Maryam Rajavi Delivers Keynote Address

Thousands of supporters of the MEK and members of the Iranian-American communities gathered outside of the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. last Friday for the second in a series of Free Iran rallies that are being held this summer.

The Iranian-Americans march from the @StateDept to the @WhiteHouse in solidarity with protesters in Iran who seek regime change and a #FreeIran.#March4RegimeChangeByIranians #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/w43GS4W7dt

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) June 23, 2019

Participants in the rallies are asking the international community to recognize the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the ruling regime and to hold the regime accountable for its terrorist activities and its human rights violations.

Numerous well-known current and former U.S. politicians from both sides of the aisle delivered speeches and sent messages of support in a bipartisan show of solidarity for the Iranian people and their fight for a free and democratic Iran.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), delivered a speech via satellite link. In her address, Mrs. Rajavi urged the U.S. to avoid the temptation to succumb to the policy of appeasement to the mullahs that allows the regime to act without consequences.

What is the real question at the core of the U.S. and European policy vis-a-vis the religious fascist regime ruling #Iran: appeasement or decisiveness? #March4RegimeChangeByIranians #FreeIranhttps://t.co/k5UsN2hDGy pic.twitter.com/fdKlMIXu21

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 21, 2019

“When the mullahs pay no price for their conduct, they become more emboldened and go even further. Firing of rockets in Mosul and Basra and the missile attack on the U.S. drone are clear examples,” she said.

Mrs. Rajavi stressed that the regime’s regional warmongering created instability in the Middle East and plundered the wealth of the Iranian people. “The people of Iran who have been inundated with floods, destitution, and various calamities are crying out, ‘Let go of Syria, think of us instead!’” she said.

“But the regime’s crimes in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Afghanistan have so far brought them no serious consequences,” she added.

Mrs. Rajavi reiterated what she and many others have said countless times: “The experience of the past forty years has shown that the theocratic regime is incapable of any reform or change in behavior.”

“We do not want anything more than freedom and human rights, which will open the way for development and justice. This will ensure peace and security in Iran and the Middle East, an Iran free of religious fascism, a non-nuclear Iran, an Iran without terrorism and belligerence,” Mrs. Rajavi concluded.

The “March for regime change in Iran” was reflected in a wide number of U.S. media, including Fox News, Eric Shawn TV program. Fox News report said:

“Back home Iranians took to the streets of the nation’s capital, including right in front of the White House. They shouted free Iran, calling for tighter sanctions and democracy in their country. The protesters are followers of the largest Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). And that march is part of the series of global public demonstrations held against the regime. They started at Brussels last week , urging the European Union leaders urging them to follow steps of the U.S. in taking a tougher policy towards the regime such as designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization.”

Iranian Youth

A large number of Iranian youth also attended the rally and spoke in support of the MEK and the Iranian Resistance. Sadaf Mirza spoke on behalf of the Iranian youth who are unable to do so in Iran. She said: “We are the voices of the Iranian youth being silenced by the Iranian regime. We will not be silenced. The Iranian regime is the only country in the world that continues to execute children. We stand with the leader of the Iranian Resistance Massoud Rajavi, who has inspired my generation.”

The Iran's regime is the only country in the world that continues to execute children,” said Sadaf Mirzai. “We stand with the leader of the Iranian Resistance Massoud Rajavi, who has inspired my generation.#March4RegimeChangeByIranians #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/VqAQRPlv80

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) June 21, 2019

Breitbart News interviewed one of the young  Iranians at the Free Iran rally to gain insight into the motivation behind young people’s involvement in the Resistance movement. Delaram Ahmady told Breitbart that her father was imprisoned by the Iranian regime for seven years because of his support for the MEK. After his release, he moved his family to the U.S. because of “constant harassment.”

Ahmady said that she feels lucky to have escaped from Iran, where several of her father’s cellmates were recently executed, and that she has a responsibility to “show solidarity with the people of Iran.”

“The chances of regime change, I think, are definitely growing as the years go on,” Ahmady said. “The youth are becoming more empowered, they’re becoming more organized.”

March to the White House

The rally was followed by a march from the State Department to the White House. Demonstrators chanted, “Down with terrorist regime in Iran!” and “Rajavi yes, mullahs no; they are terrorists, they must go!”

Vice President-Mike Pence: What we want to do is stand with the Iranian people, thousands gathered outside the @WhiteHouse on Friday & tens of thousands which took to the streets last year in communities across #Iran.

(video source: @FaceTheNation)#March4RegimeChangeByIranians pic.twitter.com/TMSrLBTMnb

— Donya Jam (@FreeeIran) June 24, 2019

Protesters carried signs reading, “STOP Executions in Iran,” “Designate Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” and “Down with Terrorist Regime in Iran.”

Staff writer

The Associated Press journalist Matthew Lee covered the Iranian opposition’s March for regime change in Washington D.C. on Friday, June 21. In a report featured on the AP’s website, Lee described the scale and fervor of the event which saw thousands of Iranians from across North America, as well as Republican and Democrat leaders,  gather at the State Department in protest at regime aggression.

Everyone senses the explosive state of Iranian society. mullahs offer neither a solution nor are willing to resolve the problems.
The “moderation” masquerade to preserve the regime has been unmasked. Support @Maryam_Rajavi 10point plan for #FreeIran#March4RegimeChangeByIranians pic.twitter.com/czEdTuPTbL

— OIAC (@OrgIAC) June 21, 2019

“Clad in yellow vests emblazoned with the words “Free Iran,” more than 1,000 members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq [MEK] gathered outside the State Department to demand an end to Iran’s theocratic government,” Lee wrote.

Maryam Rajavi Addresses the Crowd

The president-elect of the Iranian opposition, Maryam Rajavi addressed the crowd via video link. “We have and will continue to declare that what we seek is the regime’s overthrow, overthrow, overthrow,” she said.

Fellow sympathizers of the #Iran ian Resistance, rebels for a #FreeIran, travelling all the way from across the U.S., to come together in Washington, D.C. The Iranian nation hears your anthems and your cries for freedom. #March4RegimeChangeByIranianshttps://t.co/k5UsN2hDGy pic.twitter.com/Aj3j6BIhPL

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 21, 2019

In the Regime’s Crosshairs

With their allies holding senior positions in the US government, the MEK has seen its popularity and influence steadily increase. The increasing numbers of Iranians lining Iran’s streets at MEK-organised protests and rallies, and the regime’s further isolation on the international stage has prompted the mullahs to renew efforts to disrupt and undermine the MEK.

In 2018, the regime launched a string of terror attacks against the opposition group. During the Persian New Year celebrations, the regime attempted to detonate a bomb at the group’s compound in Albania. The Albanian authorities foiled the plot before the bombing could be carried out.

A similar attack was planned for the MEK’s annual Grand Gathering event in Paris. The Iranian regime through its embassy in the Austrian capital of Vienna provided a Belgian-Iranian couple with an explosive ordinance and instructed the pair to travel to the event and detonate a car bomb. Once again, Belgian authorities were able to thwart the plot in its late stages.

UPI, in a report dated June 21, 2019 wrote: “Thousands of Iranian Americans rallied outside the U.S. State Department and White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday to push for a regime change and increased sanctions on Tehran.”

The UPI said: “In addition for increased sanctions on the Iranian regime, demonstrators called for the United States to designate the Ministry of Intelligence and Security as a foreign terrorist organization.”

Staff writer

On Saturday, June 8, the Herald Report published an op-ed from Ali Bagheri, an energy engineer, and human rights activist. Bagheri surmised the escalating political tensions in Iran as the opposition movement gains momentum and the mullahs see their power rapidly evaporating.

The Iranian opposition (#NCRI): The political movement & democratic alternative for a #FreeIran.#Iran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #Afp@USAdarFarsi @CanadaFP @NorwayMFA pic.twitter.com/o26ZoCtWSv

— Iran Freedom-En (@4freedominiran2) June 6, 2019

Since December 2017, a wave of protests has washed over the country. The People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) has played a central role in mobilizing all segments of the Iranian population, coordinating mass protests and strikes.

Oppression is central to the regime’s survival

In the past, the mullahs’ regime has responded to opposition gains by clamping down on civil freedoms and running roughshod over human rights. In one case in 1988, the regime rounded up and executed more than 30,000 members of the MEK. Their response to the latest wave of public resistance has been no different.

In 2018, the regime ramped up its demonization campaigns online, targeting the MEK and its umbrella organization, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

New Report Details Iran Regime’s Demonization Campaign Against the MEK

Hundreds of regime-affiliated accounts appeared on social media platforms under the guise of foreign journalists and citizens. These accounts shared regime propaganda and anti-MEK content, often disseminating and propagating regime lies.

“In addition, several terror plots were conducted by the Iranian regime on European soil,” Bagheri writes. Alongside their misinformation campaign against the MEK, the regime has plotted physical attacks against MEK members.

During the 2018 Persian New Year celebrations, Iranian agents attempted to plant a bomb in the MEK’s compound in Albania. Then, in June, the mullahs south to detonate a car bomb at the MEK’s annual Grand Gathering event in Paris. Both terror plots were thwarted by European authorities in the final moments, saving the lives of thousands of MEK members and supporters.

The only solution is regime change

“The vast uprising inside the country clarified, there exists no solution inside the current regime in Tehran,” Bagheri argues.

The MEK, Bagheri asserts, represents a strong and viable alternative to the mullahs’ rule. Its broad and determined network of activists in the country has garnered extensive support across the Iranian population. The group also commands support from many Western politicians and journalists.

The tide is turning against the regime. It increasingly finds itself isolated on the international stage. “Even with Iran nuclear deal, the regime is isolated more than any other time in its history,” Bagheri quipped.

Europe’s commitment to a policy of appeasement cannot quell the rising domestic protest movement. The US’s adoption of a firmer stance has empowered the Iranian public and amplified the voices of the most marginalized and repressed sectors of Iranian society.

join 1000s of Iranians calling for a #FreeIran on Sat 15 June in Brussels
together we can make a #FreeIran a reality#IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/KBGMK7dpfa

— Zolal Habibi (@Ashrafi4ever) June 9, 2019

The Iranian opposition has coordinated a large demonstration in the Belgian city of Brussels on June 15. The Iranian diaspora in Europe is organizing on social media. It wants to show international governments that the Iranian people are tired of the regime’s violence and barbarism. It wants to show the world that the Iranian people are a strong force of change both inside the country and on the international stage and the international community must respect their demands for democracy and regime change.

Staff writer

Several weeks ago, members of the Iranian resistance group, the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), noticed an individual acting strangely near their compound. The stranger was Eskil Engdal a “journalist” working for Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv.

The journalist was in Albania with Gjergji Thanasi, a regime-affiliate with ties to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). The pair were lurking around the residential settlement, taking photos of the entrance gate and ignoring signs stating that photo and video recording on the premises was prohibited. When approached by the Albanian security team, the pair refused to stop taking photos.

The Letter of NCRI Representative to #Norway's Justice Ministerhttps://t.co/Y0YuE14c9b #PMOI #MEK #Iran pic.twitter.com/OYDhzGEGSy

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 4, 2019

A History of Terror

To understand the inherent danger and suspicion in the pairs’ activities, we have to look to 2018. Over the course of the 18 months, the regime has aggressively hunted MEK members, planning terror attacks and assassinations against their ranks.

Last year, during the Persian New Year celebrations, the Albanian authorities thwarted a regime-sponsored terror attack on the MEK compound. Just a few months later, the regime again sought to carry out a terror attack against the MEK, this time in Paris at the group’s annual Grand Gathering.

Albanian President Expresses Support for Expulsion of Iranian Regime Diplomats

The Iranian regime has pursued and attacked the MEK at every turn. Its members have been the target of plots and assassinations in the US, and the EU.

Aiding and Abetting the Regime’s Terror Agenda

This suspicious behavior prompted the MEK’s legal team in Ashraf 3 (MEK’s residence in Albania) to write to the editor-in-chief of the paper. It read: “We would respectfully ask you not to allow your newspaper and journalist to become unwantedly tools of the Mullah’s regimes to enhance its objectives and prepare the grounds for assassinations of the Iranian refugees in Albania”.

Additionally, representatives from the MEK’s umbrella organization, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), penned a letter to the Norwegian Justice Minister on May 27^th.

If the reporter had wanted to gain access to the compound and produce an impartial, unbiased story about the Iranian opposition group, why did Eskil Engdal not contact the organization? Why would he arrive in the country with an MOIS agent?

Religious Fascism Against #Iran'ian Resistance Under Cover of Journalism https://t.co/tdunE08E23

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 5, 2019

If he had contacted the MEK, he would have been able to gather source material that disproved the lies fed to him by MOIS agents. He would have been made aware of the relentless demonization campaigns against the MEK that the Iranian regime carries out each year. He would have been aware of the slaughter of MEK members that have taken place within Iran, including the summer of 1988 when the regime killed more than 30,000 MEK members across the country.

Even if he did not wish to reach out to the MEK, he could have spoken to impartial authorities in the UK or Europe. Instead, he spoke to known regime affiliates and lobbyists. He could have referred to the North Rhine Westfalen State office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany, which concluded in 2017: “These agents conduct espionage, disseminate false information, and recruit new spies. In the last four years, in particular, they have been spying on members of the Iranian opposition who have been transferred from Iraq to Europe as part of a humanitarian project.”

A Mouthpiece for Regime Lies

The fact that Eskil Engdal did none of these things suggests the work of a regime mouthpiece designed to spout the regime’s poisonous and violent ideology and promote its political objectives in the international media.

In publishing propaganda and lies, Eskil Engdal could become an active participant in the regime’s demonization campaign, paving the way for further terror attacks and legitimizing violence against MEK members.

The international media must learn that to publish the regime’s lies without scrutiny or due diligence is not only an affront to the principles of a free, independent media, but it emboldens the regime to continue to carry out terror attacks against an already persecuted Iranian opposition.

Staff writer

Ali Safavi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI) Foreign Affairs Committee penned an op-ed article in Lima Charlie World. Within the piece, he demonstrates that the Iranian regime’s crackdown on the opposition movement stems from the movement’s rapidly increasing support among the Iranian people.

The People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), Iran’s largest and most popular opposition group, has played a central role in organizing protests and mobilizing the Iranian public against the clerical regime.

'Iranian crackdown on MEK shows the activist group has popular support,' writes Ali Safavi, member of NCRI-FAC. "Tehran routinely refers to the MEK as an 'existential threat.'"#Iran #IranProtests @LimaCharlieNews @amsafavi https://t.co/uuSeIbKn0g

— NCRI-U.S. Rep Office (@NCRIUS) May 30, 2019

A Group Under Attack

Its relentless commitment to protecting the human rights of Iranian people has put it in the regime’s crosshairs. As a result, the regime has sought to demonize, discredit, attack, murder and terrorize the MEK. In 2018, the regime launched a string of terror attacks and assassination attempts against the group.

The clerical regime attempted to bomb the group’s annual Grand Gathering in Paris, an event attended by more than 100,000 MEK supporters from across the world. In another incident, the regime attempted to bomb the MEK’s compound in Albania during the Iranian New Year celebrations.

“Tehran routinely refers to the MEK as an “existential threat” and subjects sympathizers to prison, torture, and death by hanging,” Safavi writes. He described how since 1979 the Iranian regime has executed more than 100,000 political opponents, many of whom were MEK members.

In the summer of 1988 alone, the regime systematically rounded up and executed more than 30,000 MEK members and sympathizers.

Unashamed

The regime has begun publicly acknowledging the threat the MEK poses to its future in power. Regime officials have also begun publicly referring to the violent crackdowns and efforts to curb the opposition’s activities.

Iran’s increasing crackdown on the #MEK, an activist group accused by the mullahs of organizing mass protests, proves the group is the main alternative to the current Iranian regime – OPINION by @amsafavihttps://t.co/tjrZWpeTPn

— LIMA CHARLIE NEWS | WORLD (@LimaCharlieNews) June 1, 2019

In April 2019, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) publicly confirmed that the regime had “confronted” and “dealt with” 116 MEK resistance units across Iran in the last twelve months.

Later the same month, the MOIS Director General for East Azerbaijan Province announced that 60 MEK members had been arrested as part of a crackdown.

East Azerbaijan Intelligence Official Claims 60 MEK Units Arrested in 2018, 50 More Were “Briefed”

In Tehran, just weeks ago, a MEK member was sentenced to death. Three others received prison sentences for engaging in peaceful demonstrations against the regime.

These comments reflect “a small sample” of the true numbers of MEK activists languishing behind bars, Safavi writes.

Lashing Out

The recent crackdown, Safavi argues, illustrates that the regime is becoming increasingly nervous. “That is why it is on the hunt for anyone associated with the MEK,” he writes.

The regime has employed the same strategy before. When it was threatened in 2009 by a wave of public protests and outcry, it hanged MEK supporters.

The regime used an extensive demonization campaign to justify its violence against the MEK. The regime has accused the MEK and its president-elect, Maryam Rajavi, of being involved in terrorist acts. “Yet, a French investigative magistrate concluded after an eight-year investigation that the MEK’s military operations, which were unilaterally halted in 2001, were not terrorism, but rather resistance against tyranny,” Safavi writes.

MEK Will Not Be Silenced

The MEK is expanding its operations. It has established “Units of Rebellion” across Iran, each one committed to confronting the regime’s activities of suppression. The regime has carried out a wave of arrests.

The MEK’s efficient and effective organizational structure has allowed it to build a resilient network of activists across the country, committed to realizing the Iranian public’s dream of a democratic Iran. However, it needs the support of the international community.

It needs international governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and human rights groups to pressure the regime to release MEK members in regime custody for peacefully protesting. The MEK has also called on international governments to add the MOIS to its international terror blacklists over its involvement in plots to assassinate and maim MEK members.

“Let’s send another strong message to Tehran that its terrorism is no longer tolerated,” Safavi concluded.

Staff writer

 

 

The Iranian regime is in chaos due to an escalating economic crisis, rising social unrest, and growing international isolation. Forty years of failed policies have brought the mullahs to the inevitable end of their rule.

A recent editorial published on ncr-iran.org cited three factors that will lead to the imminent demise of the Iranian regime.

Social Unrest

The first factor cited was the growing unrest in Iran, which regime First Vice-President has described as a gas house ready to explode with a single ignition. The clerical regime’s continued repression of human rights and basic freedoms has led to widespread protests and rebellion.

.@Maryam_Rajavi to the Grand Gathering in Paris, July 9, 2016
Owing to explosive public discontent,the regime is continuously gripped by fundamental instability. Additionally,it has come face-to-face with a capable and vigilant alternative force.#IStandWithMaryamRajavi #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/o6KTUeox2s

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) June 1, 2019

The Presence of a Democratic Alternative

The second factor responsible for the regime’s terminal crisis is the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK / PMOI). The NCRI with the MEK as its backbone has risen as a viable democratic alternative to the clerical regime over the past forty years, gaining popular support within Iran. The regime’s numerous attempts to destroy the MEK through mass executions, underhanded diplomatic dealings, propaganda attacks, and terrorist plots have all failed.

Process and promise of change has many integral components: capacity to hope for better, people’s desire for change, leadership, organization to dismantle existing system, and the political alternative to secure the change and future. Iranian Resistance has them all and beyond. pic.twitter.com/NMgTJPV7mv

— Saeid Sajadi (@Saeid_Emdi) May 30, 2019

The most recent foiled terrorist attacks on the MEK led to severe diplomatic consequences for the regime and its agents. The regime’s demonization campaign against the MEK has failed, and the opposition stands ready to bring democracy to Iran.

An End of the Era of Appeasement

The final unsolvable issue for the regime is the end of the era of appeasement. The mullahs have survived for the past forty years because Western governments turned a blind eye to their human rights abuses, nuclear and missile programs, and regional aggression. The current United States administration has taken the right approach in dealing with the Iranian regime. Last year, the U.S. reimposed oil sanctions on the Iranian regime. Earlier this year, it ended waivers to countries still receiving oil imports from the regime, with the goal of bringing the Iranian regime’s oil imports to zero. The U.S. also designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

The mullahs must now decide between two courses of action, both of which will lead to the end of the regime.

End its Malign Activities

The regime could meet the demands of the U.S and end its nuclear and missile programs, as well as its regional warmongering and terrorism. This is functionally impossible because the regime has shown itself to be incapable of reform. Khamenei has repeatedly said that a change in behavior is tantamount to a change in regime.

The wall of repression will fall apart with the force of sacrifice and unity.#ExpelIranDiplomatTerrorists #BlackLikstMOIS #FreeIran#Iran#IranRegimeChange https://t.co/520ttCWs7s pic.twitter.com/KmpZHAxkbW

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) December 15, 2018

Increase Hostilities

The regime could further isolate itself and refuse to make changes. This would lead to war or internal collapse due to economic failure or social rebellion.

