The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) is pushing its objective of demonizing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), and undermining its domestic and international support.
Disinformation operatives
The MOIS recruited ‘disinformation operatives’ from opposite extremes of the political spectrum. Some had purposefully entered the MEK in order to gather insider information before leaving, while others were former MEK members who had either left on their own or had been dismissed.
The German Interior Ministry
Those who were ejected were subsequently coerced into joining the Intelligence agency through bribery and compulsion, with their family members facing jail time if they refused. The German Interior Ministry confirmed this in a report, stating, “The Iranian intelligence service is attempting to recruit active or former members of opposition groups.”
The recruitment method of the MOIS
When Jamshid Tafrishi, a former MOIS agent who deserted and made his experiences public, the recruitment method of the MOIS came to light.
He purported to be an opponent of the Iranian regime while working for the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
He gave lectures on the “imprisonment, torture, and harassment of former MEK members” and distributed misleading information to foreign governments and the media.
Pretended to be a senior official of the MEK
Tafrishi stated that the MEK was hiding a number of weapons of mass destruction on Saddam Hussein’s behalf and that the resistance group assisted Iraq in the 1991 Kurdish uprising.
He pretended to be a senior official of the MEK on numerous occasions, however, he was never a member of the group. He was a member of the National Liberation Army for a short time before leaving due to personal issues. After flying to Turkey via Baghdad, he was recruited by the MOIS and worked for them for about a decade. He left the service in 2000 after becoming dissatisfied with their operations, and a year later admitted to serving as an agent for the MOIS to the US Court of Appeals.
The Intelligence Ministry as payment
“From 1995 to 1999, I received a total of $72,000 from the Intelligence Ministry as payment for my work on their behalf,” he added in his affidavit to the court.
While Tafrishi was not a member of the MEK, the MOIS has recruited a number of people who have been determined to have previously served in resistance groups. Anne Singleton, Massoud Khodabandeh, Hossein Sabhani, Ali Ghashghavi, Karim Haqqi Moni, Javad Firouzmand, Nowrouz-Ali Rezvani, and Jahangir Shadanlou are among the individuals mentioned.
Tafreshi alleged that he and other agents were tasked with charging human rights violations against the MEK on a global scale as part of the MOIS’s efforts to continue to discredit the MEK.
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and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube