View source for Religion:People's Mujahedin of Iran

{{short description|Iranian political-militant organization}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = People's Mujahedin Organization
| logo = PMOI.png
| colorcode = {{People's Mujahedin of Iran/meta/color}}
| leader = Maryam Rajavi and Massoud Rajavi{{NoteTag|Since 27 January 1985, they are "Co-equal Leader",{{sfn|O'Hern|2012|p=208}} however, Massoud Rajavi disappeared in 2003 and leadership of the group has ''de facto'' passed to his wife Maryam Rajavi.<ref name="hdot">{{cite book |title = Historical Dictionary of Terrorism |url = https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00ande |url-access = limited |page=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00ande/page/n530 454] |series = Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest |edition=3rd |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2009 |first1 = Stephen |last1 = Sloan |first2 = Sean K. |last2 = Anderson |isbn = 978-0-8108-6311-8}}</ref>}}
| secretary_general = Zahra Merrikhi
| foundation = {{start date and age|1965|9|5|df=y}}
| banned = 1981 (in Iran)
| participant = 
| headquarters = {{plainlist|
* Manëz, Durrës, Albania {{small|(2018–)}}<ref>{{cite news |title = Durrës locals protest MEK members' burial in local cemetery |url = http://www.tiranatimes.com/?p=137041 |newspaper = Tirana Times |date=9 May 2018 |access-date=29 June 2018}}</ref>{{coord|41|25|36|N|19|34|26|E|display=inline,title}}
* [[Place:Paris|Paris]], {{wipe|France}} {{small|(1981–1986; 2003–)}}
* Tirana, Albania {{small|(2016–)}}
* Camp Liberty, Iraq {{small|(2012–2016)}}
* Camp Ashraf, Iraq {{small|(1986–2013)}}
* [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]], [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] {{small|(1965–1981)}}
}}
| website = {{URL|http://www.mojahedin.org/home/en|www.mojahedin.org}}
| country = Iran
| abbreviation = MEK, MKO, PMOI
| native_name = {{Nobold|سازمان مجاهدين خلق}}
| native_name_lang = fa
| split = Freedom Movement
| leader1_title = 
| leader1_name = {{list collapsed |title = Founders<ref name="Iranian Politics">{{cite book |first = Houchang E. |last = Chehabi |title = Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movement of Iran Under the Shah and Khomeini |publisher = I.B. Tauris |page=211 |year=1990 |isbn = 978-1-85043-198-5}}</ref>|
* Mohammad Hanifnejad
* Saeid Mohsen
* Mohammad Asgarizadeh
* Rasoul Meshkinfam
* Ali-Asghar Badi'zadegan
* Ahmad Rezaei
}}
|position = 
| wing1_title = Military wing
| wing1 = National Liberation Army {{small|(NLA)}} - disarmed by the US in 2003.<ref name="auto33">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-iranian-spies-20190114-story.html |title=Is Tehran spying on Southern California? Feds say O.C. waiter and 'Chubby' from Long Beach were agents of Iran |newspaper=LA Times |date=13 January 2019}}</ref>
| wing2_title = Political wing
| wing2 = National Council of Resistance {{small|(NCR)}}
| ideology = ''see below''
| colours = {{Color box|{{People's Mujahedin of Iran/meta/color}}|border=darkgray}} Red
| religion = [[Religion:Shia Islam|Shia Islam]]
| flag = [[File:Flag of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.svg|200px|border]]<br /><br />[[File:Flag of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (Yellow).svg|200px|border]]
| newspaper = ''Mojahed''{{sfn|Zabih|1988|p=250}}
| slogan = 
| membership_year = 2011
| membership = 5,000 to 13,500 (DoD estimate)
}}
{{Infobox war faction
| name             = Former armed wing of the MEK<br />National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA){{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=97}}
| war              = Iran–Iraq War, 1991 uprisings in Iraq
| image            = 
| caption          = NLA flag
| leaders          = {{plainlist|
* Massoud Rajavi
* Maryam Rajavi, deputy commander-in-chief<ref name="Mousavian">{{cite book |title = Iran-Europe Relations: Challenges and Opportunities |chapter=Iran-Germany Relations |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |author = Seyyed Hossein Mousavian |isbn = 978-1-134-06219-5 |}}</ref>
* Mousa Khiabani, Commander {{small|(1981–1982)}} {{KIA}}<ref name="CQP">{{cite book |title=Political Handbook of the World 2015 |chapter=Iran |publisher=CQ Press |year=2015 |first=Tom |last=Lansford |isbn=978-1-4833-7155-9 |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/politicalhandboo0000unse_f0m6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalhandboo0000unse_f0m6}}</ref>
* Ali Zarkesh, Commander {{small|(1982–1988)}} {{KIA}}<ref name="CQP" />
* Ebrahim Zakeri, Head of 'Security and Counter-Terrorism' {{small|(1993–2003)}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter = Honoring a Great Hero for Iran's Freedom, World Peace and Security: Hon. Edolphus Towns of New York in the House of Represetitives, 27 March 2003 |title = United States of America Congressional Record |page = 7794 |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=2003 }}{{include-GPO}}</ref>}}
| active           = Since 20 June 1987 - disarmed in 2003.<ref name="auto33"/>
| size             = Brigade (at peak)<ref>{{cite journal |title = Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) Organization in the Imposed War |language = fa |journal = Negin-e-Iran |volume=41 |issue=11 |date=Summer 2012 |url = http://www.negineiran.ir/article_3209.html |author=Yaghoub Nemati Voroujeni |pages=75–96 |access-date=18 November 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161118223919/http://www.negineiran.ir/article_3209.html |archive-date=18 November 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| ideology         = 
| headquarters     = 
| area             = [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] and Iraq
| allies           = {{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Soviet Union}} {{small|(1965–1991)}}<ref name="Bahgat 2008">{{Cite web|url=http://www.academia.edu/download/32838100/bahgat.pdf|author=G. Bahgat|title=United States-Iranian relations: the terrorism challenge" ''Parameters''|year= 2008}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|Russia|1991}} {{Flag|Russia}} {{small|(1991–2003)}}<ref name="Bahgat 2008" /><ref name="Clark 2016 65">{{cite book |title = Terrornomics |editor-first = David |editor-last = Gold |page = 65 |isbn = 978-1-317-04590-8 |publisher=Routledge |year = 2016 |chapter = An Analysis of the Role of the Iranian Diaspora in the Financial Support System of the ''Mujahedin-e-Khalq'' |first = Mark Edmond |last = Clark }}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|Iraq|1963}} Iraq {{small|(1982–2003)}}<ref name="Clark 2016 65" />
* {{Flag|United States}}<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/world/middleeast/john-bolton-regime-change-iran.html |title = M.E.K.: The Group John Bolton Wants to Rule Iran |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 7 May 2018 |last = Tabrizy |first = Nilo }}</ref>
* {{Flag|Israel}}<ref>* {{cite magazine |first = Seymour M. |last = Hersh |url = https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/our-men-in-iran |title = Our Men in Iran? |magazine = The New Yorker |date = 5 April 2012 |access-date = 18 August 2016 |}}
* {{cite news |first = Brian |last = Williams |url = http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/09/10354553-israel-teams-with-terror-group-to-kill-irans-nuclear-scientists-us-officials-tell-nbc-news |title = Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News |publisher = NBC News |date = 9 February 2012 |access-date = 18 August 2016 |archive-date = 26 December 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181226045922/http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/09/10354553-israel-teams-with-terror-group-to-kill-irans-nuclear-scientists-us-officials-tell-nbc-news |url-status = dead }}
* {{cite news |first1 = Arron |last1 = Merat |first2 = Julian |last2 = Borger |url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/30/rudy-giuliani-mek-iran-paris-rally |title = Rudy Giuliani calls for Iran regime change at rally linked to extreme group |newspaper = The Guardian |date = 30 June 2018 |access-date = 30 June 2018 |quote = Most observers of Iranian politics say the MeK has minimal support in Iran and is widely hated for its use of violence and close links to Israeli intelligence. }}</ref>
* {{Flag|Saudi Arabia}}<ref name="Mousavian" />{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}} <ref name="auto">{{cite news |first = Arash |last = Karami |url = http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/08/mek-palestinian-authority-mahmoud-abbas-maryam-rajavi-saudi.html |title = Were Saudis behind Abbas-MEK meeting? |date=2 August 2016 |website = Al-Monitor |access-date=18 August 2016 }}</ref>
* {{Flag|Canada}}<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-liberals-back-tory-motion-to-abandon-diplomatic-talks-with-iran-until/ |title = Liberals back Tory motion to end diplomatic talks with Iran |newspaper = The Globe and Mail }}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/mek-rally-1.4736957}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Albania}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-the-mek-in-albania/|title=Iran: The MEK in Albania|date=7 August 2020}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (Red).svg}} Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas {{small|(1960s–1981)}}<ref name="ic">{{cite book |title = Middle Eastern Terrorism |url = https://archive.org/details/middleeasternter00perl_987 |url-access = limited |first1=Arie |last1=Perliger |first2 = William L. |last2 = Eubank |pages=[https://archive.org/details/middleeasternter00perl_987/page/n49 41]–42 |isbn = 978-1-4381-0719-6 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2006 |chapter=Terrorism in Iran and Afghanistan: The Seeds of the Global Jihad }}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Fatah Flag.svg}} Fatah<ref name="cp">{{cite book |title = Problems of Communism |volume=29 |page=15 |publisher=Documentary Studies Section, International Information Administration |year=1980 |quote = There is evidence that as early as 1969 it received arms and training from the PLO, especially Yasir Arafat's Fatah group. Some of the earliest Mojahedin supporters took part in black september in 1970 in Jordan.}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>
* {{flagicon|Palestine}} Palestine Liberation Organization {{small|(1969–1970s)}}<ref name="cp" />
* {{flagicon image|İran Kürdistanı Demokrat Partisi bayrağı.jpg}} Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan {{small|(1981–1985)}}<ref name="Kurds" />
* {{flagicon image}} Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle {{small|(1995–present)}}<ref name="Kurds" />
}}
| opponents        = {{plainlist|
* {{Flagicon|Iran|1964}} Imperial State of Iran {{small|(1965–1979)}}
* {{Flagicon|Iran}} Islamic Republic of Iran {{small|(since 1981)}}
* {{IRQ}} {{small|(since 2009)}}<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.albawaba.com/ar/العراق/مجاهدي-خلق-تتهم-الجيش-العراقي-بالتوغل-في-مخيمها-شمال-بغداد |script-title= ar:مجاهدي خلق تتهم الجيش العراقي بالتوغل في مخيمها شمال بغداد |language=ar |website= البوابة }}</ref>
}}
{{list collapsed|title=Non-state opponents|
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of PUK.png}} Patriotic Union of Kurdistan<ref name="Kurds">{{cite book |title=Terrornomics |editor-first=David |editor-last=Gold |pages=67–68 |isbn = 978-1-317-04590-8 |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |chapter=An Analysis of the Role of the Iranian Diaspora in the Financial Support System of the ''Mujahedin-e-Khalq'' |first = Mark Edmond |last = Clark }}</ref>
* {{Flagicon image|ISCI flag.svg}} Islamic Supreme Council<ref name="nso">{{cite book |title = Iran's Foreign Policy: From Khatami to Ahmadinejad |page=135 |isbn = 978-0-86372-415-2 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |year=2012 |first1=Anoushiravan |last1 = Ehteshami |first2 = Mahjoob |last2 = Zweiri }}</ref>
}}
| battles          = Operation Shining Sun<br />Operation Forty Stars<br />Operation Eternal Light<br />
| status           = 
| designated_as_terror_group_by = {{flag|Iran}}<br/>{{flag|Iraq}}
}}
The '''People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran''', or the '''Mujahedin-e-Khalq''' ({{lang-fa|سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران|sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân}}, abbreviated '''MEK''', '''PMOI,''' or '''MKO'''), is 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 = 9780833045270 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PmlMdb5ACHEC&q=militant+organization&pg=PA26 |access-date=11 September 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Pike |first=John |title = Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO) |url = https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/mek.htm |website=www.globalsecurity.org |access-date=5 October 2018 |quote=...the largest and most militant group opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181222084149/https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/mek.htm |archive-date=22 December 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) |url = https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/mujahadeen-e-khalq-mek |website = [[Organization:Council on Foreign Relations|Council on Foreign Relations]] |access-date=5 October 2018 |quote = ...the largest militant Iranian opposition group committed to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic,}}</ref> It advocates overthrowing the leadership 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}} It is also considered the Islamic Republic of Iran's biggest and most active political opposition group.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=97}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=1}}<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.ft.com/content/c6ace172-33f2-11e8-a3ae-fd3fd4564aa6 |title= John Bolton support for Iranian opposition spooks Tehran |newspaper = [[Social:Financial Times|Financial Times]] }}</ref>

MEK was founded on 5 September 1965 by leftist Iranian students affiliated with the Freedom Movement of Iran to oppose the U.S.-backed 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|pages=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 the overthrow of the Shah during the 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 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto8">{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xnqXs2PKgNcC&q=Ending+Holy+Wars:+Religion+and+Conflict+Resolution+in+Civil+Wars |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 = 9780702249563 }}</ref>{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=100}} After the fall of Pahlavi, the MEK refused to take part in the constitutional referendum of the new government,{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=197}} which led to Khomeini preventing Massoud Rajavi and other MEK members from running for office in the new government.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}} This created conflicts with Ayatollah Khomeini,{{sfn|O'Hern|2012}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}}{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=101}} and, by early 1981, authorities had banned the MEK, carrying out a major "crackdown on the group's members and supporters", driving the organization underground.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=206}}<ref>{{cite news |url = https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/making-sense-mek-65496 |title= Making Sense of The MeK  |work= National Interest |access-date = 21 November 2019 }}</ref>

In June 1981, the MEK organized a large demonstration in Iran against the Islamic Republic and in support of president Abolhassan Banisadr, claiming that the Islamic Republic had carried out a secret coup d'état.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bayram |last=Sinkaya |title=The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn = 978-1138853645 |page = 105 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kp3wCQAAQBAJ&q=1981+IRP+headquarter+bombing&pg=PA105 }}</ref><ref name="auto12">{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p8yL47DXmFAC&q=june+1981+mek+peaceful+demonstration&pg=PT122 |title = Ending Holy Wars: Religion and Conflict Resolution in Civil Wars |isbn = 978-0702249563 |last=Svensson |first=Isak |year=2013 |quote=On 20 June 1981, MEK organized a peaceful demonstration attended by up to 50 000 participants, who advanced towards parliament. Khomeini's Revolutionary Guards opened fire, which resulted in 50 deaths, 200 injured, and 1 000 arrested in the area around Tehran University}}</ref> Afterwards, the government arrested and executed numerous MEK members and sympathizers.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|pp=98–101}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=36, 218, 219}}<ref name="auto7" /> The MEK initiated attacks targeting the clerical leadership that lasted until 1982.<ref name="Afshon Ostovar 2016 73–74">{{cite book|title=Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards|first=Afshon|last=Ostovar|year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-049170-3|pages=73–74|quote=Unsurprisingly, the decision to fight alongside Saddam was viewed as traitorous by the vast majority of Iranians and destroyed the MKO's standing in its homeland.}}</ref>

The MEK attacked the Iran regime for "disrupting rallies and meetings, banning newspapers and burning down bookstores, rigging elections and closing down Universities; kidnapping, imprisoning and torturing political activists".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=208}}{{sfn|Piazza|1994|p=14}}{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=104}}<ref name="auto22">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/mar/26/iransresistance |title=Iran's resistance |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps raided MEK safe houses, killing Massoud Rajavi's first wife, Ashraf Rabi'i, and Musa Khiabani, MEK's second in command at the time.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}

