To counter the growing influence and attraction of the (PMOI / MEK Iran), within and outside of Iran, the regime has set up a sophisticated network of lobbies that operate in the West.

The Iranian regime is assiduously aware of the existence of the opposition movement, especially the most important component of it, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran). It understands that despite its attempt to annihilate the MEK in 1988, when it was able to slaughter 30,000 militants, the MEK still exists and its potency undiminished. To counter the growing influence and attraction of the MEK within and outside of Iran, the regime has set up a sophisticated network of lobbies that operate in the West. The main aim of these lobbies is to spread disinformation about the Iranian opposition and dissuade Western governments from assisting it in any way.

The Iran lobbies complement the campaign of lies and fake news within Iran itself, largely promulgated by the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS).

At first sight, it might appear to the casual observer that the lobbies are an innocuous, independent source of information about what is going on in Iranian society, but a deeper look reveals the links between the mullahs in charge of Iran and those journalists who claim to be experts on the country.

One common theme they use to discredit the MEK is to portray it as a weird, secretive and ineffective ‘cult.’ This sort of image is easily demolished when the influence of the MEK on recent major protests and uprisings is taken into consideration. There have been several major national protests in Iran over the last few years, with one of the largest and most significant being the protest that took place in many Iranian cities last November.

The regime, including Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the state-run media, are under no illusions that these protests would not have taken place so obviously without the guiding hand of the MEK and the Resistance Units within Iran.

These lobbyists have been operating in the West for some time, and have gained a measure of legitimacy, making it hard for the Iranian opposition (PMOI / MEK Iran), to counter the lies about them and portray themselves as a democratic, secular alternative to the despotic, theocracy in Iran today.

A clear example of just how insidious the Iranian regime’s lobbies have become is the recent court cases brought by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) against two prominent German newspapers, Der Spiegel and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The court cases successfully upheld complaints by the NCRI about false factual accounts of the MEK and its existence in Albania as a ‘cult.’

The recent uprisings in Iran have brought the country close to the removal of the mullahs’ undemocratic regime. Several factors make Iran a powder keg at present. The fact that false news about the MEK is being disseminated in the West makes it harder to gather support, enough of which might just tip the balance in favor of regime change.

The activity of the Iranian regime’s lobbyists in the West encourages western governments, especially those with influence such as the E.U., to turn a blind eye to the excesses of the Iranian regime and follow a policy of appeasement. Many European governments are afraid to tackle the regime head-on as they are worried that this could lead to reprisals and an uptick in terrorist activities on home soil. The lobbyists’ message only increases the reluctance of the west to do anything about the regime as it thinks that there is no realistic alternative to the mullahs, however noxious they may be considered.

The NCRI’s viewpoint is that appeasement simply encourages the regime. It doesn’t do anything to moderate their activities and human rights record. This means that the regime thinks it can act with impunity wherever and whenever it thinks it can get away with it. This attitude has been on display several times over the years. In 2018, for example, the regime’s agents and accomplices were responsible for a failed bomb attack near Paris. The protagonists had planned to kill and injure as many people as possible at the annual “Free Iran” rally organized by the NCRI. It failed and those responsible on the ground were arrested and have been put on trial.

However, it may have escaped the European government’s attention that there were many western dignitaries and representatives at that rally who could have been killed if the attempt had been successful.  This should have been a graphic reminder that appeasement doesn’t work.

A more recent example was the execution in Iran of champion wrestler, Navid Afkari. This was despite an international campaign to commute the death penalty. The Iranian regime was so confident that nothing would happen if it defied the international community that it went ahead with the execution, an act with ramifications within Iran. Executions of protesters and opposition activists have happened sporadically over the years in Iran, mostly in an attempt to silence critics and frighten them into submission.

The Iranian regime’s lobbyists haven’t disappeared. They continue their work of spreading false news and information. The west is continually encouraged by the Iranian opposition to carefully examine just where this information about Iran and the Iranian opposition is coming from.

MEK Iran (follow them on Twitter and Facebook)

and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube