On Tuesday, November 8, 2019, 111 countries participated in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the human rights situation in Iran. The UPR is a peer-review mechanism whereby the United Nations member states can make recommendations to governments that are under review.

The Working Group in Geneva on Tuesday had a lot to say about the regime’s treatment of women, the execution of minors, the use of torture, and overall human rights abuses, making a total of 329 recommendations to the Iranian regime.

The recommendations made by the Working Group of the UPR were adopted on November 12th at a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council. The MEK has reported previously that the U.N. has condemned the Iranian regime 65 times over the last four decades for its human rights abuses.

#AmnestyInternational calls on publicly condemn the deterioration in #Iran’s #HumanRights recordhttps://t.co/hkRSDj4NrN#MEK #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/VUlhQ6Unpn

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 9, 2019

Recommendations Made

A number of countries called on Iran to ratify the

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Denmark, Estonia, and Moldova recommended that the regime ratify the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Germany called on Iran to “[r]atify core international human rights conventions, in particular, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.”

Germany also called on the regime to “establish a formal moratorium on the death penalty. In particular, cease all planned executions of juvenile offenders and prohibit the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by minors.”

Albania called on the Iranian regime to cooperate with all U.N. Special Rapporteurs who wish to visit the country.

Sweden agreed, saying that Iran must “fully cooperate with and grant immediate and unfettered access for the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Belgium recommended that Iran should “abolish the death penalty at least for crimes committed by persons under 18 years of age, in accordance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and commute all death sentences for juvenile offenders.”

The United States called on the Iranian regime to immediately end the use of torture and to credibly investigate and prosecute all allegations of torture.

Ukraine called on Iran to “remove all national law provisions that allow for punishments that amount to torture or cruel and degrading treatment.”

Australia said Iran must “[i]mmediately investigate all allegations involving the torture and other ill-treatment of those arrested or detained during the demonstrations in December 2017 and hold those responsible to account.”

Australia also called on the regime to “[g]uarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, and release political prisoners, including women’s rights activists, labor rights activists, environmentalists, scholars, lawyers and journalists, detained for exercising these rights.”

The United Kingdom called on Iran to “[i]mmediately demonstrate that all detainees in prison are neither tortured nor subject to cruel or inhumane treatment or punishment.”

Switzerland called on the Iranian regime to “[r]elease all persons detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and repeal or amend laws and other provisions criminalizing or restricting the exercise of those rights.”

Argentina said Iran must “[g]uarantee freedom of expression, particularly of men and women human rights defenders and journalists, and repeal legal provisions that affect these rights.”

The BBC published a lie-filled report about the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) based solely on the statements of two Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) agents, even though the MEK had spoken with the BBC journalists for five-and-a-half hours at their Albanian headquarters of Ashraf 3, which brings the whole notion of balance and accuracy into question.

The piece was so bias that Shahin Gobadi, Press Spokesman of the MEK, had to ask what the Regime offered the BBC to secure this “inexplicable and vulgar hit-piece” against the MEK.

#BBC Iranian Regime Propaganda Demonizing the #MEK https://t.co/HMSXmEuN0a#Iran #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi #FakeNews #FakeNewsMedia

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 13, 2019

Gobadi wrote a response to the BBC report where he said that the only explanation for the libelous anti-MEK website article is that the previous slanderous anti-MEK radio program didn’t please the mullahs enough.

He wrote that the BBC was wrong to claim that the MEK didn’t want to speak with the BBC, when their only reservations were about taking part in a hit-piece scripted by the MOIS who have previously plotted terror attacks against the MEK in Albania, France, and Iraq, even providing documents to prove this.

In fact, the BBC need not even take the MEK’s word for it. They could instead listen to the Albanian Police, who revealed details of the regime’s plots against the MEK in Albania less than three weeks before this article was published. They could also take the word of the French, German, and Belgian police forces, several UN officials, and many politicians across the world.

No wonder people in #Iran call #BBC as Ayatollah BBC
It has always been a partner to mullahs for running demonizing campaign against #MEK, #FakeNews #FakeNewsMedia @USAdarFarsi https://t.co/gLETU8OlNR

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 12, 2019

So who are these MOIS agents? Gobadi explains that Gholam-Ali Mirzai, a prisoner-of-war captured by the MEK after attacking them, was released and offered a safe haven by the MEK, should he not want to return to Iran. He was even sent to Albania by the MEK but was asked to leave.

He lied when he said that he was not told about his family’s visit to Iraq when he resided in the MEK camp there. After all, the camp was accessible to everyone and, at the time, the representatives of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the US military were present at the camp and would certainly have intervened.

The journalist even admits in the article that Mirzai visited the Iranian Embassy in Tirana and quoted a diplomat as saying that “some of the ‘disassociates’ are certainly working for Iran”.

While the other informant, Hassan Heyrani, admitted in his own handwriting that he’d been expelled from the MEK over “intelligence, security concerns, and his treason”, for which he had apologized; a document that is publically available and could have been accessed by the reporter.

Gobadi wrote: “These bogus narratives pursue only one objective: Mollifying the criminals ruling Iran at the expense of [the MEK] who have dedicated their lives to democracy and freedom in Iran, and more than 100,000 of whom have been executed by the ruling mullahs, including 30,000 massacred in 1988.”

The Iranian Regime is facing multiple crises domestically and internationally, so it feels the need to hit back at the MEK, which is the democratic opposition movement capable of overthrowing them in favor of a Free Iran. But why does the BBC feel the need to defend the mullahs?

Gobadi wrote: “Perhaps, from the perspective of the Iranian regime’s western appeasers and benefactors [the] only “crime” of MEK [is] their singular focus on, and unflinching dedication to, one sacred mission: liberating Iran from the yoke of the monsters who wear the turban and the robe and exploit religion to justify their savagery, unmatched by any dictatorial regime since the Second World War.”

The Iranian regime has responded to the continued uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon, tightening sanctions against regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his inner circle, and the rise of the Iranian Resistance and anti-regime protests in Iran with yet another smear campaign against the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK).

Asking #BBC:
CULT!! What kind of cult is this, while #MEK invites hundreds of prominent international politicians including @RudyGiuliani and Albanian President @ilirmetazyrtar
Read more about BBC #FakeNewshttps://t.co/GJlJgazCQp #Iran #FakeNewsMedia https://t.co/tChlFLnrB6 pic.twitter.com/3Rme0KEcAM

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 12, 2019

The most recent demonization campaign against the MEK and the Iranian Resistance is focused on eliminating the appearance of a viable alternative to the regime in order to convince the West that preserving the policy of appeasement is the only feasible path forward. A recent hit piece published by BBC, which used testimony from “former MEK members,” is the latest example of this strategy in action.

Unreliable Sources

The BBC report is riddled with falsehoods about the MEK, but the biggest problem with the piece is its reliance on “former MEK members” as sources. Numerous previous investigations have established that these so-called former members are recruited by the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and work as agents of the regime. A similar report on the German website Der Spiegel was taken down last year after a court found overwhelming evidence that the allegations against the MEK they presented in their article were fabricated by MOIS agents as a means of tarnishing the MEK’s reputation in Albania.

Helping mullahs to escape the deadly crisis they are facing these days, once again #BBC showed up as a mouthpiece of the religious fascist regime ruling #Iranhttps://t.co/RUuZcxjIN1#MEK @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/U3N4OY3CCe

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 12, 2019

German and Dutch security services have both warned in recent years that the Iranian regime uses individuals posing as “former members of the MEK” to conduct espionage activities and to set the stage for terrorist operations.

On October 23, 2019, the Albanian Police announced that details of an Iranian regime terrorist plot against MEK members living in Albania had been uncovered due to the services of “former members.” This information likely saved lives. This information was excluded entirely from the BBC report, despite its relevance and currency. She also failed to mention that the regime’s ambassador and station chief were expelled from Albania last year because of their terrorist activities against the MEK.

False Claims about Ashraf-3

The Iranian regime has long claimed that the MEK is a cult that brainwashes its members. This diverts attention from its constant terrorist threats against members living at the MEK’s headquarters, which was recently relocated to Albania. The MEK hosted 350 dignitaries from 47 countries this summer at  Ashraf-3, their new home. Guests were invited to see how the Ashrafis live up close and to dispel any rumors they may have heard. They were able to see that MEK members are not brainwashed, refused access to the Internet, or denied freedom of choice. There have been no mass defections.

BBC reporter Linda Pressly and several of her colleagues were also invited to visit Ashraf-3, and they spent several hours speaking privately with members and traveling freely on the grounds. Ms. Pressly said in her report that the MEK refused to be interviewed for her program, but she neglected to mention that she visited Ashraf-3 and that MEK representatives chose not to be part of her program that was wittingly or unwittingly part of an MOIS script. They also noted their objection to appearing alongside individuals whose objective and mission is collecting intelligence and assisting the Iranian regime to conduct terrorist operations against the MEK.

Lies about Members

The report contained a disturbing fabrication about prisoner-of-war Gholam-Ali Mirzaie, claiming that the MEK did not inform his that his family had come to visit him from Iran while he was in Iraq with the MEK. This blatant falsehood does not hold water. Representatives from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as well as the U.S. military, were present at the MEK camp in Iraq and accessible to everyone there, so it would not have been possible to prevent anyone from knowing about a visitor.

Mirzaie was released on September 4, 2016, and sent to Albania to live as he pleased. Once he arrived in Albania, he requested in writing to join the MEK.

As for “former member” Hassan Heyrani, his claims against the MEK must be tempered with the knowledge that he was expelled from the organization due to “intelligence, security concerns, and his treason.” Heyrani apologized for his actions and appealed the decision in his own handwriting. The documents supporting this were provided to the BBC prior to their report.

The Iranian regime’s representative at the review session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva claimed that his country is one of the largest democracies in Western Asia and doesn’t need a Special Rapporteur, even though Amnesty International and Western governments have repeatedly and strongly condemned the regime’s violation of human rights.

Javad Larijani, the Iranian regime’s representative to the Human Rights Council, claimed on Friday that UN Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman had formed his opinion based solely on the information provided by Iran’s main opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK).

Iran’s Representative to the UN Human Rights Council Claims That the Special Rapporteur Receives His Documents From the MEK https://t.co/vFHx1OSkIO

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 11, 2019

This bizarre claim about the MEK came just two days after Amnesty International urged the international community to “publicly condemn the deterioration in Iran’s human rights record” during the review session at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said:

“From horrific execution rates, to the relentless persecution of human rights defenders, rampant discrimination against women and minorities, and ongoing crimes against humanity, the catalogue of appalling violations recorded in Iran reveals a sharp deterioration in its human rights record.”

Larijani’s ridiculous comments about the MEK did not stop Western countries from condemning Iran’s human rights violations in the session, with representatives from around the world criticizing the regime for executing over 120,000 MEK members for peaceful political activism; 30,000 of whom during the 1988 massacre.

United States representative Mark Cassayre said:

“For decades Iran has flagrantly violated its citizens’ human rights: We urge the government to allow the Special Rapporteur on Iran to visit the country and investigate existing practices.”

While Miriam Shearman, Britain’s deputy representative to the UN in Geneva, said:

“We remain deeply concerned by Iran’s failure to uphold international legal obligations, and its arbitrary detention of citizens and dual nationals arrested on unclear charges, denied due process and subject to mistreatment.”

And it should be noted that despite the Regime’s massive efforts to cover up the executions of the MEK, one member of the 1988 “Death Commissions” that sent the  MEK members to their deaths, defended the massacre in July. Amnesty responded to former Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi’s comments about the massacre of the MEK by saying that these

“provide shocking confirmation of the authorities’ wilful flouting of international human rights law both at the time and now and a stark reminder of the sense of impunity that senior officials linked to the killings enjoy”.

Protesters in Geneva Call for End to Three Decades of #Impunity for #Iran Regime’s Leaders https://t.co/UG2rhp0RW0#1988Massacre #NoImpunity4Mullahs

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 9, 2019

Amnesty was “particularly concerned” that he accused those advocating for truth and accountability regarding the massacre of the MEK of ‘terrorism’ and ‘collusion’ and threatening them with a prosecution. Amnesty said Iranian officials must not be allowed to protect themselves from accountability in the MEK massacre.

Helping mullahs to escape the deadly crisis they are facing these days, once again BBC showed up as a mouthpiece of the religious fascist regime ruling Iran. In an article on 11 November 2019, BBC tried to echo the four-decade false allegations against the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK).

• While uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon continues and the “strategic depth” of mullahs are undermined in these two countries,
• While international sanctions, particularly, against Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Iranian regime, and his inner circle, is intensified,
• While the Iranian people’s protests intensify,
• And while the MEK resistance units’ activities are growing

In a frustrated effort to tarnish MEK’s portrait and making it appears as though there is no alternative to the Iranian regime and that the West is better served by continuing the policy of appeasement, the mullahs have stepped up their demonizing campaign against the Iranian resistance and the MEK.

Again, the BBC on behalf of the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), tried to run a demonizing campaign under the disgraced banner of “former MEK members”.

The mudslinging by the current functionaries of MOIS, disguising themselves as MEK’s “former members,” have repeatedly been exposed by irrefutable documents and evidence, and condemned, as was the case in a German court’s ruling against Der Spiegel for regurgitating similar smears.

It is worth mentioning that, the Albanian Police exposed the details of the Iranian regime’s terrorist plots against the MEK members in Albania through the services of “former members”, on October 23, 2019.

What Explains Latest #BBC's Anti-#MEK Tirade in the Service of #Iran Mullahshttps://t.co/miqrDeG8DA#FakeNews #BlackListMOIS pic.twitter.com/B0MyH4HCsf

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 12, 2019

The BBC has tried to portrait the MEK as a cult, as the MOIS has tried it for the past four decades. Last summer, some 350 dignitaries from 47 countries spent five days at Ashraf-3, the home of MEK members in Albania, and saw everything up close and personal. So, there is no need to add anything but noting the remarks of the Former Mayor of New York City and the US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani when he referred the MEK members saying: “These are people who are dedicated to freedom”

He added: “And if you think that’s a cult, then there’s something wrong with you,”

It was not just Mayor Giuliani, dozens of political dignitaries from different political diversities have repeatedly argued the tag of “cult” in the past forty years.

Parroting the propaganda of the notorious Intelligence service of a barbarian regime, of course, is not an honor for BBC; however, the Iranian regime’s critical situation has compelled BBC to lend a hand to the mullahs.

@HanifJazayeri This is not a surprise. It has become endemic. BBC did exactly the same thing in 2003, 2006, and 2011. They have a habit of rushing to the aid of the mullahs when they are on the ropes and when the Resistance is on the ascent. @iran_policy https://t.co/lytU6NJ8S0

— Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) November 11, 2019

These efforts against the MEK are in vain, however, the growing popularity of the MEK and the uprising against the Iranian regime in Iraq and Lebanon, is the best reply to the demonizing campaign against the MEK by both the mullahs and the BBC.

Iranian human rights activist Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee was arrested on Saturday at her home in Tehran, with at least ten security agents raiding her home before taking her into custody.

Iraee, a former political prisoner, must now serve a sentence handed down in July and upheld on appeal without further examination, according to her lawyer Amir Raissian, which relates to a protest that she took part in during her last detention where she criticized the Iranian regime for the execution of three Kurdish dissidents.

Urgent: Former political prisoner Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee is rearrested
She was arrested at home by 10 male security forces and taken to an unknown location. The security forces did not show their warrant for arrest.#Iran https://t.co/eOrRq28YvH pic.twitter.com/YtauqPvN4Z

— NCRIWomen'sCommittee (@womenncri) November 9, 2019

Iraee and fellow political prisoner Atena Daemi were found guilty on vague national security charges, the kind often levied against political prisoners. They were sentenced to three years and seven months in prison for “insulting the supreme leader” (two years and one month) and “propaganda against the state” (one year and six months) each by Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

They will each have to serve at least two years and one month of that sentence.

Iraee was first arrested, alongside her husband and two other activists, by the intelligence division of the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on September 6, 2014. She was held for three weeks on Ward 2A in Evin Prison, which is known to be the IRGC Intelligence ward, before being released on September 27 on an 800 million rial bail for her activities on Facebook.

Iraee was later sentenced to six years in prison for “insulting sanctities” and “propaganda against the state”, which are again vague charges levied against political activists. Her crime? Writing an unpublished story about the barbaric punishment of stoning in Iran, which the regime would never have known about had they not stormed her house and seized her computer.

In October 2016, her house was stormed by security forces and she was taken to Evin Prison to serve her sentence. Her husband Arash Sadeghi, who began serving a 15-year prison sentence earlier that year for his peaceful political activities, went on a hunger strike in protest to her arrest and after 72 days she was released on January 3, 2017.

Senegal says Iran must continue efforts on education & health care in correction centres.

Reminder that Iran routinely denies access to medical care for human rights defenders. Currently Arash Sadeghi is being denied access to cancer treatment#UPR34 #IranUPR pic.twitter.com/z5OGURZQqo

— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) November 8, 2019

However, she was re-arrested on January 22 of that year when she went to the hospital where Sadeghi was supposed to be examined.

Iraee was released on bail in April 2019 after serving 3.5 years of her six-year prison sentence.

Since then, she has been campaigning on Twitter for the release of cancer-stricken Sadeghi and calling for him to be allowed access to medical treatment because he is in poor health following a cancer operation last year.

A large group of retirees gathered outside the regime’s Budget and Planning Organization and the Parliament (Majlis) on Sunday in order to protest their appalling living conditions and the failure of their pensions to meet their basic needs. Retirees from many other provinces across the country traveled to join the protests.

The clerical regime tried to stop the protests from taking place and prevent other people from joining the gatherings by blocking the streets leading to the regime’s parliament in order to deny access to the retirees and their supporters. They also stationed hundreds of suppressive forces, over 50 agents riding motorcycles, and dozens of plainclothes agents on location in advance of the gathering to harass, intimidate, and arrest people for protesting.

#IranProtests: Gathering by Retirees in #Tehran, Violent Assault by Suppressive Forces https://t.co/7xlyfQm1Zn#FreeIran #NoImpunity4Mullahs

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 10, 2019

Despite the mullahs’ suppressive measures, the crowd of retirees, which included many women held their gathering outside Parliament and chanted:

• “Imprisoned teachers must be freed”
• “We are furious over so much injustice”
• “We will not rest until we get what is our right”
• “Protest gathering is our inalienable right”

Outside the Planning and Budget Organization, dozens of protesters gathered to have the voices heard, but the suppressive forces of the regime cracked down violently and did not even allow the retirees to speak with one another.

Many protesters were arrested by the regime and had their phones confiscated, even though their only crime was holding a peaceful protest against the Iranian Regime. The mullahs were terrified that the people might release videos or pictures on social media that would expose the regime and go viral so that all the world could see the regime’s abuses.

The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran wrote: “The Iranian Resistance hails the protesters and urges the residents of Tehran, especially the young people, to support the retirees. It also calls on the United Nations Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as other human rights organizations to take urgent action to secure the release of those detained.”

July 16 – Tehran, #Iran
Retirees rallying outside the regime's Labor Ministry demanding answers to the requests they have been stating for a long period.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/ddRH9NwxzG

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 16, 2019

The Iranian people have been rising up to protest the regime for corruption, humans rights abuses, warmongering, terrorism, and much more besides for nearly two years and the mullahs are terrified that the people will overthrow them because then the regime’s leaders will  be held accountable for their many crimes against the people of Iran, including the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. Most of the victims were the members or sympathizers of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK).

On  4^th November, the government of the United States announced that it was issuing fresh sanctions against a number of high-level officials in Iran. The US Department of the Treasury announced the news on the 40^th anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis in which the US Embassy in Tehran was stormed in 1979. The standoff lasted 444 days and 52 American citizens and diplomats were held hostage during this time.

MEK: #Iran Is Still Leading State Sponsor of Terror and Hostage Taking https://t.co/Rp6mTzVBY4#MEK #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 6, 2019

The US Treasury Department announced that the sanctions would affect Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff and nine individuals that are linked to the country’s Supreme Leader – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It said that the sanctions are part of an effort to “block funds from flowing to a shadow network of Ali Khamenei’s military and foreign affairs advisors who have for decades oppressed the Iranian people, exported terrorism, and advanced destabilizing policies around the world”.

On Monday the US Treasury imposed sanctions, on the #Iranian regime’s Armed Forces General Staff and nine individuals, including Ebrahim Raissihttps://t.co/9yqRW7H2UV#Iran #MEK @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/brRrFlymM5

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 5, 2019

One of the concerned individuals is former presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi who currently serves the regime as head of the judiciary.

It has also been rumored that a number of American senators are calling for further sanctions against the regime.

These latest sanctions are highly significant because of who is targeted. Raisi was part of a so-called “death commission” during the 1988 massacre – one of the most horrific crimes against humanity in recent times in which more than 30,000 political prisoners, mainly members and supporters of Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/Iran), lost their life. He personally decided the fate of numerous political prisoners who were extrajudicially murdered following a fatwa that was issued by the Supreme Leader at the time.

 

For the first time ever, the 1988 massacre has become the direct subject of sanctions imposed on Iran. This is a major boost to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the entire Iranian Resistance movement that has been calling for justice for the victims of this terrible crime against humanity. Years of appeasement have allowed the regime to enjoy impunity for this entire time.

The US Treasury Department also emphasized the regime’s warmongering and acts of terror across the region and beyond. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said: “Today the Treasury Department is targeting the unelected officials who surround Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and implement his destabilizing policies. These individuals are linked to a wide range of malign behaviors by the regime, including bombings of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in 1994, as well as torture, extrajudicial killings, and repression of civilians. This action further constricts the Supreme Leader’s ability to execute his agenda of terror and oppression.”

The US authorities also pointed to Iran’s meddling in Iraq, saying that the regime’s destructive policies are highly concerning.

For years, many countries have led policies of appeasement towards Iran. This has done nothing more than embolden the regime and the United States’ move to hold the regime accountable for its actions is long overdue.

For many of the more worrying aspects of the regime’s behavior to be addressed directly through sanctions is positive and one can only hope that other countries follow suit.

The 40th anniversary of Iran’s hostage crisis reminds us of the terrorist nature of the ruling regime in Iran. In 1979 a number of thugs seized the American embassy in Tehran and took 55 embassy employees and diplomats hostage for 444 days. Hostage-taking and warmongering as well as exporting terrorism have always been the fundamental strategy and diplomacy of this regime.

In an article published in Town Hall, Prof. Ivan Sascha Sheehan,  director of the graduate programs in Negotiation and Conflict Management and Global Affairs and Human Security in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Baltimore, discussed the Iranian regime’s four-decade history of terrorism, saying: “For four decades, Western powers have regrettably but repeatedly failed to address the looming Iran threat or the belligerent regime’s underlying ideology,”

Prof. Sheehan: Only Way to Confront #Iran Regime’s Hostage Taking and #Terrorism Is Supporting Regime Changehttps://t.co/3aZ1akruQj#MEK #FreeIran @ProfSheehan @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/4QDsdA7Ngq

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 5, 2019

Dr. Sheehan then refers to the regime’s ongoing hostage-taking and writes: “At present, at least 17 dual nationals are held captive by Iranian authorities, often on the flimsiest of pretenses.”

Referring to the execution of 30,000 Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) members and supporters in 1988, the article reads: “Mass arrests are a reminder of the Islamic Republic’s past crimes against humanity, particularly the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988. That incident stemmed from a fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini which declared all opponents of the theocratic system to be at war with God himself, and thus subject to summary execution.”

The writer points to the regime’s animosity toward its main opposition, the MEK and writes: “The main target of that clerical edict was the highly capable resistance organization known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and this group made up the overwhelming majority of the massacre’s victims.”

End the Impunity for Those Who Carried Out #Iran #1988Massacre
https://t.co/A8VLtwEGqI#WeSupportMEK #MEK #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) October 10, 2019

Dr. Sheehan, then discusses the MEK’s leading role in an ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy in Iran, saying: “The movement endured in spite of the fierce persecution and even thrived in the ensuing decades. Last year, it was credited with leading the countrywide anti-regime protests and giving voice to the people’s progressive aspirations. But Khomeini’s fatwa remains in force, and political prisoners have been executed for actual or perceived support of the MEK.”

Pointing to the disastrous policy of appeasement toward the religious fascist regime ruling Iran, Dr. Sheehan writes: “These tactics were used, for instance, in 2016 around the time that the Iran nuclear deal was implemented. Four Americans were released in January of that year, but only in exchange for the U.S. settling an old debt to the previous Iranian government, as well as releasing or dropping charges against 21 Iranian nationals” he continued, “this only served to reinforce the impression that hostage-taking is a potentially lucrative endeavor. It is, therefore, no surprise that all four of the American hostages were promptly replaced by others.”