In 1983, the MEK started an alliance 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&q=1983+Tariq+Aziz+massoud+rajavi&pg=PT239|isbn=978-0765802552|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>{{sfn|Piazza|1994|p=16|ps=: "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>{{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 Mujahedeen, 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&q=1983+Tariq+Aziz+massoud+rajavi&pg=PT239|isbn=978-0765802552|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 base in Paris,{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}<ref name="auto23">{{citation |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 in Iraq. The MEK then sided with Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war taking part in [[Religion:People's Mujahedin of Iran#Operations Shining sun, Forty Stars, and Mersad|several operations]] against the Islamic Republic, a decision that was viewed as treason by the vast majority of Iranians and that destroyed the MEK's appeal in its homeland.<ref>{{cite book |title = Terrorism in Context 1st Edition |page = 583 |publisher = Penn State University Press; 1st edition |year = 1995  |first = Martha |last = Crenshaw |isbn = 978-0271010151 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9nFyZaZGthgC&q=mojahedin+iran+iraq+popularity&pg=PA581 |quote= "This has further weakened them in the eyes of many Iranians who correctly saw them siding with Iraq against their own country during the Iran-Iraq War."}}</ref>{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=174|ps="there was a decrease in the Iranian people's support for the Mojahedin since it had joined since it had joined and cooperated with their worst enemy - Iraq - during the long years of the war"}}<ref>{{cite book |title = Western Foreign Policy and the Middle East  |page = 174 |publisher = Routledge |year = 2009  |editor-first1 = Christian |editor-last1=Kaunert |editor-first2=Sarah |editor-last2=Leonard |editor-first3=Lars |editor-last3=Berger |editor-first4=Gaynor |editor-last4=Johnson |isbn = 9781317499701 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nmJQDwAAQBAJ&q=With+regard+to+weakening+the+Iranian+regime+domestically%2C+MEK+failed+to+establish+itself+as+a+political+alternative%2C+its+goals+and+violent+activities+were+strongly+opposed+by+the+Iranian+population%E2%80%93even+more+so+its+alignment+with+Iraq&pg=PA37 |quote= "...its goals and violent activities were strongly opposed by the Iranian population–even more so its alignment with Iraq"}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Durrës locals protest MEK members' burial in local cemetery |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34677211 |newspaper = BBC|quote ="During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, the MEK carried out several armed attacks on Iran in coordination with Saddam's army, losing much of its domestic support in the process."
}}</ref> It was involved 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=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Cohen|first=Ronen A.|date=2018-11-02|title=The Mojahedin-e Khalq versus the Islamic Republic of Iran: from war to propaganda and the war on propaganda and diplomacy|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=54|issue=6|pages=1000–1014|doi=10.1080/00263206.2018.1478813|s2cid=149542445|issn=0026-3206}}</ref> and the 1991 nationwide Iraqi uprisings.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=208}}<ref name="bdt45cgf112">{{Cite news|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|work=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://www.webcitation.org/5io7JDsaA?url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm |archive-date=5 August 2009 |url-status=dead|access-date=3 August 2009}}</ref>

Following Operation Mersad, Iranian officials ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners said to remain steadfast in their support for 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 |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 Iran's clandestine nuclear program.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=105}} Following the occupation of Iraq by U.S. and coalition forces in 2003, the MEK signed a ceasefire agreement with the U.S. and put down their arms in Camp Ashraf.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

The European Union, Canada, the United States, and Japan have previously listed the MEK as a terrorist organization. This designation has since been lifted, after a legal battle launched by the PMOI, first by the [[Organization:Council of the European Union|Council of the European Union]] on 26 January 2009,<ref name="Runner" /><ref name="UPI2009">{{cite web |url = http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/01/26/EU_removes_PMOI_from_terrorist_list/UPI-44751232989491/ |title = EU removes PMOI from terrorist list |publisher=UPI |date=26 January 2009 |access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref> by the U.S. government on 21 September 2012, by the Canadian government on 20 December 2012,<ref>{{cite news |last=Sen |first=Ashish Kumar |title = U.S. takes Iranian dissident group MeK off terrorist list |url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/28/us-takes-iran-dissident-group-mek-terrorist-list/?page=all |newspaper=Washington Times |access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref> and by the Japanese government in 2013.<ref name="JapanDesignation">https://warp.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/8779816/www.mof.go.jp/international_policy/gaitame_kawase/gaitame/economic_sanctions/taliban_kankeisha_sakujo_20130524.pdf</ref> The MEK is designated as a terrorist organization by Iran and Iraq.<ref name="bdt45cgf112"/> In June 2004, the U.S. had designated members of the MEK to be ‘protected persons’ under the Geneva Convention IV, relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=de Boer |first1=T. |last2=Zieck |first2=M. |year=2014 |title=From internment to resettlement of refugees: on US obligations towards MEK defectors in Iraq |url = http://dare.uva.nl/search?identifier=dfdae841-88ed-4c31-af6b-cfef836ec3ca |journal=Melbourne Journal of International Law |volume=15 |issue=1 |page = 3 }}</ref> which expired in 2009 after the attainment of the full sovereignty of Iraq.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/mujahadeen-e-khalq-mek |title = Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) }}</ref>

Critics have described the group as "resembling a cult".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erlich |first1=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."|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/Iranian-MEK-US-terror-list-halls-congress-PMOI-Iran|title=Middle Eastern 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> Those who back the MEK describe the group as proponents of "a free and democratic Iran" that could become 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>

== Other names ==
The group had no name until February 1972.<ref name="Vahabzadeh">{{cite book |last=Vahabzadeh |first=Peyman |title=Guerrilla Odyssey: Modernization, Secularism, Democracy, and the Fadai Period of National Liberation In Iran, 1971–1979 |year=2010 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |pages=100, 167–168}}</ref>

The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran is known by a variety of names including:
* '''Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization''' (MEK)
* The '''National Liberation Army of Iran''' (the group's armed wing)
* '''National Council of Resistance of Iran''' (NCRI)&nbsp;– the MEK is the founding member of a coalition of organizations called the NCRI.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}} The organization has the appearance of a broad-based coalition; many analysts consider NCRI and MEK to be synonymous{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=97}} and recognize NCRI as an only "nominally independent" political wing of MEK.<ref>{{cite book |title = Confronting Iran: The Failure of American Foreign Policy and the Roots of Mistrust |page=198 |publisher=Hurst Publishers |year=2006|first=Ali M. |last = Ansari |isbn = 978-1-85065-809-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Special Plans: The Blogs on Douglas Feith & the Faulty Intelligence That Led to War |page=66 |publisher=Franklin, Beedle & Associates, Inc. |year=2005 |first=Allison |last = Hantschel |isbn = 978-1-59028-049-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Middle East Report |page=55 |publisher=Middle East Research & Information Project, JSTOR |year=2005|issue=237–241 |isbn = 978-1-59028-049-2}}</ref>
* '''[[Religion:Munafiq|Monafiqeen]]''' ({{lang-fa|منافقین|lit=the hypocrites}})&nbsp;– the Iranian government consistently refers to the organization with this derogatory name. The term is derived from the [[Religion:Quran|Quran]], which describes it as people of "two minds" who "say with their mouths what is not in their hearts" and "in their hearts is a disease".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Crushing the Opposition: Adversaries of the Islamic Republic of Iran |first=Haggay |last = Ram |journal=Middle East Journal |volume=46|number=3|year=1992|jstor=4328464|pages=426–439}}</ref>

== History ==
The MEK was founded on 5 September 1965 by leftist Iranian students affiliated with the Freedom Movement of Iran to oppose the Shah Pahlavi.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Michael |last = Newton |title = Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia |volume=1 |year=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn = 978-1-61069-286-1 |page=28 |entry=Bahonar, Mohammad-Javad (1933–1981) |quote=Although the Bahonar-Rajai assassination was solved with identification of bomber Massoud Kashmiri as an MEK agent he remained unpunished. Various mujahedin were arrested and executed in reprisal, but Kashmiri apparently slipped through the dragnet.}}</ref><ref name="Iranian Politics" /> The MEK was the first Iranian organization to systematically develop a modern revolutionary interpretation of Islam.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=1–2}} Its members mainly belonged to the Iranian intelligentsia, particularly the salaried middle class, college students, teachers, civil servants, and other professionals. According to Ervand Abrahamian, the MEK's "modernist interpretation of Islam appealed to the educated youth, who, while still culturally attached to Islam, rejected its old-fashioned clerical interpretations". Unlike the clergy, it accepted Western concepts (specially in social sciences).{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=227-230}} The organization engaged in armed conflict with the Pahlavi dynasty in the 1970s and played an active role in the downfall of Shah in 1979. The MEK is considered to be Iran's "largest and most active Iranian exile organization".<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/22/AR2010122205180.html?noredirect=on |title = GOP leaders criticize Obama's Iran policy in rally for opposition group |newspaper = Washington Post}}</ref><ref>Con Coughlin Khomeini's Ghost: The Iranian Revolution and the Rise of Militant Islam, Ecco Books 2010 p.&nbsp;377 n.&nbsp;21</ref>{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=1}} The MEK mainly appealed to young Iranian women and people from an urban social background. Their publications are commonly circulated within the Iranian diaspora.{{sfn|Zabih|1988|p=256}}

Khomeini did not like the MEK's philosophy, which Steven O'Hern describes as "combined Marxist theories of social evolution and class struggle with a view of Shiite Islam that suggested Shiite clerics has misinterpreted Islam and had been collaborators with the ruling class".{{sfn|O'Hern|2021|p=28}}

By early 1979, the MEK had organized themselves and recreated armed cells, especially in Tehran. The MEK (together with other guerilla organizations) helped overthrow the Pahlavi regime. ''Le Monde'' reported that "In the course of two decisive and dramatic days, the guerilla organizations, both Marxist and non-Marxist, had managed to bring down the Pahlavi monarchy". ''Ayandegan'', the independent mass circulation daily, wrote that it had been predominantly the Feda'iyan and the MEK who had defeated the Imperial Guards. ''Kayhan'', the mass circulation evening paper, said that the MEK, the Feda'iyan and other left-wing guerillas had played the decisive role in the final battles of 11 February. The first person to speak at length on national television immediately after the revolution was the father of three members of MEK who had been killed, Khalilollah Rezai. One of the first persons to address Iran on Radio Tehran was a MEK spokesman who congratulated the country for the revolution and hailed "His highness Ayatollah Khomeini as a glorious mojahed". The MEK had managed to emerge from the underground onto the public arena, although it would soon enter into conflict with Khomeini.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=171-172}} Asghar Ali described the MEK as "using [Islam] for serving the exploited masses". The author said that although the MEK lacked the prestige of Khomeini, they were "certainly fighting the poor and downtrodden, giving Islam a radical image".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ali |first1= Asghar |date= October 1980 |title= A New Interpretation of Islam |journal= Economic and Political Weekly |volume=15 |issue=1654–1655 }}</ref>

According to Ervand Abrahamian, the MEK drew strong public support after the revolution and became a leading opposition to the new theocratic regime.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/world/europe/iran-mek-albania.html |title = Iran MEK Albania |newspaper = New York Times}}</ref> After the 1979 Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah, "Khomeini had little use for the MEK."

The MEK was joined by other groups that vehemently opposed the new constitution. Despite the opposition, the 3 December 1979 referendum vote approved the new constitution.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=197}} As a result, Khomeini subsequently refused to permit Massoud Rajavi and MEK members to run in the 1980 Iranian presidential election.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=101}} Furthermore, despite the fact that the organization's top candidate received as many as 531,943 votes in Tehran electoral district and had a few candidates in the run-offs, it was unable to win a single seat in the 1980 Iranian legislative election.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=206}} The MEK accused Khomeini of "monopolizing power", "hijacking the revolution", "trampling over democratic rights", and "plotting to set up a fascistic one-party dictatorship".{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=100}} The MEK represented Islamic leftists who had fought the Shah's regime independently of Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini, having denied the MEK participation in the new regime, forced it into opposition.<ref name="Cronin 2013 48">{{cite book|last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|year=2013|title=Reformers and Revolutionaries in Modern Iran: New Perspectives on the Iranian Left|series=Routledge/BIPS Persian Studies Series|isbn=978-1-134-32890-1|publisher=Routledge|page=48}}</ref>

The Islamic Republic's Chief Prosecutor banned MEK demonstrations. In an open letter to Ayatollah Khomeini, the MEK warned that if all peaceful avenues were closed off they would have no choice but to return to "armed struggle". In a letter to President Bani-Sadr, the MEK requested the president as the "highest state authority, to "protect the rights of citizens, especially their right to demonstrate peacefully". "We have ignored past provocations, but as good Muslims we have the right to resist and to take up arms if necessary, particularly if the monopolists deprive us of our rights to demonstrate," the MEK stated. According to Ervand Abrahamian, the ban on demonstrations met with protests not only from intellectuals well known in secular circles, but also from veterans of the anti-Shah struggles.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=217}}

On 20 June 1981, the MEK organized a peaceful demonstration in Tehran. Khomeini's Revolutionary Guards suppressed the demonstration, resulting in "50 deaths, 200 injured, and 1000 arrested".<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p8yL47DXmFAC&q=mek+peaceful+demonstration+50+deaths,+200+injured,+and+1000+arrested&pg=PT122 |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 = 9780702249563 }}</ref>{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=218–219}} In 1980-81, the MEK and other leftist and moderate groups rallied in favor of [[Social:President (government title)|President]] Abolhassan Banisadr to resist a total takeover by the Islamic Republic Party. The Islamic Republic answered by "unleashing an unprecedented reign of terror", shooting demonstrators, including children. In less than six months, 2,665 persons, 90 per cent of whom were MEK members, were executed.<ref name="Cronin 2013 48" />

Allied with President Abolhassan Banisadr, the group clashed with the ruling Islamic Republican Party while avoiding direct and open criticism of Khomeini until June 1981, when they declared war against the Government of Islamic Republic of Iran and initiated a number of bombings and assassinations targeting the clerical leadership.{{sfn|Zabih|1988|p=250}} Many MEK sympathizers and middle-level organizers were detained and executed after June 1981.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=212}}

MEK members that were arrested by the Islamic Republic were made to repent and were sent to rehabilitation camps, while about eight to ten thousand were kept in prison for minor charges such as "possession of copies of clandestine the Mujahid newspaper and similar acts of defiance". In 1982 the MEK group in Paris claimed that Khomeini's "re-education campaign" involved ordering repenting MEK members to "join the firing squads in charge of executing their former comrades in arms". In 1982, the Pasdaran assassinated MEK's field commander, his wife, Massoud Rajavi's wife, and six others. The MEK then announced that its "legitimate resistance" would be carried out clandestinely. From 1982 to 1988, it performed sixty operations on average per week, resulting in assassinations of important Khomeini deputies.{{sfn|Zabih|1988|pp=253-254}}

The organization gained a new life in exile, founding the National Council of Resistance of Iran and continuing to conduct violent attacks in Iran. According to Ronen Cohen, the MEK's "presence in Iraq was proof for Iraq that the MEK's diplomatic wing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), as an authentic representative of the Iranian community diaspora, which opposed the present religious government in Iran and that it had nothing to do with Iraqs's unilateral hostility."{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=23}} According to Patrick Cockburn "Israeli commentators have confirmed the MEK-Israeli connection", although the MEK have denied any association with Israel.<ref name=IND/>

In 2003, following the invasion of Iraq, the MEK signed a ceasefire agreement with U.S. forces and put their arms down at Camp Ashraf.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kroeger |first=Alex |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6172481.stm |title = EU unfreezes Iran group's funds |publisher=BBC |date=12 December 2006 |access-date=5 January 2013}}</ref>

While the MEK's leadership has resided in [[Place:Paris|Paris]], the group's core members were for many years confined to Camp Ashraf in Iraq, particularly after the MEK and U.S. forces signed a cease-fire agreement of "mutual understanding and coordination" in 2003.<ref>{{cite book |title = People's Mojahedin Of Iran- Mission Report |publisher = [[Company:L'Harmattan|L'Harmattan]] |date = September 2005 |isbn = 978-2-7475-9381-6 |page = [https://archive.org/details/peoplesmojahedin0000brie/page/12 12] |url = https://archive.org/details/peoplesmojahedin0000brie/page/12}}</ref> The group was later relocated to a former U.S. military base, Camp Liberty, in Iraq,<ref name="NYT 2012">{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-opposition-group-mek-wins-removal-from-us-terrorist-list.html |newspaper=The New York Times|first=Scott|last=Shane|title=Iranian Dissidents Convince U.S. to Drop Terror Label|date=21 September 2012}}</ref> and eventually to Albania.<ref name="reuters 2016-09-09">{{cite news |url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-iran-idUSKCN11F2DB |title=Iranian opposition group in Iraq resettled to Albania |date=9 September 2016 |work = Reuters}}</ref>

In 2002 the MEK revealed the existence of Iran's nuclear program. They have since made various claims about the programme, not all of which have been accurate.<ref>{{cite web |last=Spector|first=Leonard|title=Iranian Nuclear Program Remains Major Threat Despite Partial Freeze of Weapons-Relevant Activities Described in New U.S. National Intelligence Estimate |url = http://cns.miis.edu/stories/071206.htm |access-date=17 December 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717093423/http://cns.miis.edu/stories/071206.htm |archive-date=17 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Morello|first=Carol |title=Exile group accuses Iran of secret nuclear weapons research |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/exile-group-accuses-iran-of-secret-nuclear-weapons-research/2015/02/24/ad8d64d6-bc5a-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=17 September 2015}}</ref> For example in 2015, MEK falsely claimed to have found a secret nuclear facility they called "Lavizan-3".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bibbins Sedaca|first1=Nicole|title=That Secret Iranian 'Nuclear Facility' You Just Found? Not So Much. |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/03/that-secret-iranian-nuclear-facility-you-just-found-not-so-much/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308144910/http://breakingnews.sy/en/article/23712.html|archive-date=8 March 2016|access-date=18 November 2015|work=Foreign Policy|date=3 March 2015}}</ref>

There have also been documented cases concerning the Iranian government mounting campaigns aimed at eradicating MEK members and their influence, including assassinations abroad. In 1990, Kazem Rajavi (brother of Massoud Rajavi and a human rights activist), was notably assassinated in Geneva. The Swiss government named thirteen Iranian officials, with special mission stamped into their passports as participants in the assassination.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. imposes visa restrictions on 14 Iranians over human rights violations |date=21 August 2020|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-designations-idUSKBN25H2AL|work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=US names 14 sanctioned Iranian 'human rights violators' |date=25 August 2020|url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/the-americas/us-names-14-sanctioned-iranian-human-rights-violators-1.1068393|publisher=The National}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Switzerland risks giving Iran the impression it can commit acts of terror with impunity |date=24 June 2020|url=https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/24/switzerland-risks-giving-iran-the-impression-it-can-commit-acts-of-terror-with-impunity-vi|publisher=Euronews}}</ref> According to Kenneth Katzman, the MEK is "a major target of Iran's international security apparatus and its campaign in assassinating opponents abroad".{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=4}}

The MEK has had headquarters located in {{wipe|France}} (1981–1986; since 2003), Iraq (1986–2016) and Albania (since 2016).

According to infoplease.com, more than 16,000 Iranian people have been killed by the MEK since 1979.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}<ref name="hrq204">{{cite book |first=Hamid Reza|last=Qasemi|title=Eradicating Terrorism from the Middle East|series=Policy and Administrative Approaches|chapter=Chapter 12: Iran and Its Policy Against Terrorism|volume=17|editor-first=Alexander R.|editor-last=Dawoody|isbn=978-3-319-31018-3|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-31018-3|year=2016|publisher=Springer International Publishing Switzerland|page=201}}</ref> According to the MEK, over 100,000 of its members have been killed and 150,000 imprisoned by the Islamic Republic of Iran.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=104}}

=== Founding (1965–1971) ===
{{multiple image
 | width = 100
 | image1 = Hanif-nejad.jpg
 | alt1 = Mohammad Hanifnejad
 | image2 = Badie-zadegan.jpg
 | alt2 = Ali-Asghar Badizadegan
 | footer = Hanifnejad (left) and Badizadegan (right), two of the founders of the organization
}}

The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran was founded on 5 September 1965 by six former members of the Liberation or Freedom Movement of Iran, students at Tehran University, including Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saied Mohsen and Ali-Asghar Badizadegan. The MEK offered "a modern, democratic interpretation of Islam, with a decidedly nationalist political perspective". This differed from other opposition groups during this time, which included nationalists, Marxists, and fundamentalists.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

The MEK opposed the rule of the Shah, considering him corrupt and oppressive, and considered the mainstream Liberation Movement too moderate and ineffective.{{Sfn |Abrahamian |1982 |p=489}} Although the MEK are often regarded as devotees of [[Biography:Ali Shariati|Ali Shariati]], in fact, their pronouncements preceded Shariati's, and they continued to echo each other throughout the late 1960s and the early 1970s.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=81–126}}

In its first five years, the group primarily engaged in ideological work.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=88}} According to Ervand Abrahamian, their thinking aligned with what was a common tendency in Iran at the time&nbsp;– a kind of [[Philosophy:Political radicalism|radical]], [[Religion:Political Islam|political Islam]] based on a Marxist reading of history and politics. The group's main source of inspiration was the Islamic text [[Religion:Nahj al-Balagha|Nahj al-Balagha]], a collection of analyses and aphorisms attributed to Imam Ali. Despite some describing a Marxist influence, the group never used the terms "socialist" or "communist" to describe themselves. During the 1970s, the MEK propagated radical Islam through some of Ali Shariati's works (as opposed to their own publications, which were banned in Iran at the time). The MEK (and Shariati) claimed that Islam should oppose feudalism and capitalism; should eradicate inhumane practices; should treat all as equal citizens, and should socialize the means of production.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=81–126}} The MEK also adopted elements of [[Philosophy:Marxism|Marxism]] in order to update and modernize their interpretation of radical Islam.<ref>Maziar Behrooz, ''Rebels With A Cause: The Failure of the Left in Iran'', page vi</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin-left:1em; float:right;"
|+ MEK's central committee members<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vahabzadeh|first1=Peyman|title=Guerrilla Odyssey: Modernization, Secularism, Democracy, and the Fadai Period of National Liberation In Iran, 1971–1979|date=2010|publisher=Syracuse University Press|page=168|quote=The loss of several leaders in a matter of two years allowed the promotion of (covert) Marxist members to the Central Cadre. After August 1971, the CC of OIPM included Reza Rezai, Kazem Zolanvar, and Bahram Aram. Zolanvar's arrest in 1972 brought Majid Sharif Vaqefi to the CC, and Rezai's death in 1973 brought in Taqi Shahram}}</ref>
|-
!1971
!colspan=2|1972
!colspan=2|1973
!1974
!1975
|-
|colspan=7|Bahram Aram
|-
|colspan=4|Reza Rezaei<sup>a</sup>||colspan=3|Taghi Shahram
|-
|colspan=2|Kazem Zolanvar<sup>b</sup>||colspan=5|Majid Sharif Vaghefi<sup>c</sup>
|-
|colspan=7 align=left|<sup>a</sup> {{small|Killed in action by SAVAK in 1973}}<br /><sup>b</sup> {{small|Arrested in 1972, executed in 1975}}<br /><sup>c</sup> {{small|Killed by Marxist faction in 1975 purge}}
|}

During August–September 1971, SAVAK managed to strike a great blow to the MEK, arresting many members and executing the senior members, including its co-founders.<ref name="Ḥaqšenās">{{cite encyclopedia|title =COMMUNISM iii. In Persia after 1953|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]|date=27 October 2011|orig-year=15 December 1992|publisher=Bibliotheca Persica Press|location=New York City|url =http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/communism-iii|volume=VI|last1= Ḥaqšenās|first1=Torāb |editor-last=Yarshater|editor-first=Ehsan|access-date=12 September 2016|series=Fasc. 1|pages=105–112}}</ref> SAVAK had severely shattered MEK's organizational structure, and the surviving leadership and key members of the organization were kept in prisons until three weeks before the revolution, when political prisoners were released.<ref>{{cite book|first=Alireza|last=Jafarzadeh|title=The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis|year=2008|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=[https://archive.org/details/iranthreatpresid00jafa/page/8 8]|isbn=978-0230601284|url=https://archive.org/details/iranthreatpresid00jafa/page/8}}</ref>

Some surviving members restructured the group by replacing the central cadre with a three-man [[Social:Central committee|central committee]]. Each of the three central committee members led a separate branch of the organization with their cells independently storing their own weapons and recruiting new members.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=136}} Two of the original central committee members were replaced in 1972 and 1973, and the replacing members were in charge of leading the organization until the internal purge of 1975.<ref name="Ḥaqšenās" />

On 30 November 1970 a failed attempt was made to kidnap the U.S. Ambassador to Iran, Douglas MacArthur II. MEK gunmen ambushed MacArthur's limousine while he and his wife were en route to their house. Shots were fired at the vehicle and a hatchet was hurled through the rear window, however MacArthur remained unharmed. On 9 February 1979, four of the assailants were sentenced to life imprisonment for acts of terrorism and sixteen others received confinements up to ten years.<ref>{{citation|last=Newton|first=Michael|title=The Encyclopedia of Kidnappings|entry=MacArthur, Douglas II (Intended victim)|date=2002|isbn=9781438129884|series=Facts on File Crime Library|page=178|publisher=Infobase Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Abedin |first1=Mahan |title=Mojahedin-e-Khalq: Saddam's Iranian Allies - Jamestown |url=https://jamestown.org/program/mojahedin-e-khalq-saddams-iranian-allies/ |website=Jamestown Foundation |access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref>

By August 1971, the MEK's Central Committee included Reza Rezai, Kazem Zolanvar, and Brahram Aram. Up until the death of the then leader of the MEK in June 1973, Reza Rezai, there was no doubt about the group's Islamic identity.<ref name="Vahabzadeh"/>

===Schism (1971–1979)===
By 1973, the members of the Marxist–Leninist MEK launched an "internal ideological struggle". Members who did not convert to Marxism were expelled or reported to SAVAK.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vahabzadeh|first1=Peyman|title=Guerrilla Odyssey: Modernization, Secularism, Democracy, and the Fadai Period of National Liberation In Iran, 1971–1979|date=2010|publisher=Syracuse University Press|pages=167–169}}</ref> This new group adopted a Marxist, more secular and extremist identity. They appropriated the MEK name, and in a book entitled ''Manifesto on Ideological Issues'', the central leadership declared "that after ten years of secret existence, four years of armed struggle, and two years of intense ideological rethinking, they had reached the conclusion that Marxism, not Islam, was the true revolutionary philosophy".{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1982|p=493}}

This led to two rival Mujahedin, each with its own publication, its own organization, and its own activities.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1982|pp=493–4}} The new group was known initially as the Mujahedin M.L. (Marxist-Leninist). A few months before the Iranian Revolution, the majority of the Marxist Mujahedin renamed themselves Peykar (Organization of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class) on 7 December 1978 (16&nbsp;Azar, 1357). This name derived from the League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class, which had been a left-wing group in Saint Petersburg, founded by [[Biography:Vladimir Lenin|Vladimir Lenin]] in the autumn of 1895.<ref>Abrahamian, Ervand, ''Tortured Confessions'', University of California Press (1999), p.&nbsp;151</ref> Later, during the Iranian revolution, Peykar merged with some Maoist groups.{{which|which groups|date=October 2018}}{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=144–145}} From 1973 to 1979, the Muslim MEK survived partly in the provinces but mainly in prisons, particularly Qasr Prison where Massoud Rajavi was held.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=152}}

In August 1971, the Shah's security services arrested 69 members of the MEK, with additional arrests and executions following in 1972 that "practically shattered the organization". Further infighting within the organization followed, with a breakaway group highjacking the MEK name and identity.<ref name="thedailybeast.com">{{cite news |title=Memo to Obama: They Are Not Terrorists|newspaper = The Daily Beast|date = 8 August 2009|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/memo-to-obama-they-are-not-terrorists?ref=scroll|last1 = Tanter|first1 = Raymond}}</ref> Other analysts support this, including director of research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Patrick Clawson, claiming that "Rajavi, upon release from prison during the revolution, had to rebuild the organization, which had been badly battered by the Peykar experience".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pike |first1=John |title=Mujahedin-e Khalq |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/mujahadeen-e-khalq-mek |website=CFR |access-date=28 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Mahnaz |last=Shirali |title=The Mystery of Contemporary Iran |year=2014|publisher= Transaction Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ypcuDwAAQBAJ&q=mojahedin+marxist+leninist+american&pg=PT222|isbn=9781351479134}}</ref>

The group conducted several assassinations of U.S. military personnel and civilians working in Iran during the 1970s.<ref name="state.gov">{{cite web |title = Chapter 6 -- Terrorist Organizations |url = https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm |website=www.state.gov |access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="Infobase Publishing">{{cite book |last1=Combs |first1=Cindy C. |last2=Slann |first2=Martin W. |title=Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Revised Edition |year=2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9781438110196 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H7fT0BQxwDsC&pg=PA188 |access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref> Between 1973 and 1975, the Marxist–Leninist MEK increased their armed operations in Iran. In 1973, they engaged in two street battles with Tehran police and bombed ten buildings including Plan Organization, Pan-American Airlines, Shell Oil Company, Hotel International, Radio City Cinema, and an export company owned by a Baha’i businessman. In February 1974, they attacked a police station in Isfahan and in April, they bombed a reception hall, Oman Bank, gates of the British embassy, and offices of Pan-American Oil company in protest of the Sultan of Oman's state visit. A communiqué by the organization declared that their actions had been to show solidarity with the people of Dhofar. On 19 April 1974, they attempted to bomb the SAVAK centre at Tehran University. On 25 May, they set off bombs at three multinational corporations.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1982|pp=141–142}}

Lt. Col. Louis Lee Hawkins, a U.S. Army [[Social:Comptroller|comptroller]], was shot dead in front of his home in Tehran by two men on a motorcycle on 2 June 1973.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gambrel |first=Jon |title=Trump Cabinet pick paid by controversial Iranian exile group |url=https://apnews.com/f8cd86c1a6de470781c8b5f37ef70f5f |access-date=11 September 2018 |work=AP News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820074529/https://apnews.com/f8cd86c1a6de470781c8b5f37ef70f5f |archive-date=20 August 2018}}</ref>{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1982|pp=141–142}} A car carrying three American employees of [[Company:Rockwell International|Rockwell International]] was attacked by MEK in August 1976.<ref name="Q-A">{{cite news |last=McGreal |first=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 |access-date=11 September 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=21 September 2012}}</ref> William Cottrell, Donald Smith, and Robert Krongard were killed{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}} working on the Ibex system.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}} Leading up to the Islamic Revolution, members of the MEK conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.<ref name="crt">{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82738.htm |title=Chapter 6 – Terrorist Organizations |access-date=15 July 2007 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |year=2007}}</ref> {{sfn|Piazza|1994|p=14}} In May 1972, an attack on Brig. Gen. Harold Price was attributed to the MEK.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}} MEK described the eventual release of the American hostages a "surrender".<ref name="Q-A"/>

According to George Cave, CIA's former Chief of Station in Tehran, MEK [[Social:Death squad|hit squad]] members impersonated road workers and buried an improvised explosive device under the road that Brig. Gen. Harold Price regularly used. When he was spotted, the operative detonated the bomb, destroying the vehicle and disabling Price for the rest of his life. Cave states that it was the first instance of remotely detonating that kind of bomb.<ref name="Gibson">{{citation|last=Gibson|first=Bryan R.|title=Sold Out? US Foreign Policy, Iraq, the Kurds, and the Cold War|date=2016|isbn=9781137517159|series=Facts on File Crime Library|page=136|publisher=Springer}}</ref>

Vahid Afrakhteh, a founding member of Peykar, confessed to the killings of Americans, and later was executed.<ref>{{cite book |title = The Mystery of Contemporary Iran |isbn = 9781351479134 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ypcuDwAAQBAJ&q=mojahedin+marxist+leninist+american&pg=PT222 |quote = The most notable actions of the Marxist Mojahedin were assassinations of Savak general, of two American military advisers, and a failed attempt against an American diplomat, all in 1975|last1 = Shirali |first1 = Mahnaz |date = 28 July 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title = Camp Ashraf: Iraqi Obligations and State Department Accountability : Joint Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, December 7, 2011 |year = 2011 |isbn = 9780160905018 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LNcKdNiTHSQC&q=Vahid+Afrakhteh |quote = Referred to in the Iranian press as the "Iranian People's Strugglers", and later known as Peykar, this group led by Tagui Shahram, Vahid Arakhteh and Bahram Aram was one o several underground groups waging a covert war against the Shah's secret police, SAVAK. Afrakhteh, who later confessed to the killings of Americans, was executed}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title = Iran Almanac and Book of Facts, Volumen 15
 |year = 1976|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KvgIAQAAIAAJ&q=Vahid+Afrakhteh |quote = Ten terrorists were sentenced to death... The condemned terrorists were Vahid Afrakhteh... The terroirsts were charged with the murders of Brigadier-general Reza Zandipur, United States Colonels Hawkins, Paul Shaffer and ack Turner, the U.S. Embassy's translator Hassan Hossnan}}</ref> Bahram Aram and Vahid Afrakhteh both belonged to the (Marxist) rival splinter group Peykar that emerged in 1972, and not the (Muslim) MEK.<ref>{{cite book|first=Arash |last=Reisinezhad |title=The Shah of Iran, the Iraqi Kurds, and the Lebanese Shia |year=2018|publisher= Palgrave Macmillan|page=8|asin=B07FBB6L8Y}}</ref> Despite this, some sources have attributed these assassinations to the MEK.<ref name="state.gov"/><ref name="Infobase Publishing"/>

In 2005, the Department of State also attributed the assassinations of Americans in Iran to Peykar. The Country Reports issued in April 2006 stated: "A Marxist element of the MEK murdered several of the Shah's US security advisers prior to the Islamic Revolution".<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2005/65275.htm Chapter 8 -- Foreign Terrorist Organizations ]</ref><ref name="thedailybeast.com"/>

In January 1979, Massoud Rajavi was released from prison and rebuilt the MEK together with other members that had been imprisoned with him at Qar.{{sfn|O'Hern|2012|pp=27-28}}

===Political phase (1979–1981)===
After the Islamic Revolution, the MEK grew quickly, becoming "a major force in Iranian politics".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=1}}

