi members at Ashraf, all of whom signed a document rejecting violence and terror"}}</ref> which expired in 2009 after the attainment of the full sovereignty of Iraq.<ref name="cfr"/>

▲Critics have described the group as "resembling a cult",<ref>{{cite book |last=Erlich |first=Reese |title=The Iran Agenda Today: The Real Story Inside Iran and What's Wrong with U.S. Policy |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-94157-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PUNvDwAAQBAJ&q=Iran+Agenda:+The+Real+Story+of+U.S.+Policy+and+the+Middle+East|access-date=14 January 2020|quote="But critics question that commitment given the cult of personality built around MEK's leader, Maryam Rjavi."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/Iranian-MEK-US-terror-list-halls-congress-PMOI-Iran|title=How Iranian MEK went from US terror list to halls of Congress|website=Middle East Eye}}</ref><ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-july-4-2018-1.4732996/stephen-harper-criticized-for-speaking-at-free-iran-event-hosted-by-dissident-group-1.4733009 CBC]</ref> while its backers, which in 2019 notably included [[Donald Trump]]'s inner circle, have describeddescribe the group as proponents of "a free and democratic Iran" andthat viablecould alternativebecome the next government there.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/15/trump-allies-visit-throws-light-on-secretive-iranian-opposition-group-mek|title=Trump allies' visit throws light on secretive Iranian opposition group|date=15 July 2019|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

== History ==