Finally, Prof. Sheehan concludes: “The only way this phenomenon’s recurrence can be prevented over the long term is if Tehran’s behavior – or the regime itself – changes completely,” “Domestic unrest demonstrates that there is no need for Western powers to actively pursue regime change. But they most definitely should promote an alternative vision for Iran’s future,”

The BBC Radio 4 and the World Service broadcasted a bias and unsubstantiated report about the Iranian resistance and the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI-MEK).

The report is based on the accounts and interviews of the so-called “former members of MEK”. It is well known that for many years the Iranian regime has been pursuing its demonizing campaign and terrorist activities against the MEK through so-called “former members”

“The mudslinging by the current functionaries of the mullahs’ Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), disguising themselves as PMOI’s “former members,” have repeatedly been exposed by irrefutable documents and evidence, and condemned, as was the case in a German court’s ruling against Der Spiegel for regurgitating similar smears. The repetitive scheme by the MOIS to tarnish the image of the PMOI in Albania is intended to set the stage for more terrorist acts against the Iranian Resistance,” The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Security and Counter-terrorism Committee’s (NCRICT) statement reads. 

The main purpose of the demonization campaign of the Iranian regime against its main opposition is to pursue terrorist plots against them. “On October 23, 2019, the Albanian Police exposed the details of the clerical regime’s terrorist plots against the PMOI members in Albania through the services of “former members.” In her report, however, the BBC journalist makes no reference to this development, the most important news in Albania regarding the PMOI in recent weeks and months, because she attempts to balance her story with comments from the Iranian regime’s operatives. Last year, Albania expelled the Iranian regime’s ambassador and the MOIS station chief in Tirana for espionage and terrorist activities.” NCRICT statement reads. 

The report also portrays if the Iranian resistance and MEK members are kept in a remote area in an autocracy country and no outsider has any access to them, while they are in Europe and hundreds of international dignitaries visit their home, and the same reporter was there for over 5 hours and was offered to stay there as long as she wanted, privately talk to anyone and visit anywhere she so desired.

“Last summer, some 350 dignitaries from 47 countries spent five days at Ashraf-3, the home of PMOI members in Albania, and saw everything up close and personal. Thus, the absurdities rehashed by the BBC, such as brainwashing, lack of access to the Internet, the denial of freedom of choice to PMOI members, and the defection of 300 or 400 members from the organization in Albania are utterly false and designed to mollify the criminal mullahs ruling Iran,”

“In her report, the BBC’s Linda Pressly says that the PMOI refused to be interviewed for her program. She has deliberately chosen not to report that she and another BBC colleague were the guests of the PMOI at their home, Ashraf-3, for five-and-a-half hours. During the meeting, the PMOI representatives told her that she could stay at Ashraf-3 as long as she wanted, privately talk to anyone and visit anywhere she so desired. The PMOI representatives also told her not to expect the PMOI to be part of a program that was wittingly or unwittingly based on an MOIS script. They also told her that they should not be expected to be part of a program that also included individuals whose objective and mission is collecting intelligence and assisting the Iranian regime to conduct terrorist operations against the PMOI. No one would have criticized German, British, French, and American freedom fighters and patriots for refusing to appear alongside Nazi collaborators.” NCRICT statement reads. 

It is shameful that BBC by its fake news is helping the Iranian regime to turn a security threat into political dissidents, and demonize them in a well-known method of the Iranian regime. No wonder why Iranian people call BBC as Ayatollah BBC, but the question is why they are doing this now, and why the regime needs this propaganda and fake news at this moment.

“The continuing uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon have undermined the strategic depth and one of the strategic pillars of the ruling theocracy ruling Iran. Intensifying international sanctions, in particular against the regime’s supreme leader and his inner circle, coupled with the rise in the Iranian people’s protests and the Resistance Units’ activities not only highlight the reality that time is rapidly running out on the religious fascism ruling Iran, but also pose an unprecedented challenge to its survival.

Under such circumstances, the mullahs have stepped up their terrorist activities and stepped up their campaign of demonization against the Iranian Resistance and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in order to make it appears as though that there is no alternative to their regime and that the West is better served by continuing the policy of appeasement. The religious dictatorship’s desperation cloaked under the disgraced banner of “former PMOI members,” this time through Radio BBC 4 and the World Service, represents one such effort. “