The group supported the revolution in its initial phases.<ref name=twquarterly>{{cite journal|last1=Sreberny-Mohammadi|first1=Annabelle|first2=Ali|last2=Mohammadi|title=Post-Revolutionary Iranian Exiles: A Study in Impotence|journal=Third World Quarterly|date=January 1987|volume=9|issue=1|pages=108–129|jstor=3991849|doi=10.1080/01436598708419964}}</ref> The MEK launched an unsuccessful campaign supporting total abolition of Iran's standing military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, in order to prevent a coup d'état against the system. They also claimed credit for infiltration against the Nojeh coup plot.<ref name="auto30">{{cite book|last1=Zabir|first1=Sepehr|title=The Iranian military in revolution and war|date=2011|publisher=Routledge|page=125|isbn=978-0-415-61785-7}}</ref>

It participated in the referendum held in March 1979.<ref name=twquarterly /> Its candidate for the head of the newly founded council of experts was Massoud Rajavi in the election of August 1979.<ref name=twquarterly /> However, he lost the election.<ref name=twquarterly />

After the revolution, some say that the group supported the U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran in 1979.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fisher|first1=Max|title=Here's the Video of Newt Gingrich Bowing to the Leader of an Iranian Terrorist Group|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/heres-the-video-of-newt-gingrich-bowing-to-the-leader-of-an-iranian-terrorist-group/259313/|access-date=12 December 2015|work=The Atlantic|date=2 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222164558/http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/heres-the-video-of-newt-gingrich-bowing-to-the-leader-of-an-iranian-terrorist-group/259313/|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to Ervand Abrahamian and Kenneth Katzman, the MEK "could not have supported the hostage taking because the regime used the hostage crises as excuse to eliminate its internal opponents".{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=100}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=208}}

By 1980, the MEK was under the control of Massoud Rajavi, one of the few surviving members of the MEK's Central cadre. Although allied with Khomeini against the shah, Khomeini "disliked the MEK's philosophy, which combined Marxist theories of social evolution and class struggle with a view of Shiite Islam that suggested Shiite clerics had misinterpreted Islam and had been collaborators with the ruling class". Rajavi became allied with Iran's new president, Abolhassan Banisadr, elect in January 1980.{{sfn|O'Hern|2012|pp=27-28}}

After the fall of the Shah, Khomeini had little use for the MEK. The MEK was then joined by other groups that opposed the new constitution, including the People's Fedayeen and the Muslim People's Republican Party. Despite the opposition, the 3 December 1979 referendum vote approved the new constitution.{{sfn|O'Hern|2012|p=208}}{{Failed verification|date=September 2021|reason=Probably incorrect page.}}

The Mojahedin later refused to participate in the referendum held in December to ratify the Constitution drafted by the Assembly of Experts, even when [[Biography:Ruhollah Khomeini|Ruhollah Khomeini]] had called upon "all good Muslims to vote 'yes'".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=197}} By boycotting the referendum, the MEK argued that the new Constitution had "failed to set up proper councils, nationalize foreign holdings, guarantee equal treatment to all nationalities, give 'land to the tiller', place a ceiling on agricultural holdings and accept the concept of the classless tawhidi society". Once the Constitution had been ratified, the MEK proposed Rajavi as their presidential candidate. In launching his presidential campaign, Rajavi promised to rectify the Constitution's shortcomings.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=197}}

As a result, Khomeini subsequently refused Massoud Rajavi and MEK members to run in the 1980 Iranian presidential election.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=101}} By the middle of the year 1980, clerics close to Khomeini were openly referring to the MEK as "''[[Religion:Munafiqun|monafeghin]]''", "''[[Religion:Kafir|kafer]]''", and "''elteqatigari''". The MEK, instead accused Khomeini of "monopolizing power", "hijacking the revolution", "trampling over democratic right", and "plotting to set up a fascistic one-party dictatorship".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=206}}

In the immediate aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the MEK was suppressed by Khomeini's revolutionary organizations and harassed by the Hezbollahi, who attacked meeting places, bookstores, and kiosks of the Mujahideen.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bakhash|first1=Saul|title=The reign of the ayatollahs|date=1990|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-465-06890-6|page=123|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b-7CAAAAIAAJ|access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref> Toward the end of 1981, several PMOI members and supporters went into exile. Their principal refuge was in France.<ref name="Final Judgment">{{cite web|title=PROSCRIBED ORGANISATIONS APPEAL COMMISSION|url=https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/PC022006-PMOI-FINAL-JUDGMENT.pdf|publisher=Judicial Office UK|access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref>

By early 1981, Iranian authorities then closed down MEK offices, outlawed their newspapers, prohibited their demonstrations, and issued arrest warrants for the MEK leaders, forcing the organization go underground once again.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=206}} According to Professor Cheryl Bernard, in 1981, a mass execution of political prisoners was carried out by the Islamic Republic, and the MEK fled splitting into four groups. One of the groups went underground remaining in Iran, the second group left to Kurdistan, the third group left to other countries abroad, and the remaining member were arrested, imprisoned or executed. Thereafter, the MEK took armed opposition against Khomeini's Islamic Republic.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=Cheryl|title=Breaking the Stalemate: The Case for Engaging the Iranian Opposition|date=2015|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0692399378 |page=109}}</ref>

==== Electoral history ====
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|-
!Year
!Election/referendum
!Seats won/policy
!References
|-
|rowspan="3"|1979
|| Islamic Republic referendum || Vote 'Yes' || {{sfn|Zabih|1988|p=250}}
|-
|| Assembly of Experts election
| {{Composition bar|0|73|hex=red|per=1}}
||{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=195–205}}
|-
|| Constitutional referendum || style="background-color:#C66"|''Boycott'' || {{sfn|Zabih|1988|p=250}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|1980
|| Presidential election || Vote, no candidate || {{sfn|Zabih|1988|p=250}}
|-
|| Parliamentary elections
| {{Composition bar|0|270|hex=red|per=1}}
||{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=195–205}}
|}

=== Conflict with the Islamic Republic government (1981–1988) ===
[[File:Protests against the Ayatollah Khomeini government (20 June 1981).jpg|thumb|Protests against the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini (20 June 1981)]]

By the middle of the year 1980, clerics close to Khomeini were openly referring to the MEK as "''[[Religion:Munafiqun|monafeghin]]''", "''[[Religion:Kafir|kafer]]''", and "''elteqatigari''". The MEK, instead accused Khomeini of "monopolizing power", "hijacking the revolution", "trampling over democratic right", and "plotting to set up a fascistic one-party dictatorship".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=206}}

In February 1980 concentrated attacks by ''hezbollahi'' pro-Khomeini militia began on the meeting places, bookstores and newsstands of Mujahideen and other leftists<ref>Bakhash, ''The Reign of the Ayatollahs'' (1984) p.&nbsp;123.</ref> driving the left underground in Iran. Hundreds of MEK supporters and members were killed from 1979 to 1981, and some 3,000 were arrested.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

On 22 June 1981, IRGC and ''Hezbollahis'' responded to anti-regime demonstrations against the dismissal of [[Social:President (government title)|President]] Abolhassan Banisadr, to what came to be known as "reign of terror" in Iran. The Warden of Evin prison announced the firing squad executions of demonstrators, including teenage girls.{{sfn|O'Hern|2012|p=208}}{{Failed verification|date=September 2021|reason=Probably incorrect page.}} According to Sandra Mackey, the MEK responded by targeting key Iranian official figures for assassination: they bombed the Prime Minister's office, attacked low-ranking civil servants and members of the Revolutionary Guards, along with ordinary citizens who supported the new government.<ref name="Terrornomics">{{Cite book|title=Terrornomics|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|others=Costigan, Sean S., Gold, David.|isbn=978-1-315-61214-0|location=London|oclc=948605022}}</ref> The MEK was the first group carrying out [[Medicine:Suicide|suicide attacks]] in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ramsey|first=Jasmin|title=Iranian terrorist group has close US allies|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/08/201184132732146192.html|access-date=2020-07-12|publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref><sup>[''which?]''</sup>

According to Ervand Abrahamian, the MEK attacked the regime for "disrupting rallies and meetings, banning newspapers and burning down bookstores, rigging elections and closing down Universities; kidnapping imprisoning, and torturing political activists; reviving SAVAK and using the tribunals to terrorize their opponents, and engineering the American hostage crises to impose on the nation the ‘medieval’ concept of the velayat-e faqih".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=208}}{{sfn|Piazza|1994|p=14}}

Although the MEK had fought against Iraq in September 1980, it called for peace and signed a peace agreement with Iraq in 1983, "calling the continuation of the war as illegitimate". According to Alireza Jafarzadeh, the MEK had managed to halt Iraqi air raids on Iran on various occasions.<ref>{{cite book|first=Alireza|last=Jafarzadeh|title=The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis|year=2008|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=[https://archive.org/details/iranthreatpresid00jafa/page/89 89–90]|isbn=978-0230601284|url=https://archive.org/details/iranthreatpresid00jafa/page/89}}</ref>

In 1981, the MEK formed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) with the stated goal of uniting the opposition to the Iranian government under one [[Organization:Umbrella organization|umbrella organization]]. The MEK says that in the past 25 years, the NCRI has evolved into a 540-member parliament-in-exile, with a specific platform that emphasizes free elections, [[Social:Gender equality|gender equality]] and equal rights for ethnic and religious minorities. The MEK claims that it also advocates a free-market economy and supports peace in the Middle East. In 2002 the FBI reported that the NCRI has always been "an integral part" of the MEK and is its "political branch".<ref>{{cite court|litigants=NATIONAL COUNCIL OF RESISTANCE OF IRAN, PETITIONER v. DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND COLIN L. POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE, RESPONDENTS|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-caDC-01-01480/pdf/USCOURTS-caDC-01-01480-0.pdf|court=DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT|date=July 9, 2004|page=10|quote=After an extensive investigation of MEK and NCRI, the
FBI reported to the State Department that ‘‘[i]t is the unanimous view of the FBI personnel who are involved in and familiar with the FBI's investigation of the [MEK] that the NCRI is not a separate organization, but is instead, and has been, an integral part of the MEK at all relevant times.’’ Letter of Charles Frahm, Section Chief, International Terrorism Operations Section II, at 1 (Aug. 28, 2002). Contrary to NCRI's portrayal of itself as an umbrella organization, of which the MEK was just one member, the FBI concluded that it is NCRI that is ‘‘the political branch’’ of the MEK.}}</ref> MEK is today the main organization of the NCRI, although the NCRI previously hosted other organizations, such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}}

The foundation of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the MEK's participation in it allowed Rajavi to assume the position of chairman of the resistance to the Islamic Republic. Because other opposition groups were banned from legal political process and forced underground, the MEK's coalition build among these movements allowed for the construction of a legitimate opposition to the Islamic Republic.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=13–14}}

The MEK claims that over 100,000 of its members have been killed and 150,000 imprisoned by the regime, but there is no way to independently confirm these figures.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|p=14}} Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield describes this period in an article in ''The National Interest'' "when confronted with growing resistance in the spring of 1981 to the restrictive new order that culminated in massive pro-democracy demonstrations across the country invoked by MEK leader Massoud Rajavi on June 20, Khomeini's reign was secured at gunpoint with brute force, driving Iran's first and only freely elected president, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, underground and into permanent exile. This fateful episode was described by Ervand Abrahamian as a "reign of terror"; Marvin Zonis called it "a campaign of mass slaughter".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-washington-doesnt-get-about-iran-16411?page=show|title=What Washington Doesn't Get about Iran|last=Sepehrrad|first=Lincoln P. Bloomfield Jr., Ramesh|newspaper=The National Interest|access-date=2 January 2017}}</ref>

In 1981, Massoud Rajavi issued a statement shortly after it went into exile. This statement, according to James Piazza, identified the MEK not as a rival for power but rather a vanguard of popular struggle:{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}
{{Quote
|
Our struggle against Khomeini is not the conflict between two vengeful tribes. It is the struggle of a revolutionary organisation against a totalitarian regime... This struggle, as I said, is the conflict for liberating a people; for informing and mobilizing a people in order to overthrow the usurping reaction and to build its own glorious future with its own hands| author=Massoud Rajavi}}

In 1982, the Islamic Republic cracked down MEK operations within Iran. This pre-emptive measure on the part of the regime provoked the MEK into escalating its paramilitary programs as a form of opposition.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}} By June 1982, Iraqi forces had ceased military occupation of Iranian territories. Massoud Rajavi stated that "there was no longer any reason to continue the war and called for an immediate truce, launching a campaign for peace inside and outside of Iran".{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}<!-- Empty reference <ref name="auto25"/-->

In January 1983, then Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Tariq Aziz and Massoud Rajavi signed a peace communique that co-outlined a peace plan "based on an agreement of mutual recognition of borders as defined by the 1975 Algiers Agreement". According to James Piazza, this peace initiative became the NCRI's first diplomatic act as a "true government in exile".{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}} During the meeting, Rajavi claimed that the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, had been "the only person calling for the continuation of the [Iran-Iraq] war".<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}}</ref>

Eventually, the majority of the MEK leadership and members fled to France, where it operated until 1985. In June 1986, France, then seeking to improve relations with Iran, expelled the MEK and the organization relocated to Iraq. MEK representatives contend that their organization had little alternative to moving to Iraq considering its aim of toppling the Iranian clerical government.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|pp=101–102}}

==== Operations Shining sun, Forty Stars, and Mersad ====
[[File:Saddam Hussein..jpg|thumb|Rajavi shaking hands with Saddam Hussein]]
[[File:Mujahedin was killed in Operation Mersad by Pasdaran in Kermanshah.jpg|thumb|MEK forces killed during Operation Mersad (Operation Forough Javidan)]]
In 1986, after French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac struck a deal with Tehran for the release of French hostages held prisoners by the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the MEK was forced to leave France and relocated to Iraq. Investigative journalist Dominique Lorentz has related the 1986 capture of French hostages to an alleged blackmail of France by Tehran concerning the nuclear program.<ref>{{citation |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>

According to James Piazza, Khomeini intended the MEK to be exiled to an obscure location that would weaken their position. However, Iraq hastened to court the MEK "prior to its ousting". The MEK moved its base to Mehran. The Islamic Republic of Iran took an "extensive aerial bombing campaign to push the MEK from their position," and the MEK retaliated with a bombing spree.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}

The Islamic Republic launched two military operations against the MEK in 1986-1987 named "Nasr" (one and two). This attack on the MEK "failed to eradicate the guerrilla bases along the Iran-Iraq Kurdish borders".{{sfn|Zabih|1988|p=256}}

On March 27 of 1988, the NLA launched its first military offensive against the Islamic Republic's armed forces.<ref name=":1"/> The NLA captured 600 square-kilometres of Islamic Republic territory and 508 soldiers from the Iranian 77th infantry division in Khuzestan Province.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=22}} The operation was named "Shining Sun"<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> (or "Operation Bright Sun").{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=22}} "2,000 Islamic Republic soldiers were killed and $100 million worth of regime weaponry and equipment was captured and displayed for foreign journalists," Masoud Rajavi added.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=22}}

On the night of Saturday 18 June 1988, Iraq launched the Operation Forty Stars with the help of the MEK.<ref name=hup454>{{cite book|title=The Iran-Iraq War|author=Pierre Razoux|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=454|quote="On June 18 the Iraqi army launched an offensive against the Mehran salient on the central front, working in close coordination with Massoud Rajavi’s People’s Mujahidin."}}</ref> With 530 aircraft sorties and heavy use of [[Chemistry:Sarin|nerve gas]], they attacked to the Iranian forces in the area around Mehran, killing or wounding 3,500 and nearly destroying a Revolutionary Guard division. The forces captured the city and took positions in the heights near Mehran, coming close to wiping the whole Iranian Pasdaran division and taking most of its equipment.<ref name="csis10">{{cite book |chapter-url = http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap10.pdf |publisher = Center for Strategic and International Studies |title = The Lessons of Modern War – Volume II: Iran–Iraq War |chapter = The Combination of Iraqi offensives and Western intervention force Iran to accept a cease-fire: September 1987 to March 1989}}</ref>

Near the end of the Iran–Iraq War, a military force of 7,000 members of the MEK, armed and equipped by Saddam's Iraq and calling itself the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA) was founded.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=3}} On 26 July 1988, six days after Ayatollah Khomeini had announced his acceptance of the UN-brokered ceasefire resolution, the NLA advanced under heavy Iraqi air cover, crossing the Iranian border from Iraq.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Longest War: The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict|author=Dilip Hiro|publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]]|pages=246–7|quote="On 26 July the NLA, advancing under heavy Iraqi air cover, seized Karand and Islamabad-e Gharb on the Baghdad-Tehran highway."}}</ref> Massoud Rajavi hoped to mobilize Iranian opposition and overthrow the Islamic Republic.<ref>{{cite book |title = Montazeri: The Life and Thought of Iran's Revolutionary Ayatollah |page =131 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2017 |first= Sussan |last = Siavoshi |isbn = 978-1316509463}}</ref> It seized and razed to the ground the Iranian town of Islamabad-e Gharb. As it advanced further into Iran, Iraq ceased its air support and Iranian forces cut off NLA supply lines and counterattacked under cover of fighter planes and helicopter gunships. On 29 July the NLA announced a voluntary withdrawal back to Iraq. The MEK claims it lost 1,400 dead or missing and the Islamic Republic sustained 55,000 casualties (either IRGC, Basij forces, or the army). The Islamic Republic claims to have killed 4,500 NLA during the operation.<ref>Hiro, Dilip, ''The Longest War'' (1999), pp.&nbsp;246–7.</ref> The operation was called ''Foroughe Javidan'' (Eternal Light) by the MEK and the counterattack Operation Mersad by the Iranian forces. The MEK contended that it had no choice to its presence in Iraq if it was to have any chance at toppling the Iranian regime.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=102}} Rajavi stated that the failure of Eternal Light was not a military blunder, but was instead rooted in the members’ thoughts for their spouses.<ref name="r4"/>

==== 1988 execution of MEK prisoners ====

On 19 July 1988, Iranian authorities suddenly isolated major prisons, having its courts of law go on an unscheduled holiday to avoid relatives finding out about those imprisoned.<ref name="Abrahamian 1999 209–214">{{cite book |first= Ervand |last= Abrahamian |title=Tortured Confessions|publisher= University of California Press |year=1999|isbn= 978-0520218666 |pages=209–214}}</ref> According to Ervand Abrahamian, "thus began an act of violence unprecedented in Iranian history." Prisoners were initially told that this was not a trial but a process for initiating a general amnesty and separating the Muslims from the non-Muslims. Prisoners were asked if they were willing to denounce the MEK before cameras, help the IRI hunt down MEK members, name secret sympathizers, identify phoney repenters, or go to the war front and walk through enemy mindfields. According to Abrahamian, the questions were designed to "tax to the utmost the victim's sense of decency, honor, and self-respect". The Mojahedin who gave unsatisfactory answers were promptly taken to a special room and later hanged in batches of six.<ref name="Abrahamian 1999 209–214"/>

According to the US State Department, the "death commissions" responsible for the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners started on 19 July (1988) and included the current head of the Iranian judiciary and current Minister of Justice.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMIqzDuKMYo The Brief: The Iranian Judiciary and Human Rights] U.S. Department of State</ref> Following Operation Mersad, a military attack on Iranian forces by the MEK desiring to gather Iranian opposition at home and overthrow the Islamic Republic, a large number of prisoners from the MEK were executed along with many other individuals from other leftist opposition groups<ref name="The Bloody Red Summer" /><ref name="Montazeri01">{{cite book |first= Sussan|last= Siavoshi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3tUoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131 |title=Montazeri: The Life and Thought of Iran's Revolutionary Ayatollah|publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2017|isbn= 978-1316509463|pages=131}}</ref> Khomeini used the MEK's failed invasion as a pretext for the mass execution of thousands of MEK members "who remained steadfast in their support for the MEK" and other leftists in Iranian jails through a [[Religion:Fatwa|fatwa]].<ref name="auto29">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1394212018ENGLISH.PDF |title=Blood-soaked secrets with Iran's 1998 Prison Massacres are ongoing crimes against humanity |access-date=14 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="r4">{{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}}</ref> The executions were carried out by several high-ranking members of Iran's current government.<ref>{{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 Telegraph |date=2 February 2001 |access-date=12 September 2021 }}</ref> According to Amnesty International, "thousands of political dissidents were systematically subjected to enforced disappearance in Iranian detention facilities across the country and extrajudicially executed pursuant to an order issued by the Supreme Leader of Iran and implemented across prisons in the country. Many of those killed during this time were subjected to [[Philosophy:Torture|torture]] and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment in the process."<ref name="auto29" />

Most of the prisoners executed were serving prison terms on account of peaceful activities (distributing opposition newspapers and leaflets, taking part in demonstrations, or collecting donations for political oppositions) or holding outlawed political views. In order to eliminate potential political oppositions, the Islamic Republic started "coordinated extrajudicial killings" in Iran. Under International law, the killings were considered a "crime against humanity". The commissions including judicial, prosecution, intelligence and prison officials proceeded executions that were not approved by their own existing legislation, and sentenced prisoners to death despite any proven "internationally recognized criminal offence". The Prisoners were questioned if they were willing to give written repentance for their political activities and beliefs.<ref name="auto29"/><ref name="auto31">{{cite web |url= https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/12/iran-top-government-officials-distorted-the-truth-about-1988-prison-massacres/|title= Iran: Top government officials distorted the truth about 1988 prison massacres|date= 12 December 2018|access-date=14 December 2018}}</ref> Those executed included women and children.<ref name="auto1">{{cite news |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2013/08/iran-still-seeks-erase-prison-massacre-memories-years/ |title=Iran still seeks to erase the '1988 prison massacre' from memories, 25 years on |newspaper=Amnesty International}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/49700/death-of-political-prisoners-in-iran-in-1988 |title=DEATH OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988 |newspaper=UK Parliament}}</ref>

Ayatollah Montazeri wrote to Ayatollah Khomeini saying "at least order to spare women who have children ... the execution of several thousand prisoners in a few days will not reflect positively and will not be mistake-free ... A large number of prisoners have been killed under torture by interrogators ... in some prisons of the Islamic Republic young girls are being raped ... As a result of unruly torture, many prisoners have become deaf or paralysed or afflicted with chronic decease."<ref>{{cite book |first= Kaveh|last= Basmenji |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0chBQAAQBAJ&q=iran+1988+prison+executions+women+children&pg=PT105 |title=Tehran Blues: Youth Culture in Iran|publisher= Saqui Books |year=2005|isbn=978-0863565823}}</ref>

In 2016, an audio recording was posted online of a high-level official meeting that took place in August 1988 between Hossein Ali Montazeri and the officials responsible for the mass killings in Tehran. In the recording, Hossein Ali Montazeri is heard saying that the ministry of intelligence used the MEK's armed incursion as a pretext to carry out the mass killings, which "had been under consideration for several years". Iranian authorities have dismissed the incident as "nothing but propaganda", presenting the executions as a lawful response to a small group of incarcerated individuals who had colluded with the MEK to support its 25 July 1988 incursion.<ref name="auto29"/><ref name="auto31"/> Those executed were put in collective graves containing multiple corpses at the Khavaran cemetery, which the Iranian government tried to cover up by changing the cemetery into a park.<ref name="The Bloody Red Summer">{{cite news|title=The Bloody Red Summer of 1988|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/08/the-bloody-red-summer-of-1988.html|work=pbs|publisher=theguardian.com}}</ref><ref name="Montazeri01" />

Human rights organizations say that the number of those executed remains a point of contention.<ref name="auto1"/> Prisoners were charged with "moharebeh" or "waging war on God"<ref name="auto2"/> and those who said to be affiliated with the MEK, including children as young as 13 years old, were hanged from cranes by Ayatollah Khomeini's direct orders.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk" /> The Iranian government accused those investigating the executions of "disclosing state secrets" and threatening national security". According to Amnesty International, "there has also been an ongoing campaign by the Islamic Republic to demonize victims, distort facts, and repress family survivors and human rights defenders.<ref name="auto29"/><ref name="auto31" /> In 2019, Maryam Rajavi, released a book named "Crime Against Humanity". The book is about the 1988 massacres of political prisoners in Iran, listing the location of 36 Iranian mass graves and explaining that about 30,000 people were executed, with the majority being MEK members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/oct/23/new-book-details-atrocities-iranian-regime-1980s/|title=New book details atrocities by Iranian regime in the 1980s|first=The Washington Times|last=https://www.washingtontimes.com|website=The Washington Times}}</ref>

=== Post-war Saddam era (1988–2003) ===

In April 1992, the MEK attacked 10 Iranian embassies, including the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/104 104]|publisher=Greenwood|year=2004|first1=Stephen E.|last1=Atkins|isbn=978-0313324857|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atki/page/104}}</ref> Some of the attackers were armed with knives, firebombs, metal bars, sticks, and other weapons. In the various attacks, they took hostages, burned cars and buildings, and injured multiple Iranian ambassadors and embassy employees. There were additional injuries, including to police, in other locations. The MEK also caused major property damage. There were dozens of arrests.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/06/world/iran-rebels-hit-missions-in-10-nations.html |title=Iran Rebels Hit Missions in 10 Nations |last=Mcfadden |first=Robert D. |date=6 April 1992 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) cracked down on MEK activity, carrying out what a US Federal Research Division, Library of Congress Report referred to as "psychological warfare".<ref>"Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile." A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, Washington, December 2012. pp. 26–28 [https://fas.org/irp/world/iran/mois-loc.pdf]</ref>

The MEK claims to play a major role in anti-regime demonstrations. According to Kenneth Katzman, many analysts believe that the MEK lacks sufficient strength or support to seriously challenge the Iranian government's grip on power. However, MEK followers in Iran "have been resilient and persistent, defying the regime's efforts to eliminate the organization within Iran". The Iranian regime is concerned about MEK activities in Iran, and MEK supporters are a major target of Iran's internal security apparatus and its campaign of assassinating opponents abroad. The Iranian government is believed to be responsible for killing MEK members, Kazem Rajavi on 24 April 1990 and Mohammad-Hossein Naghdi, a NCRI representative on 6 March 1993.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=104}}

"In a sign of the group's appreciation for Saddam's generous hospitality and largesse", MEK assisted the Iraqi Republican Guard in suppressing the 1991 nationwide uprisings of Shias, Kurds and Turkmens against Baathist regime.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/C3/C3091956B72C68A59DB7F7B666071904_TM_006_011.pdf|title=Terrorism Monitor|publisher=Jamestown Foundation|volume=VI|issue=11|date=29 May 2008}}</ref><ref name="bdt45cgf112" /><ref name="aph.gov.au"/>

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in June 1998 that he received "anonymous threats of disruption from Iranian exiles" for the 1998 FIFA World Cup match between Iran and the U.S. football teams at Stade de Gerland.<ref>{{cite web |title=FRANCE: USA V IRAN WORLD CUP MATCH BECOMES A POLITICAL HOTCAKE|url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/FRANCE-USA-V-IRAN-WORLD-CUP-MATCH-BECOMES-A-POLITICAL-HOTCAKE/3d5f69fa07befcdd9bc55ea88be85333?|date=21 June 1998|access-date=1 June 2018|work=The Associated Press}}</ref> The MEK bought some 7,000 out of 42,000 tickets for the match between, in order to promote themselves with the political banners they smuggled. When the initial plan foiled with TV cameras of FIFA avoiding filming them, intelligence sources had been tipped off about a pitch invasion. To prevent an interruption in the match, extra security entered Stade Gerland.<ref>{{cite web |title=USA vs Iran at France '98: the most politically charged game in World Cup history|url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/usa-vs-iran-france-98-most-politically-charged-game-world-cup-history#87L720H0abh8pzPj.99|date=6 June 2014|access-date=1 June 2018|work=FourFourTwo|first=Neil|last=Billingham}}</ref>

According to Ilan Berman, in 2002 the NCRI publicly called or the formation of a National Solidarity Front against the Iranian regime saying that it is "prepared for cooperation with other political forces" that seek a republican form of government and are committed to rejecting Iran's current theocracy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Making Sense of The MeK|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/making-sense-mek-65496|work=National Interest|first= Ilan|last= Berman|date=5 July 2019}}</ref>

The organization owns a free-to-air satellite [[Engineering:Television network|television network]] named ''Vision of Freedom'' (Sima-ye-Azadi), launched in 2003 in England.<ref>{{cite book |first=Mehdi|last=Semati|title=Media, Culture and Society in Iran: Living with Globalization and the Islamic State|volume=5|series= Iranian Studies|pages=99–100|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|isbn=978-1-135-98156-3}}</ref> It previously operated ''Vision of Resistance'' analogue television in Iraq in the 1990s, accessible in western provinces of Iran.<ref>{{cite news |title=Summary of World Broadcasts (SWB): Part 4: The Middle East, Africa, and Latin America |page=E-1 |work=British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service|year=1993}}</ref> They also had a radio station, ''Radio Iran Zamin'', that was closed down in June 1998.{{sfn|Harmon|Bowdish|2018|pp=8–9, 12, 14}}

==== 2003 French arrests ====
In June 2003, French police raided the MEK's properties, including its base in Auvers-sur-Oise, under the orders of anti-terrorist magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguière, after suspicions that it was trying to shift its base of operations there. 160 suspected MEK members were then arrested, including Maryam Rajavi and her brother Saleh Rajavi.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2996132.stm|title=Paris police target Iranian groups|date=17 June 2003|access-date=18 December 2018}}</ref> After questioning, most of those detained were released, but 24 members, including Maryam Rajavi, were kept in detention.<ref>{{cite news |title=France drops charges against Iran opposition group |publisher=Fox News|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/france-drops-charges-against-iran-opposition-group}}</ref>

In response, 40 supporters began hunger strikes to protest the arrests, and 10 members including Neda Hassani, immolated themselves in various European capitals<ref name="hunger"/> by lighting themselves on fire in front of French embassies, following orders from MEK.<ref name="sp-online"/> French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy declared that the MEK "recently wanted to make France its support base, notably after the intervention in Iraq", while Pierre de Bousquet de Florian, head of France's domestic intelligence service, claimed that the group was "transforming its Val d'Oise centre [near Paris] [...] into an international terrorist base".<ref name="hunger">{{cite news |title=France investigates Iran exiles |work=BBC News|date=22 June 2003|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3010422.stm |access-date=3 January 2010}}</ref> Police found $1.3&nbsp;million in $100 bills in cash in their offices.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/18/world/french-arrest-150-from-iranian-opposition-group.html |title=French Arrest 150 From Iranian Opposition Group |last=Sciolino |first=Elaine |date=18 June 2003 |work=The New York Times |access-date=4 August 2018}}</ref>

U.S. Senator [[Biography:Sam Brownback|Sam Brownback]], a Republican from Kansas and chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on South Asia, then accused the French of doing "the Iranian government's dirty work". Along with other members of Congress, he wrote a letter of protest to President Jacques Chirac, while longtime MEK supporters such as Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas, criticized Maryam Radjavi's arrest.<ref name="Rubin" />

A court later found that there were no grounds for terrorism or terrorism-related finance charges.<ref>{{cite news |title=France Will Drop Charges Against Iranian Dissidents |publisher=NY Times|date=12 May 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/world/europe/13iht-iran13.html}}</ref> In 2014, prosecuting judges also dropped all charges of money laundering and fraud.<ref>{{cite news |title=France drops case against Iranian dissidents after 11-year probe |publisher=Reuters|date=17 September 2014|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-iran-ncri/france-drops-case-against-iranian-dissidents-after-11-year-probe-idUSKBN0HC1OR20140917}}</ref>

=== Post-U.S. invasion of Iraq (2003–2016) ===
During the Iraq War, the coalition forces bombed MEK bases and forced them to surrender in May 2003.<ref>{{cite book|title=The A to Z of Middle Eastern Intelligence|url=https://archive.org/details/tozmiddleeastern00kaha|url-access=limited|isbn=978-0-8108-7070-3|first1=Ephraim |last1=Kahana |first2=Muhammad |last2=Suwaed |year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/tozmiddleeastern00kaha/page/n252 208]}}</ref> U.S. troops later posted guards at its bases.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/9158/ |title=Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) |first=Holly |last=Fletcher |date=8 April 2008 |publisher=CFR |access-date=5 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606084954/http://www.cfr.org/publication/9158/ |archive-date=6 June 2010}}</ref> The U.S. military also protected and gave logistical support to the MEK as U.S. officials viewed the group as a high value source of intelligence on Iran.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZB9F74tiE-kC&q=saddam+hussein+mek&pg=PA79 |title=The United States and Iran: Sanctions, wars and the policy of dual containment |isbn=978-0-415-77396-6 |last=Fayazmanesh |first=Sasan |year=2008}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2016}}

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, MEK camps were bombed by the U.S., resulting in at least 50 deaths. It was later revealed that the U.S. bombings were part of an agreement between the Iranian government and Washington. In the agreement Tehran offered to oust some al-Qaeda suspects if the U.S. came down on the MEK.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mojtahedzadeh |first1=Hajar|title=The Real Face of Realpolitik: Camp Ashraf and the U.S. FTO|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hajar-mojtahedzadeh/the-real-face-of-realpoli_b_892469.html|website=Huffingtonpost.com|date=8 July 2011|publisher=The World Post|access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