Both courses of actions would lead to the end of the regime, so the mullahs have chosen a third path: they are stalling for time.

The mullahs hope that the 2020 U.S. elections will lead to a change in policy. Until then, they hope to delay taking any action that will further antagonize the U.S. without making any concessions or appearing weak. This is a next-to-impossible task. There is also no guarantee that the 2020 elections will lead to a change in U.S. leadership.

At home, the mullahs are appointing repressive officials and cracking down on dissent to prepare for an inevitable rebellion. It seems clear that the mullahs know that the end is near.

Staff writer

A French court in Aix en Provence has approved the extradition of an Iranian missile expert to the US to face charges. Jalal Rohollahnejad, an aerospace engineer attempted to illegally transfer US military technology to Iran.

Rohollahnejad was arrested on arrival in southern France in February. Authorities took him into custody at Nice Airport after he arrived on a flight from Tehran via Moscow. A French court rejected a bail request.

Global Espionage

Rohollahnejad is accused of attempting to import military-grade industrial microwave systems and anti-drone systems into Iran via the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The technology is a key component in many high-power weapons.

The engineer has links to Rayan Roshd Afszar, an Iranian company tied to the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The IRGC and its subsidiaries were recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US government.

If Rohollahnejad is convicted, he could serve up to 60 years behind bars in the US.

Iran’s Weapons Development Program

Rohollahnejad’s extradition comes on the back of a discovery of a 55,000-page tome describing Iran’s clandestine weapons development program. The document reveals the regime’s extensive attempts to construct five nuclear weapons and an underground testing facility within Iran.

Under the Ahmad Plan, the regime sought to develop a shock wave generator system. The system is used in nuclear weapons to initiate a charge that would cause weapons-grade plutonium to reach a supercritical mass and generate a nuclear explosion.

For very first, #NCRI and @Mojahedineng revealed the secrets of hidden nuclear projects of Iranian regime to world during a press conference in DC, on AUG 14, 2002. For this, @Maryam_Rajavi ought to be nominated for Noble Peace Prize. #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #چهل_سال pic.twitter.com/5CQBzSeEl2

— Saeid Sajadi (@Saeid_Emdi) January 23, 2019

The People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), the largest Iranian opposition group, has long maintained that the clerical regime in Iran has violated the terms of the nuclear deal negotiated with the P5+1 in 2015. Since 1991, the group has worked tirelessly to expose more than 100 secret nuclear projects and has played a key role in preventing the Iranian regime from achieving its nuclear ambitions.

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared the MEK’s suspicions. In an arms state compliance report, the State Department revealed it has misgivings about the regime’s intentions to resume its nuclear development program.

The discovery of Rohollahnejad’s activities only serves to further confirm the existence of a clandestine weapons program within Iran. The regime did not abandon its weapons programs in 2015.

The regime relies on its nuclear ambitions as a source of its power. While the clerical regime remains in charge, it will not stop its weapons programs. The only way forward to guarantee a nuclear-free Iran is to topple the regime and usher in a new democratic era.

Staff writer

 

On Wednesday, May 22nd, Struan Stevenson voiced his concerns about the European Union’s continued appeasement of the mullahs’ regime in an op-ed on the United Press International website. Stevenson is the coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change and a former member of the European Parliament representing Scotland. He is also a longtime supporter of the MEK who has written extensively on the subject of the mullahs’ regime.

#Iran uses its agents to track down and eliminate opponents. Posing as diplomats, these #Iranian spies and assassins have launched a series of attacks across Europe and North America
My take in @UPI#MEK @SecPompeo @AmbJohnBolton @Potus #terrorism https://t.co/ZnYqG4AmC8

— STRUAN (@STRUANSTEVENSON) May 22, 2019

In his latest piece, Stevenson discussed the failure of the E.U. to acknowledge the threat posed by the Iranian regime to the Middle East and the larger international community.

Terrorist Plots in the U.S. and Europe

Stevenson enumerated the many terrorist plots attempted in 2018 by the Iranian regime in the United States and Europe to eliminate their opposition. Last summer German police foiled an attempted terrorist attack  on the annual gathering of the National Council of Resistance of Iran outside of Paris. Regime diplomat Assadollah Assadi was arrested and charged by Belgian authorities for personally handing over 500 grams of TATP explosives to a Belgian-Iranian couple who were arrested en route to the event, which was attended by tens of thousands of MEK members and dozens of high-ranking politicians from the U.S., Europe, and around the world. Assadi and three accomplices are now awaiting trial in Belgium on terrorism charges.

 

Iranian agents acting at the behest of the regime have been sanctioned for their roles in additional terrorist plots in the United States, Denmark, Bulgaria, Albania, and the Netherlands, and several regime diplomats and Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) agents have been expelled from European countries. Stevenson emphasized that the regime uses its embassies to plan terrorist attacks on its opponents, which poses a danger to the international community.

 

Stevenson argued that the Iranian regime has now shifted their focus to a new enemy. U.S. oil sanctions and the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization have crippled the Iranian economy and hindered the ability of the regime to fund its terrorist proxies in the Middle East.

 

The refusal of the United States to submit to the long-standing Western policy of appeasement toward the Iranian regime has enraged the mullahs, and they have desperately sought a way to retaliate against the U.S. According to Stevenson, the regime instructed its proxies to sabotage ships near the strategically-valuable

Straits of Hormuz, damaging four commercial vessels, including two oil tankers. Regime proxies then carried out armed drone attacks against Saudi oil pumping stations.

 

Stevenson wrote that regime leaders then ordered General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the terrorist Quds Force, to meet with Iranian-controlled militias in Baghdad to tell them to prepare for a proxy war. According to Stevenson, this was followed by a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone.

The United States’ Response

The United States responded to these threats by deploying an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers, and American troops to the Pacific Ocean.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has engaged in an escalating series of threatening actions and statements in recent weeks. Any attacks by them or their proxies against U.S. citizens or our interests will be answered with a swift and decisive response.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 10, 2019

United States President Donald Trump has voiced his willingness to engage in talks with Iran, but regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has so far refused. Trump and his administration have stressed that they do not seek war but will protect U.S. assets in the region. Last weekend, Trump took a stronger tone, tweeting, “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!”

 

The unprecedented series of tough measures taken by the United States against the Iranian regime has led to what Stevenson called a “knee-jerk response” from the European Union. Those who were comfortable with the old policy of appeasement have struggled to preserve the Iran nuclear deal and to bypass oil sanctions in order to continue doing business with the regime. E.U. leaders are now urging the U.S. to act with caution, which Stevenson believes plays into the hands of the mullahs, who are seeking allies as they desperately seek to avoid the collapse of their faltering regime. According to Stevenson, the European Union will not be swayed from their support of the mullahs by any amount of aggression or terrorism, no matter how egregious.

Staff writer

 

 

 

 

A bipartisan group of congressmen introduced a resolution in the United States House of Representatives this month expressing “support for the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear republic of Iran.”

House Resolution 374 was drafted with support from more than 50 congressman from both sides of the aisle and calls on relevant agencies “to work with European allies” and to help “prevent the malign activities of the Iranian regime’s diplomatic missions, with the goal of closing them down, including the Iranian embassy in Albania.”

Ken Blackwell, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, praised the resolution in a May 21st op-ed on the conservative American Townhall website.

2018 Terrorist Plots

Blackwell noted in his op-ed that the resolution was justified by three terrorist plots that were attempted by the Iranian regime in Europe and North America last year and foiled by Western authorities. These plots have led to the expulsion of at least five Iranian diplomats from France, the Netherlands, and Albania for threats to security in Europe. An Iranian regime diplomat is currently awaiting trial in Belgium for masterminding a foiled terrorist attack on MEK supporters at the annual gathering of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Paris last summer, which was attended by tens of thousands of people and dozens of politicians and dignitaries from all over the world, including the United States and Europe. Two Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) agents were arrested by FBI agents last summer for spying on MEK members in the United States.

 

Blackwell cited a recent report published by the U.S. Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US) which found that these terrorist plots by the MOIS were planned in collaboration with the regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the supervision of Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

 

Despite his role in the regime’s continued terrorist acts in the United States and Europe, Zarif frequently travels to New York and Europe to complain about the effects of U.S. policies on the regime. Blackwell argued that Iran could end the country’s isolation from the international community by behaving like a normal country instead of relying on terrorism as “the primary instrument of statecraft.”

Diplomatic Responses to the Iranian Threat

 

The United States has responded to the Iranian threat with the imposition of new sanctions, as well as the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The EU has acted by including the MOIS Internal Security Division and two of its known operatives on its list of terrorist organizations.

 

Blackwell pushed back against the idea that these policies would increase the potential for war with Iran, arguing that they have prevented further attacks on Western personnel and members of the Iranian Resistance.

The Iranian Resistance

Blackwell further emphasized that the Iranian Resistance provides the only long-term solution for peace in Iran. The ruling regime has shown itself to be comfortable committing terrorist acts on European and U.S. soil. It is time to recognize the right of the Iranian people to choose democracy instead of tyranny.

U.S. Policies Can Manage The Threat Of Iranian Terrorism But Iran’s People Can Eliminate It https://t.co/LXTUd1MMhu @townhallcom

— J. Kenneth Blackwell (@kenblackwell) May 21, 2019

House Resolution 374 acknowledges the nationwide uprising of December 2017 that spawned a protest movement that continues today. According to Blackwell, this reflects growing confidence among Western lawmakers and members of the Iranian Resistance that regime change is coming soon. The movement has gathered widespread support within the country since the uprising and continues to grow.

 

The Resolution also explicitly mentions NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan, which calls for “the universal right to vote, free elections, and a market economy, and advocates gender, religious, and ethnic equality, a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence, and a non-nuclear Iran.”

 

Blackwell concluded his op-ed by stating that continued economic and diplomatic pressure on the Iranian regime was important, but the Iranian opposition presented the most vital force in eliminating the threat of Iranian terrorism.

Staff writer

Former Member of the European Parliament for Scotland, Struan Stevenson, wrote an op-ed in the British newspaper, the Times. Entitled ‘Mullahs Agents Operate Across Europe’, the piece revealed that Iranian regime agents could be operating undercover in Glasgow, Scotland.

The revelation comes after the United States government identified two Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) agents working in the UK who had previously been involved in espionage activities against the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) in Iraq and Albania.

Targeting the Opposition

The MEK has long been the target of the Iranian regime’s violence. Just last year, MOIS agents were involved in espionage and terror activities against MEK members in Albania, Bulgaria, the US, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

A 2013 report from the US government entitled ‘Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile’ found that the Iranian regime tasked the MOIS with identifying and eliminating MEK members living at home and abroad. Stevenson writes:

“It found that the key task of Ministry of Intelligence (Mois) agents was to identify and eliminate opponents of the regime at home and abroad, with the main target being the key democratic opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI) and its charismatic Paris-based leader, Maryam Rajavi.”

The German interior ministry carried out a similar investigation and came to the same conclusion, that MOIS agents were placed to combat opposition at home and abroad.”

This campaign of identifying and eliminating MEK members abroad led the Iranian regime to plan a terror attack on the MEK’s annual Grand Gathering in June 2018.

A diplomat based at the Iranian regime’s embassy in Vienna, Austria, provided a Belgian-Iranian couple with explosive material and detailed instructions to head to Paris and detonate a car bomb at the event. The disaster was narrowly averted for the 100,000 attendees when Belgian authorities detained the couple en-route to the event.

Stevenson himself had more cause than most for alarm. He writes in the Times, “As a long-term opponent of the fascist regime in Iran, I was there myself.”

In response to the terror attacks planned on European soil, France and Albania expelled Iranian diplomats and the EU has implemented its own sanctions against individuals in the regime.

“When I tried to pull his arm off me I felt something poking me in the base of my spine. I looked around and saw he had a handgun with a silencer. He told me if I did anything drastic he would shoot me there and then” https://t.co/fZnrZJjfLW

— The Times Scotland (@thetimesscot) May 15, 2019

The Trump administration has designated the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a foreign terror organization, severely impacting the regime’s ability to raise foreign capital. The US economic sanctions are also starting to bite.

The regime also faces an expanding protest movement and increased domestic pressure from the Iranian people. It will likely respond to this increased pressure by cracking down on political opponents within Iran and abroad.

Staff Writer