In the operation, the U.S. reportedly captured 6,000 MEK soldiers and over 2,000 pieces of military equipment, including 19 British-made Chieftain tanks.<ref name=Sullivan>{{cite news |title=Armed Iranian exiles surrender; 6,000-member unit accepts U.S. terms |first=John |last=Sullivan |publisher=Knight Ridder |newspaper=The Record |place=Bergen County, NJ |date=11 May 2003 |page=A.17}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news |publisher=US DoD |type=news briefing |title=M2 Presswire |place=Coventry |date=19 June 2003 |page=1}}</ref> The MEK compound outside Fallujah became known as Camp Fallujah, adjacent to the Forward Operating Base Dreamland.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared MEK personnel in Ashraf protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. US forces disarmed the residents of Camp Ashraf, signing a formal agreement that promised them the status of "protected persons", which "outlines the rules for protecting civilians in times of war".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1519631/middle-east|title=Why Iran's agents hound political refugees in distant Albania|date=2 July 2019|website=Arab News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/08/us-iraq-iranian-dissidents-mek|title=US embassy cables: US government outlines 'dilemma' in event of Iraqi crackdown on Iranian dissidents|author=Guardian Staff|date=8 April 2011|via=www.theguardian.com|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> They were then placed under the guard of the U.S. Military. Defectors from the MEK requested assistance from the coalition forces, who created a "temporary internment and protection facility" for them.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=5}} In the first year these numbered "several hundred", mainly Iranian soldiers captured in the Iran-Iraq war and other Iranians lured to the MEK.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=47}} On 19 August 2003, the MEK bombed the {{wipe|United Nations}} compound in Iraq, prompting UN withdrawal from the country.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}}

In 2010, Iranian authorities charged five MEK protesters of "rioting and arson" under the crime of ''[[Religion:Hirabah#Iran|moharebeh]]'', an offence reserved for those who "take up arms against the state" and carries the death penalty.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2010/01/ashoura-protesters-risk-execution-iran-20100108/ |title=Ashoura Protesters Risk Execution in Iran |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=27 June 2018}}</ref>

In July 2010, the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal issued an arrest warrant for 39 MEK members, including Massoud and Maryam Rajavi, for [[Social:Crimes against humanity|crimes against humanity]] committed while suppressing the 1991 uprisings in Iraq.<ref name="cah">{{Cite news|first=Muhanad|last=Mohammed|editor1=Rania El Gamal |editor2-first=David |editor2-last=Stamp |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE66A0A0|title=Iraqi court seeks arrest of Iranian exiles|date=11 July 2010|access-date=28 December 2016|newspaper={{wipe|Reuters}}}}</ref>

==== Iraqi government's 2009 crackdown ====
On 23 January 2009, while on a visit to Tehran, Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie reiterated the Iraqi Prime Minister's earlier announcement that the MEK organization would no longer be able to base itself on Iraqi soil and stated that the members of the organization would have to make a choice, either to go back to Iran or to go to a third country, adding that these measures would be implemented over the next two months.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Al-Jazeera |url=http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/09F45E44-4EA9-41F5-9190-BE6B6CE7B7C5.htm |script-title=ar:العراق يقرر طرد أعضاء مجاهدي خلق من أراضيه |trans-title=Iraq Decides to Expel MEK Members from its Territory |date=24 January 2009 |access-date= 7 December 2011|language=ar}}</ref>

In 2009 American troops gave the Iraqi government responsibility of the MEK. Iraqi authorities, which were sympathetic to Iran, allowed Iran-linked militias to attack the MEK.<ref name="Iran MEK Albania">{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/world/europe/iran-mek-albania.html |title = Iran MEK Albania |newspaper=New York Times}}</ref> On 29 July 2009, eleven Iranians were killed and over 500 were injured in a raid by Iraqi security on the MEK Camp Ashraf in Diyala province of Iraq.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33654 |title=Iranian Exiles' White House Hunger Strike Continues |first=Alicia M |last=Cohn |date=23 September 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923182121/http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33654 |archive-date=23 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> U.S. officials had long opposed a violent takeover of the camp northeast of Baghdad, and the raid is thought to symbolize the declining American influence in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/29/AR2009072901005.html |title=Iraq Raids Camp of Exiles From Iran |first1=Ernesto |last1=Londoño |first2=Greg |last2=Jaffe |work=Washington Post |date=29 July 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> After the raid, the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, stated the issue was "completely within [the Iraqi government's] purview".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1913399,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913043052/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1913399,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 September 2012 |title=Iraq Cracks Down on Iranian Exiles at Camp Ashraf |work=Time |first=Rania |last=Abouzeid |date=29 July 2009 |access-date=7 December 2011}}</ref> In the course of attack, 36 Iranian dissidents were arrested and removed from the camp to a prison in a town named Khalis, where the arrestees went on hunger strike for 72 days. Finally, the dissidents were released when they were in an extremely critical condition and on the verge of death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://iranliberty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=963:36-ashraf-residents-hostages-released-on-72nd-day-of-hunger-strike&catid=33:ashraf&Itemid=81 |title=36 Ashraf Residents Hostages Released on 72nd Day of Hunger Strike |publisher=Iran Liberty Association |access-date=7 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305175609/http://iranliberty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=963:36-ashraf-residents-hostages-released-on-72nd-day-of-hunger-strike&catid=33:ashraf&Itemid=81 |archive-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/08/25/PMOI-on-hunger-strike/UPI-38171251234356/ |title=PMOI on hunger strike |publisher=UPI |date=25 August 2009|access-date= 29 September 2012}}</ref>

==== Iran's nuclear programme ====
The MEK and the NCRI revealed the existence of Iran's nuclear program in a press conference held on 14 August 2002 in Washington DC. MEK representative Alireza Jafarzadeh stated that Iran is running two top-secret projects, one in the city of Natanz and another in [[Company:IR-40|a facility located in Arak]], which was later confirmed by the [[Organization:International Atomic Energy Agency|International Atomic Energy Agency]].<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |last1=Porter |first1=Gareth |title=The Iran Nuclear "Alleged Studies" Documents: The Evidence of Fraud |url=https://www.mepc.org/iran-nuclear-alleged-studies-documents-evidence-fraud |website=mepc.org}}</ref><ref name="nuc">{{cite book |first=Sasan|last=Fayazmanesh|series=Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics|title=The United States and Iran: Sanctions, Wars and the Policy of Dual Containment|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-97687-3|pages=120–123}}</ref>

Journalists Seymour Hersh and Connie Bruck have written that the information was given to the MEK by Israel.<ref name="Gareth Porter">{{cite news |last1=Porter |first1=Gareth |title=Guess who credits the Mossad with producing the 'laptop documents?' |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/guess-who-credits-mossad-producing-laptop-documents |agency=Middle East Eye (MEE) |date=2015}}</ref> Among others, it was described by a senior IAEA official and a monarchist advisor to Reza Pahlavi, who said before MEK they were offered to reveal the information, but they refused because it would be seen negatively by the people of Iran.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Seymour|last=Hersh|title=Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2004|isbn=978-0-06-019591-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/chainofcommandroher00hers/page/349 349]|url=https://archive.org/details/chainofcommandroher00hers/page/349}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/03/06/exiles-6|title=Exiles: How Iran's Expatriates are Gaming the Nuclear Threat|magazine=The New Yorker|first=Connie|last=Bruck|date=6 March 2006|page=48}}</ref> Similar accounts could be found elsewhere by others, including comments made by US officials.<ref name="nuc" />

On 18 November 2004, MEK representative Mohammad Mohaddessin used satellite images to state that a new facility existed in northeast [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]] named "Center for the Development of Advanced Defence Technology".<ref name="nuc" /> This allegation by MEK and all their subsequent allegations were false.<ref name="nuc" />

In 2010 the NCRI claimed to have uncovered a secret nuclear facility in Iran. These claims were dismissed by U.S. officials, who did not believe the facilities to be nuclear. In 2013, the NCRI again claimed to have discovered a secret underground nuclear site.<ref name="reuters">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-iran-exiles-idUSBRE96A0KZ20130711 |title=Exiled dissidents claim Iran building new nuclear site &#124; Reuters |first1=Nicholas|last1=Vinocur|first2=Fredrik|last2=Dahl|publisher=reuters.com|access-date=7 February 2015|newspaper=Reuters |date=11 July 2013}}</ref>

In 2012, NBC News' Richard Engel and Robert Windrem published a report quoting U.S. officials{{who|date=February 2021}}, who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity, that the MEK was being "financed, trained, and armed by Israel's secret service" to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists.<ref name="rockcente">{{cite web |last1=Marizad |first1=Mehdi |title=Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News |url=http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/08/10354553-israel-teams-with-terror-group-to-kill-irans-nuclear-scientists-us-officials-tell-nbc-news |website=nbcnews |access-date=9 February 2012 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020537/http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/08/10354553-israel-teams-with-terror-group-to-kill-irans-nuclear-scientists-us-officials-tell-nbc-news |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Israel's Mossad Trained Assassins of Iran Nuclear Scientists, Report Says|url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-s-mossad-trained-assassins-of-iran-nuclear-scientists-report-says-1.411945|access-date=18 November 2015|work=[[Social:Haaretz|Haaretz]]|date=9 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=IND>{{cite news|last1=Cockburn|first1=Patrick|title=Just who has been killing Iran's nuclear scientists?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/just-who-has-been-killing-irans-nuclear-scientists-8861232.html|access-date=18 November 2015|work=The Independent|date=5 October 2013}}</ref> A Senior State Department Official{{who|date=February 2020}} said that they never said that the MEK was involved in the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/24/mek-will-fight-iran-regime-from-new-ashraf-3-base-/ |title=MEK will fight Iran regime from new Ashraf-3 base in Albania |agency=Washington Times|date=26 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/09/198470.htm|title=Background Briefing on an Announcement Regarding the Mujahedin-e Khalq|website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> Former CIA case officer in the Middle East, Robert Baer said that the perpetrators "could only be Israel", and that "it is quite likely Israel is acting in tandem with" the MEK.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Borger|first=Julian|date=2012-01-12|title=Who is responsible for the Iran nuclear scientists attacks?|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/12/iran-nuclear-scientists-attacks|access-date=2020-07-12|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==== Relocation from Iraq ====
On 1 January 2009, the U.S. military transferred control of Camp Ashraf to the Iraqi government. On the same day, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that the militant group would not be allowed to base its operations from Iraqi soil.<ref>{{cite news|first=Abigail |last=Hauslohner |title=Iranian Resistance Group a Source of Contention in Iraq |work=Time Magazine |date=5 January 2008 |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1869532,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203081928/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1869532,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2009 |access-date=5 January 2008}}</ref>

In 2012, the MEK moved from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya in [[Place:Baghdad|Baghdad]] (a onetime U.S. base formerly known as Camp Liberty). A rocket and mortar attack killed 5 and injured 50 others at Camp Hurriya on 9 February 2013. MEK residents of the facility and their representatives appealed to the UN Secretary-General and U.S. officials to let them return to Ashraf, which they said has concrete buildings and shelters that offer more protection. The United States has been working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the resettlement project.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/09/world/meast/iraq-camp-attack/?hpt=hp_t3 |title=Attack kills 5 at Iranian exile camp in Iraq |publisher=CNN |date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

=== Settlement in Albania (2016–present) ===
In 2013, the United States requested that the MEK relocate to Albania, but the organization initially rejected the offer.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ashish Kumar Sen|title=U.S. pushes Iranian dissidents to accept Albanian asylum offer |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/18/us-iranian-dissidents-accept-albanian-asylum-offer/|work=Washington Times |date=18 March 2013|access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref> The MEK eventually accepted to move about 3,000 members to Albania, and the U.S. donated $20&nbsp;million to the U.N. refugee agency to help them resettle.<ref>{{citation|first=Pamela|last=Dockins|title=US Praises Albania for MEK Resettlement|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/18/us-iranian-dissidents-accept-albanian-asylum-offer/|work=VOA|date=14 February 2016|access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref> On 9 September 2016, more than 280 remaining MEK members were relocated to Albania.<ref name="reuters 2016-09-09" /> The installation is located in Manëz, Durrës County, where they have been protested by the locals.<ref>{{citation|title=Durrës locals protest MEK members' burial in local cemetery|url=http://www.tiranatimes.com/?p=137041|work=Tirana Times|date=9 May 2018|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref>

====Relationship during Trump presidency====
In 2017, the year before John Bolton became President Trump's National Security Adviser, Bolton addressed members of the MEK and said that they would celebrate in Tehran before 2019.<ref>{{citation|first=Robert|last=Mackey|title=Here's John Bolton Promising Regime Change in Iran by the End of 2018|url=https://theintercept.com/2018/03/23/heres-john-bolton-promising-regime-change-iran-end-2018/|work=The Intercept|date=23 March 2018|access-date=27 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424141049/https://theintercept.com/2018/03/23/heres-john-bolton-promising-regime-change-iran-end-2018/|archive-date=24 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> By 2018, over 4,000 MEK members had entered Albania, according to the INSTAT data.<ref>{{cite news |title=Deri më tani në Shqipëri kanë ardhur 4000 muxhahedinë |url=http://telegraf.al/kronike/deri-me-tani-ne-shqiperi-kane-ardhur-4000-muxhahedine/ |access-date=28 March 2019 |work=Gazeta Telegraf |date=24 August 2018 |language=sq}}</ref>

By 2018, operatives of the MEK were believed to be still conducting covert operations inside Iran<ref>{{cite web |title=The MEK's man inside the White House|url=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/the-mek-s-man-inside-the-white-house-1242310723567?playlist=associated|series=On Assignment with Richard Engel|work=MSNBC|date=25 May 2018|access-date=26 May 2018|first=Richard|last=Engel}}</ref> to overthrow Iran's government.<ref name="Five lessons from the de-listing of MEK as a terrorist group"/> Seymour Hersh reported that "some American-supported covert operations continue in Iran today," with the MEK's prime goal of removing the current Iranian government.<ref name="Five lessons from the de-listing of MEK as a terrorist group"/>

During the Free Iran 2019 conference in Albania, Rudy Giuliani attended an MEK podium, where the former New York City mayor described the group as a "government-in-exile", saying it is a ready-to-go alternative to lead the country if the Iranian government falls.<ref>[https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/Iranian-MEK-US-terror-list-halls-congress-PMOI-Iran How Iranian MEK went from the US terror list to the halls of Congress]. ''Middle East Eye''. Retrieved 17 July 2019.</ref> Additionally, the Trump administration said it would not rule out the MEK as a viable replacement for the current Iranian regime<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/2019/09/06/iran-regime-fall-opposition-groups-mek-1456420.html|title=As Iran's opposition groups prepare for the regime's collapse, who else is ready?|first=Jonathan Broder On 08/27/19 at 5:08 PM|last=EDT|date=27 August 2019|website=Newsweek}}</ref> while Rajavi reaffirmed for "democratic governance, free elections, gender equality, separation of church and state, and a nuclear weapon-free Iran".<ref>[https://www.newdelhitimes.com/iran-and-its-prospects-for-democracy/ Iran and its prospects for Democracy]. ''New Delhi Times''. Retrieved 9 August 2019.</ref>

==== Islamic Republic of Iran operations against MEK inside Europe ====
On 30 June 2018 Belgian police arrested married couple of Iranian heritage Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami on charges of "attempted terrorist murder and preparing a terrorist act" against the an MEK rally in France. The couple had in their possession half of a kilogram of TATP explosives and a detonator. Police also detained Asadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat in Vienna. German prosecutors charged Assadi with "activity as foreign agent and conspiracy to commit murder by contacting the couple and giving them a device containing 500 grams of TATP". Prosecutors said Assadi was a member of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security service, an organization that focuses on "combating of opposition groups inside and outside of Iran".<ref name="Steven2">{{cite book |title=Terrorism Worldwide, 2018 |page=49 |publisher=McFarland |year=2019 |first=Steven |last=O'Hern |isbn = 978-1476679402 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ICJDwAAQBAJ&q=Assadollah+Assadi&pg=PA49}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite news |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/10/10/l-attentat-manque-de-villepinte-en-2018-a-ete-concu-par-l-iran-conclut-une-enquete-belge_6055519_3210.html|title=L'attentat manqué de Villepinte en 2018 a été " conçu par l'Iran ", conclut une enquête belge|newspaper=LeMonde|date=10 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-plot-france-int-idUSKBN26U28N
|title=Iranian diplomat warned of retaliation over Belgian bomb plot trial, document shows|newspaper=Reuters|date=9 October 2020|last1=Irish|first1=John}}</ref> Iran responded that the arrests were a "[[Social:False flag|false flag ploy]]", with the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman saying the "two suspects in Belgium were in fact members of the People's Mujahideen".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-attacks-belgium-iran-austria/iran-says-belgium-arrests-are-a-plot-to-sabotage-rouhani-europe-visit-idUSKBN1JT1BC|title=Iran says Belgium arrests are a plot to sabotage Rouhani Europe visit|work=Reuters|first1=Francois |last1=Murphy |first2=John|last2=Irish|editor-first=William|editor-last=Maclean|date=3 July 2018|access-date=3 July 2018}}</ref> In October 2018, the French government officially and publicly blamed Iran's Intelligence Service for the failed attack against the MEK. U.S. officials also condemned Iran over the foiled bomb plot that France blames on Tehran.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/alleged-iranian-bomb-plot-france-wake-call-europe-u-s-n915986|title=Alleged Iranian bomb plot in France is a 'wake-up call' for Europe, U.S. says|work=NBC News|access-date=16 October 2018}}</ref> In December 2018, Albania expelled two Iranian diplomats due to alleged involvement in the bomb plot against the MEK (where Mayor Giuliani and other US government officials were also gathered) accusing the two of "violating their diplomatic status".<ref>[https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/24/we-dont-want-to-be-observers-of-history-but-doing-/ 'We don't want to be observers of history but doing history']. ''Washington Times''.</ref>
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the People's Mujahedin of Iran incited violence during the 2017–2018 Iranian protests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/0337232e446e41e49211dc71a788e152|title=Iran protests: Supreme leader blames 'enemies' for meddling|date=20 April 2021}}</ref>

In October 2019, Albanian police discovered an Iranian paramilitary network that allegedly planned attacks against MEK members in Albania. Albania's police chief, Ardi Veliu, said that the Iran Revolutionary Guard's foreign wing operated an "active terrorist cell" that targeted members of the MEK. A police statement said that two Iranian security officials led the network from Tehran, and that it was allegedly linked to organised crime groups in Turkey. It also said that the network used a former MEK member to collect information in Albania. Valiu also said that a planned attack on the MEK by Iranian government agents was foiled in March.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/23/albanian-police-say-iranian-terror-cell-planned-to-attack-exiles|title=Albanian police say Iranian 'terror cell' planned to attack exiles|agency=Associated Press|date=23 October 2019|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

In 2020, newspaper De Standaard said evidence that Iranian intelligence and security was involved in the failed 2018 bomb plot against an MEK rally was mounting. In a note to the federal prosecutor's office, the State Security writes that "the attack was devised in the name and under the impetus of Iran", with the note also describing one of the case's suspects, Assadolah Assadi, as a MOIS agent.  Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami, who in 2018 were found with half a kilo of explosives and are also being charged in the case, admitted that they had been in contact with Assadolah Assadi.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20201009_97602779?adh_i=&imai=&articlehash=80897D802C68D8466A4C5D5B4CDDB6F7BF3B41792BE7EA664DF9E67358E12D7B13E39960277976B6FA20ED422F1C3876947AA17BDD5694F7F35FDFA259FB3B6C |title=Belgian terror file linked to Iranian regime |newspaper=Standaard}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/> In October 2020, the Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi charged in Belgium with planning to bomb a rally by the MEK "warned authorities of possible retaliation by unidentified groups if he is found guilty". Assadi will be one of the first Iranian diplomats to go on trial on charges of terrorism within the European Union.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-plot-france-int-idUSKBN26U28N|title=Iranian diplomat warned of retaliation over Belgian bomb plot trial, document shows|work=Reuters|date=9 October 2020|last1=Irish|first1=John}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-iranian-diplomat-held-in-belgium-on-terror-charges-warned-of-retaliation/|title=Report: Iranian diplomat held in Belgium on terror charges warned of retaliation|newspaper=Times of Israel}}</ref> In February 2021, Assadi and his accomplices were found guilty of attempted terrorism.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-plot-verdict-int/in-first-for-europe-iran-envoy-sentenced-to-20-year-prison-term-over-bomb-plot-idUSKBN2A418N|title=In first for Europe, Iran envoy sentenced to 20-year prison term over bomb plot|newspaper=Reuters|date=4 February 2021|last1=Emmott|first1=Clement Rossignol}}</ref>

== Ideology ==
=== Before the revolution ===
According to Katzman, the MEK's early ideology is a matter of dispute, while scholars generally describe the MEK's ideology as an attempt to combine "[[Religion:Islam|Islam]] with revolutionary [[Philosophy:Marxism|Marxism]]", today the organization claims that it has always emphasized Islam, and that Marxism and Islam are incompatible. Katzman writes that their ideology "espoused the creation of a [[Social:Classless society|classless society]] that would combat world [[Social:Imperialism|imperialism]], international [[Social:Zionism|Zionism]], [[Social:Colonialism|colonialism]], exploitation, racism, and multinational corporations".{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=99}} The MEK's ideological foundation was developed during the period of the Iran revolution. According to its official history, the MEK first defined itself as a group that wanted to establish a nationalist, democratic, revolutionary Muslim organization in favour of change in Iran.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Garduño |first1=Moises |year=2016 |title= La articulación de intereses de los Moyāhedīn-e Jalq-e Iran: De la Revolución islámica al Movimiento Verde|journal= Estudios de Asia y África|volume=51 |issue=1 |pages = 105–135 |doi= 10.24201/eaa.v51i1.2184|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Historian Ervand Abrahamian observed that the MEK were "consciously influenced by Marxism, both [[Social:Neo-Marxism|modern]] and [[Philosophy:Classical Marxism|classical]]", but they always denied being Marxists because they were aware that the term was colloquial to 'atheistic materialism' among Iran's general public. The Iranian regime for the same reason was "eager to pin on the Mojahedin the labels of Islamic-Marxists and Marxist-Muslims".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=100–101}}

According to Abrahamian, it was the first Iranian organization to develop systematically a modern revolutionary interpretation of Islam that "differed sharply from both the old conservative Islam of the traditional clergy and the new populist version formulated in the 1970s by Ayatollah Khomeini and his disciples".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=1}} Abrahamian said that the MEK's early ideology constituted a "combination of Muslim themes; Shii notions of martyrdom; classical Marxist theories of class struggle and historical determinism; and neo-Marxist concepts of armed struggle, guerilla warfare and revolutionary heroism".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=100}} However, the MEK claim that this misrepresents their ideology in that Marxism and Islam are incompatible, and that the MEK has always emphasized Islam.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=99}} According to James Piazza, the MEK worked towards the creation by armed popular struggle of a society in which ethnic, gender, or class discrimination would be obliterated.{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9–43}}

Nasser Sadegh told military tribunals that although the MEK respected Marxism as a "progressive method of social analysis, they could not accept materialism, which was contrary to their Islamic ideology". The MEK eventually had a falling out with Marxist groups. According to Sepehr Zabir, "they soon became Enemy No. 1 of both pro-Soviet Marxist groups, the Tudeh and the Majority Fedayeen".<ref name="auto30"/>

The MEK's ideology of revolutionary [[Religion:Twelver|Shiaism]] is based on an interpretation of Islam so similar to that of [[Biography:Ali Shariati|Ali Shariati]] that "many concluded" they were inspired by him. According to Ervand Abrahamian, it is clear that "in later years" that Shariati and "his prolific works" had "indirectly helped the Mujahedin".{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1982|p=490}}

In the group's "first major ideological work", ''Nahzat-i Husseini'' or [[Biography:Husayn ibn Ali|Hussein]]'s Movement, authored by one of the group's founders, Ahmad Reza'i, it was argued that ''Nezam-i Towhid'' (monotheistic order) sought by the prophet Muhammad, was a commonwealth fully united not only in its worship of one God but in a classless society that strives for the common good. "Shiism, particularly Hussein's historic act of martyrdom and resistance, has both a revolutionary message and a special place in our popular culture".{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1982|p=491}}

As described by Abrahamian, one Mojahedin ideologist argued

<blockquote>Reza'i further argued that the banner of revolt raised by the Shi'i [[Religion:Imamate (Twelver doctrine)|Imams]], especially [[Biography:Ali|Ali]], [[Religion:Hasan ibn Ali|Hassan]], and [[Biography:Husayn ibn Ali|Hussein]], was aimed against feudal landlords and exploiting merchant capitalists as well as against usurping [[Place:Rashidun Caliphate|Caliphs]] who betrayed the ''Nezam-i-Towhid''. For Reza'i and the Mujahidin it was the duty of all muslims to continue this struggle to create a '[[Social:Classless society|classless society]]' and destroy all forms of [[Philosophy:Capitalism|capitalism]], [[Social:Despotism|despotism]], and [[Social:Imperialism|imperialism]]. The Mujahidin summed up their attitude towards religion in these words: 'After years of extensive study into Islamic history and Shi'i ideology, our organization has reached the firm conclusion that Islam, especially Shi'ism, will play a major role in inspiring the masses to join the revolution. It will do so because Shi'ism, particularly [[Biography:Husayn ibn Ali|Hussein]]'s historic act of resistance, has both a revolutionary message and a special place in our popular culture.<ref>Keddle, Nikki R. ''Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution'', First Edition. New Haven Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2006. 220–221.</ref></blockquote>

=== After the revolution ===
[[File:Gathering 3.jpg|thumb|MEK demonstrators carrying [[Unsolved:Lion and Sun|Lion and Sun]] flags and those of 'National Liberation Army of Iran']]

Massoud Rajavi supported the idea that the Shiite religion is compatible with pluralistic democracy.{{sfn|Zabih|1988|pp=253-254}} In 1981, after signing the "covenant of freedom and independence" with Banisadr, and establishing NCRI Massoud Rajavi made an announcement to the foreign press about the MEK's ideology saying that "First we want freedom for all political parties. We reject both political prisoners and political executions. In the true spirit of Islam, we advocate freedom, fraternity, and an end to all repression, censorship, and injustices." They appealed to all opposition groups to join NCRI, but failed to attract any except for the Kurdish Democratic Party. The failure is mainly associated to MEK's religious ideology.{{sfn|Zabih|1988|pp=252-254}} The covenant also proposed the protection of Iranian minorities, "specially the Kurdish minority".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=243-244}}

According to Kenneth Katzman, the MEK has "tried to show itself as worthy of U.S. support on the basis of its commitment to values compatible with those of the United States – democracy, free market economics, protection of the rights of women and minorities, and peaceful relations with Iran's neighbors". According to Department of State's October 1994 report, the MEK used violence in its campaign to overthrow the Iranian regime.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=107}} In 2001, Kenneth Katzman wrote that the organization publicly espouses principles that include "democracy, human rights protections, free market economics, and Middle East peace", but some analysts dispute that are genuinely committed to what they state.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=99}} A 2009 U.S. Department of State annual report states that their ideology is a blend of [[Philosophy:Marxism|Marxism]], [[Religion:Islamism|Islamism]] and [[Social:Feminism|feminism]].{{sfn|Harmon|Bowdish|2018|p=170}}

=== Current ===

The MEK says it is seeking regime change in Iran through peaceful means with an aim to replace the clerical rule in Iran with a secular government.<ref>{{Cite news |title= This article is more than 6 years oldIran condemns US for 'double standards' over MEK terror de-listing |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/29/iran-condemns-us-mek-terror-delisting |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> It also claims to have disassociated itself from its former revolutionary ideology in favor of liberal democratic values, but they fail to "present any track record to substantiate a capability or intention to be democratic".<ref name="Terrornomics73">{{citation|title=Terrornomics|editor-first=David|editor-last=Gold|page=73|isbn=978-1-317-04590-8|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|chapter=An Analysis of the Role of the Iranian Diaspora in the Financial Support System of the ''Mujahedin-e-Khalq''|author=Mark Edmond Clark}}</ref> The MEK is also said to have a "commitment to a policy of peaceful coexistence and a non-nuclear Iran".<ref>{{cite news |title=Why Iran's agents hound political refugees in distant Albania|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1519631/middle-east |work=Arab News}}</ref>

=== View on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict ===
Initially, the MEK used to criticize the Pahlavi dynasty for allying with [[Place:Israel|Israel]] and apartheid {{wipe|South Africa}},{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=98}} calling them racist states and demanding cancellation of all political and economic agreements with them.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=185}} The MEK opposed Israeli–Palestinian peace process<ref>{{citation|first=Dennis|last=Piszkiewicz|series=Praeger Security International|title=Terrorism's War with America: A History|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-97952-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/terrorismswarwit00denn/page/168 168]|url=https://archive.org/details/terrorismswarwit00denn/page/168}}</ref> and was anti-Zionist.<ref name="Barker" >{{cite book|title=Revisionism and Diversification in New Religious Movements|first=Eileen|last=Barker|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-06361-2|page=174}}</ref>

The MEK's Central Cadre established contact with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), by sending emissaries to Paris, Dubai, and Qatar to meet PLO officials.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=127}} On 3 August 1972, they bombed the Jordanian embassy as a means to avenge King Hussein's unleashing his troops on the PLO in 1970.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=140}}

=== View on the United States ===

In the late 1970s, the intelligentsia as a class in Iran was distinctly nationalistic and anti-imperialistic. The MEK had impeccable nationalistic credentials, calling for the nationalization of foreign companies and economic independence from the capitalist world, and praising writers such as [[Biography:Jalal Al-e-Ahmad|Al-e Ahmad]], Saedi and Shariati for being "anti-imperialist".{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=229}} Rajavi in his presidential campaign after revolution used to warn against what he called the "imperialist danger".{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=197}} The matter was so fundamental to MEK that it criticized the Iranian government on that basis, accusing the Islamic Republic of "capitulation to imperialism" and being disloyal to democracy that according to Rajavi was the only means to "safeguard from American imperialism".{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=209}}

After exile, the MEK sought the support of prominent politicians, academics and human rights lawyers. Rajavi tried to reach as broad a Western public as possible by giving frequent interviews to Western newspapers. In these interviews, Rajavi toned down the issues of [[Social:Imperialism|imperialism]], foreign policy, and [[Social:Social revolution|social revolution]]. Instead, he stressed the themes of democracy, political liberties, political pluralism, human rights, respect for 'personal property', the plight of political prisoners, and the need to end the senseless war.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=245}}

In January 1993, President-elect Clinton wrote a private letter to the Massoud Rajavi, in which he set out his support for the organization.<ref>{{cite book|first=Adam|last=Tarock|title=The Superpowers' Involvement in the Iran-Iraq War |date=1998|publisher=Nova Science Publishers Inc |isbn=978-1560725930|page=197}}</ref> The organization has also received support United States officials including Tom Ridge, Howard Dean, Michael Mukasey, Louis Freeh, Hugh Shelton, Rudy Giuliani, John Bolton, Bill Richardson, James L. Jones, and Edward G. Rendell.<ref>{{cite book|first= Darren E.|last= Tromblay|title=Political Influence Operations: How Foreign Actors Seek to Shape U.S. Policy Making |date=2018|publisher= Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn= 978-1538103319|page=63}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/iran-protests-who-are-opposition-and-who-will-rule-if-regime-falls-772045|title=Who are the Iranian opposition and who will rule if the regime falls?|date=5 January 2018}}</ref>

As Mukasey mentioned in The New York Times, in 2011 he had received $15,000 to $20,000 to present a lecture about "MEK-related events", as well as what he listed as "a foreign agent lobbying pro bono for MEK's political arm".<ref name="NBC-Giuliani"/>

Some politicians have declared receiving payment for supporting the MEK, but others support the group without payment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17615065|title=An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK?|work=BBC News|date=15 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="Saeed Kamali"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/donald-trump-elaine-chao-cabinet-iran-mek-a7563746.html|title=Trump Cabinet pick was paid by 'cult-like' Iranian exile group that killed Americans|date=5 February 2017|website=The Independent}}</ref>

On 30 June 2018, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's personal lawyer, lectured an MEK gathering in Paris, calling for regime change in Tehran. John McCain and John Bolton and he have met the MEK's leader Maryam Rajavi or spoken at its rallies.<ref>{{citation|author=Saeed Kamali Dehghan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2014/apr/22/iranian-prison-guards-beat-up-inmates-letter-says|title=Iranian prisoners allegedly forced to run gauntlet of armed guards|quote=The MEK, which is based in Paris, remains unpopular in Iran because of its support for the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq war.|work=The Guardian|date=22 April 2014|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Merat 2018">{{cite news |last1=Merat |first1=Arron |last2=Borger |first2=Julian |title=Rudy Giuliani calls for Iran regime change at rally linked to extreme group |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/30/rudy-giuliani-mek-iran-paris-rally |newspaper=the guardian |access-date=30 June 2018|date=30 June 2018}}</ref>
[[File:John_Bolton_speaking_at_the_PMOI_event.jpg|thumb|John Bolton speaking at a MEK event]]

=== Ideological revolution and women's rights ===

During the transitional period, the MEK projected an image of a "forward looking, radical and progressive Islamic force". Throughout the revolution, the MEK played a major role in developing the "revolutionary Muslim woman", which was portrayed as "the living example of the new ideal of womanhood".<ref>{{citation|first=Parvin|last=Paidar|title=Women & Political Process 20C Iran (Cambridge Middle East Studies) |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=9780521595728 |page = 244}}</ref> The MEK is "known for its female-led military units".<ref name="auto33"/> According to Ervand Abrahamian, the MEK "declared that God had created men and women to be equal in all things: in political and intellectual matters, as well as in legal, economic, and social issues".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=233}} According to Tohidi, in 1982, as the government in Tehran led an expansive effort to limit women's rights, the MEK adopted a female leadership. In 1987, the National Liberation Army (NLA), "saw female resistors commanding military operations from their former base at Camp Ashraf (in Diyala, Iraq) to Iran's westernmost provinces, where they engaged alongside the men in armed combat with Iran's regular and paramilitary forces".<ref>{{citation|author=Mohanty, A. Russo|title=Gender and Islamic Fundamentalism: Feminist Politics in Iran|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1991|pages=254}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hassani |first1=Sara |date=2016 |title="Maniacal slaves:" normative misogyny and female resistors of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Iran |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307525588 |journal=Department of Politics, the New School for Social Research, New York, USA }}</ref>

According to Ervand Abrahamian "the Mojahedin, despite contrary claims did not give women equal representation within their own hierarchy. The book of martyrs indicates that women formed 15 percent of the organization's rank-and-file, but only 9 percent of its leadership. To rectify this, the Mojahedin posthumously revealed some of the rank and file women martyrs especially those related to prominent figures, into leadership positions".{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=233–234}}

Shortly after the revolution, Rajavi married Ashraf Rabii, an MEK member regarded as "the symbol of revolutionary womanhood".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=181}} Rabii was killed by Iranian forces in 1982. On 27 January 1985, Massoud Rajavi appointed Maryam Azodanlu as his co-equal leader. The announcement, stated that this would give women equal say within the organization and thereby 'would launch a great ideological revolution within Mojahedin, the Iranian public and the whole Muslim World'. Five weeks later, the MEK announced that its Politburo and Central Committee had asked Rajavi and Azondalu, who was already married, to marry one another to deepen and pave the way for the "ideological revolution. At the time Maryam Azodanlu was known as only the younger sister of a veteran member, and the wife of Mehdi Abrishamchi. According to the announcement, Maryam Azodanlu and Mehdi Abrishamchi had recently divorced in order to facilitate this 'great revolution'. According to Ervand Abrahamian "in the eyes of traditionalists, particularly among the bazaar middle class, the whole incident was indecent. It smacked of wife-swapping, especially when Abrishamchi announced his own marriage to Khiabani's younger sister. It involved women with young children and wives of close friends – a taboo in traditional Iranian culture;" something that further isolated the Mojahedin and also upset some members of the organization. Also according to Ervand Abrahamian, "the incident was equally outrageous in the eyes of the secularists, especially among the modern intelligentsia. It projected onto the public arena a matter that should have been treated as a private issue between two individuals."{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=251–253}} Many criticized Maryam Azodanlu's giving up her own maiden name (something most Iranian women did not do and she herself had not done in her previous marriage). They would question whether this was in line with her claims of being a staunch feminist.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=251–253}}

Maryam Rajavi became increasingly important over feminism-colored politics. The emancipation of women is now depicted in Maryam Rajavi's writings "as both a policy end and a strategy toward revolutionizing Iran. Secularism, democracy, and women's rights are thus today's leading themes in the group's strategic communications. As for Maryam Rajavi's leadership, in 2017 it appears to be political and cultural; any remnants of a military force and interest in terrorist strategies have faded away."{{sfn|Harmon|Bowdish|2018|p=166}}

== Membership ==
According to Kenneth Katzman, most analysts agree that MEK members tend to be "more dedicated and zealous" than those of other organizations.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|pp=104–105}}

=== 1980s ===
According to George E. Delury, the organization was thought to have 5,000 hard-core members and 50,000 supporters in early 1980. In June 1980, at perhaps the height of their popularity, the Mojahedin attracted 150,000 sympathizers to a rally in [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]].<ref>{{citation|title=World Encyclopedia of Political Systems & Parties: Afghanistan-Mozambique|first=George E.|last=Delury|date=1983|series=World Encyclopedia of Political Systems & Parties|chapter=Iran|volume=1|publisher=Facts on File|isbn=978-0-87196-574-5|page=480}}</ref> According to a [[Organization:RAND Corporation|RAND Corporation]] policy report, the MEK initially acquired supporters and members through "its Marxist social policy, coeducational living opportunities, antipathy to U.S. influence, and—unlike traditional Leftist groups—support for a government that reflected Islamic ideals. The members, which primarily consisted of University students and graduates, were encouraged to live together and form close social bonds.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=227-230}} Pierre Razoux estimates MEK's maximum strength from 1981–1983 to 1987–1988, about 15,000 fighters with a few tanks and several dozen light artillery pieces, recoilless guns, machine guns, [[Engineering:Anti-tank guided missile|anti-tank missiles]] and SAM-7s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Razoux|first1=Pierre|date=2015|title=The Iran-Iraq War|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-91571-8|at=Appendix E: Armed Opposition}}</ref> Jeffrey S. Dixon and Meredith Reid Sarkees estimate their prewar strength to be about 2,000, later peaking to 10,000.<ref name="DixonSarkees2015">{{cite book|first1=Jeffrey S.|last1=Dixon|author2=Meredith Reid Sarkees|title=A Guide to Intra-state Wars: An Examination of Civil, Regional, and Intercommunal Wars, 1816–2014|date=2015|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-5063-1798-4|pages=384–386|entry=INTRA-STATE WAR #816: Anti-Khomeini Coalition War of 1979 to 1983}}</ref>

=== Post-2000 ===
The MEK was believed to have a 5,000–7,000-strong armed guerrilla group based in Iraq before the 2003 war, but a membership of between 3,000–5,000 is considered more likely.<ref name="au_act">{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm |title=Behind the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK) |access-date=15 July 2007 |publisher=Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Group, Parliament of Australia |year=2003 |first=Nigel |last=Brew |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5io7JDsaA?url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm |archive-date=5 August 2009}}</ref> In 2005, the U.S. think-tank the [[Organization:Council on Foreign Relations|Council on Foreign Relations]] stated that the MEK had 10,000 members, one-third to one-half of whom were fighters.<ref name="cfr1">{{cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/9158/|title=Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (Iranian rebels)|access-date=5 September 2006|publisher=Council on Foreign relations|year=2005|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927092405/http://www.cfr.org/publication/9158/|archive-date=27 September 2006}}</ref> According to a 2003 article by ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'', the MEK was composed of 5,000 fighters based in Iraq, many of them female.<ref name="Rubin">{{cite web |url=http://bactra.org/sloth/2003-07-15.html|title=The Cult of Rajavi|newspaper=The New York Times |last=Rubin |first=Elizabeth|access-date=21 April 2006}}</ref> Reports by ''The Military Balance'' in 2003 and 2004, as well as BMI Research's 2008 report estimate MEK's armed wing strength 6,000–8,000 and its political wing around 3,000, thus a total 9,000–11,000 membership.<ref>{{citation|title=Table 41: Selected Non-State Armed Groups|publisher=The Military Balance|volume=103|pages=344–353|doi=10.1093/milbal/103.1.344|year=2003|doi-broken-date=31 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Table 47: Selected Non-State Armed Groups|journal=The Military Balance|volume=104|pages=362–377|doi=10.1080/725292356|year=2004|s2cid=219629000}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Iran Defence and Security Report, Including 5-Year Industry Forecasts|publisher=Business Monitor International|orig-year=Q1|year=2008|url=http://store.bmiresearch.com/iran-defence-security-report.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228075112/http://store.bmiresearch.com/iran-defence-security-report.html|archive-date=28 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In April 2003, US forces signed a cease-fire agreement of "mutual understanding and coordination" with the MEK.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/08/us-iraq-iranian-dissidents-mek |title= US embassy cables: US government outlines 'dilemma' in event of Iraqi crackdown on Iranian dissidents |newspaper=The Guardian|date= 8 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/20722 |title=Israeli National News |newspaper=Israel National News}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.economist.com/node/13447429/comments?page=1 |title= Where will they all go? |newspaper=The Guardian|date= 16 April 2009}}</ref> A 2013 article in ''Foreign Policy'' claimed that there were some 2,900 members in Iraq.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/thecable/2013/10/30/meet_the_weird_well_connected_ex_terrorists_threatening_our_relationship_with_iraq#.UnF7tJ867nE.twitter|title=Meet The Weird, Super-Connected Group That's Mucking Up U.S. Talks With Iraq|work=Foreign Policy |last=Dreazen |first=Yochi|access-date=31 October 2013}}</ref> In 2011, United States Department of Defense estimated global membership of the organization between 5,000 and 13,500 persons scattered throughout Europe, North America, and Iraq. ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' reported that the MEK's 2016 gathering attracted "over 100,000 Iranian dissidents" in [[Place:Paris|Paris]].<ref>{{citation|title=Prince Turki Al Faisal, at the Paris Rally to Free Iran: The Muslim World Supports You both in Heart and Soul|url=https://english.aawsat.com/asharq-al-awsat-english/world-news/prince-turki-alfaisal-paris-rally-free-iran-muslim-world-supports-heart-soul|date=9 July 2016|access-date=25 September 2017|work=Asharq Al-Awsat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925103823/https://english.aawsat.com/asharq-al-awsat-english/world-news/prince-turki-alfaisal-paris-rally-free-iran-muslim-world-supports-heart-soul|archive-date=25 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In February 2020, the MEK claimed to have 2500 members in its Albania camp ({{article section|Settlement in Albania (2016–present)}}); a ''{{wipe|New York Times}}'' reporter visiting the camp estimated 200 people were present over two days.<ref name="NYT_MEK_Albania_2020Feb">{{cite news | last1= Kingsley | first1= Patrick | title= Highly Secretive Iranian Rebels Are Holed Up in Albania. They Gave Us a Tour. | trans-title= <!-- trans-title is the English translation --> | date= 2020-02-16 | newspaper= {{wipe|The New York Times}} | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/world/europe/iran-mek-albania.html | access-date= 2020-02-16 | archive-url= https://archive.today/20200216131656/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/world/europe/iran-mek-albania.html | archive-date= 16 February 2020 | url-status= live | url-access= <!-- (subscription/registration/limited) default=free --> }}</ref>

== Designation as a terrorist organization ==
The countries and organizations below have officially listed MEK as a terrorist organization:
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|-
|-
|rowspan=2|Currently listed by
|{{flag|Iran}}
|Designated by the current government<ref>{{cite news |quote=The MEK, dedicated to overthrowing Iran's Islamic regime and considered a terrorist group by Iran ... |first=Michael |last=Theodoulou |url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/us-move-to-delist-mek-as-terror-group-worries-irans-opposition |title=US move to delist MEK as terror group worries Iran's opposition |newspaper=The National (Abu Dhabi) |publisher=Abu Dhabi Media |date=26 July 2011 |access-date=26 December 2013 |archive-date=31 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831214248/http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/us-move-to-delist-mek-as-terror-group-worries-irans-opposition |url-status=dead }}</ref> since 1981, also during Pahlavi dynasty<ref>{{cite news|quote=the three civilian victims were killed by members of the same self-styled "Islamic Marxist" anti-Government terrorist group that was officially blamed for the assassination of two American colonels in Teheran last year|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/29/archives/three-us-civilians-slain-by-guerrillas-in-teheran-employees-of.html|title=Three US Civilians Slain By Guerrillas in Teheran|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=29 August 1976|page=1}}</ref> until 1979
|-
|{{flag|Iraq}}
|Designated by the post-2003 government<ref name="cah" /><ref>{{citation|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1869532,00.html|title=Iranian Group a Source of Contention in Iraq|date=5 January 2009|access-date=5 December 2016|first=Abigail|last=Hauslohner|magazine=Time|quote=But when the US military formally transferred control of Camp Ashraf back to the Iraqi government on Jan. 1, the MEK's fate suddenly became an issue. The group is a source of contention for Iran and the US, Iraq's two biggest allies, who are increasingly vying for influence as Baghdad's post–Saddam Hussein Shi'ite government asserts its independence. All three countries label the MEK a terrorist organization.}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan=5|Formerly listed by
| style="width:20%;" |{{flag|United States}}
|Designated on 8 July 1997, delisted on 28 September 2012<ref name="hoc" />
|-
|{{flag|United Kingdom}}
|Designated on 28 March 2001,<ref name="hoc" /> delisted on 24 June 2008<ref name="hoc" />
|-
|{{flag|European Union}}
|Designated in May 2002,<ref name="hoc" /> delisted on 26 January 2009<ref name="hoc">{{citation|first=Ben|last=Smith|title=BRIEFING PAPER Number CBP 5020: The People's Mujahiddeen of Iran (PMOI)|url=http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05020/SN05020.pdf|date=7 March 2016|access-date=5 December 2016|publisher=The House of Commons Library research service}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Japan}}
|Designated on 5 July 2002,<ref>https://warp.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1022127/www.mof.go.jp/jouhou/kokkin/ko140705.htm</ref> delisted on 24 March 2013<ref name="JapanDesignation"/>
|-
|{{flag|Canada}}
|Designated on 24 May 2005,<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.rferl.org/a/1143407.html|title=CANADA LISTS IRANIAN OPPOSITION ORGANIZATION AS TERRORIST ENTITY|date=26 May 2005
|access-date=5 December 2016|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}</ref> delisted on 20 December 2012<ref>{{citation|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/ottawa-drops-saddam-hussein-linked-iranian-group-from-terror-list-in-bid-to-ramp-up-pressure-against-tehran|title=Ottawa drops Saddam Hussein-linked Iranian group from terror list in bid to ramp up pressure against Tehran|date=20 December 2012|access-date=5 December 2016|work=National Post}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan=2|Other designations
|{{flag|Australia}}
|Not designated as terrorist but added to the 'Consolidated List' subject to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 on 21 December 2001<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2012/December/Delisting_the_MujahideeneKhalq_MeK|title=Delisting the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK)|date=5 December 2012|access-date=5 December 2016|work=FlagPost|first=Nigel|last=Brew}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|United Nations}}
|}
In 1997, the United States put the MEK on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.<ref name="bdt45cgf112" /> The Clinton administration reported the ''{{wipe|Los Angeles Times}}'' that "The inclusion of the People's Mojahedin was intended as a goodwill gesture to Tehran and its newly elected president, Mohammad Khatami".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-opposition-group-mek-wins-removal-from-us-terrorist-list.html|title=Iranian Group M.E.K. Wins Removal From U.S. Terrorist List|first=Scott|last=Shane|date=21 September 2012|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/its-time-to-lift-the-terror-tag-from-iranian-opposition-group-mek|title=It's Time to Lift the 'Terror Tag' From Iranian Opposition Group MEK|first=Richard|last=Schoeberl|date=12 March 2015|website=Fox News}}</ref><ref name="bdt45cgf112" />

Since 2004, the United States also considered the group as "noncombatants" and "protected persons" under the Geneva Conventions because most members had been living in a refugee camp in Iraq for more than 25 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/28/politics/mek-terror-delisting/ |title=Iranian exile group removed from U.S. terror list |publisher=CNN |date=28 September 2012}}</ref> In 2002, the European Union, pressured by Washington, added MEK to its terrorist list.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/amir-taheri-france-paints-an-abstract-picture-to-please-iran-1.359636 |first=Amir |last=Taheri |title=France paints an abstract picture to please Iran |newspaper=Gulf News |date=25 June 2003 |access-date=18 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728185730/http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/amir-taheri-france-paints-an-abstract-picture-to-please-iran-1.359636 |archive-date=28 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008, the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied MEK its request to be delisted,<ref name=UPI2009 /> while MEK leaders then began a lobbying campaign to be removed from the list by promoting itself as a viable opposition to the clerical in Iran.

MEK had a "strong" base in U.S. who tried to remove the group from the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and consequently turning it into a legitimate actor.<ref name="auto8"/> In 2011, several former senior U.S. officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, three former chairmen of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, two former directors of the CIA, former commander of NATO Wesley Clark, two former U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations, the former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, a former White House Chief of Staff, a former commander of the United States Marine Corps, former U.S. National Security Advisor Frances Townsend, and U.S. President [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]]'s retired National Security Adviser General James L. Jones called for the MEK to be removed from its official State Department foreign terrorist listing on the grounds that they constituted a viable opposition to the Islamic Republic Government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/09/12/freeh.corbett.waddington.mek/ |title=Take Iran opponent MEK off terror list|publisher=CNN|date=12 September 2011}}</ref>

Hersh reported names of former U.S. officials paid to speak in support of MEK, including former CIA directors James Woolsey and Porter Goss; New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani; former Vermont Governor Howard Dean; former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Louis Freeh and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hersh |first1=Seymour M |title=Our Men in Iran? |date=5 April 2012 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/our-men-in-iran}}</ref> The National Council of Resistance of Iran rejected these allegations.<ref name="Porter"/>

According to Lord Alex Carlile, the organization was put on the terrorist list "solely because the mullahs insisted on such action if there was to be any dialogue between Washington and Tehran".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/12/iran-protest-mek|title=Iran fears the MEK's influence, as its protests over terror delisting show|last=Carlile|first=Alex|date=12 October 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref>

=== Removal of the designation ===
The United Kingdom lifted the MEK's designation as a terrorist group in June 2008,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proscribed-terror-groups-or-organisations--2 |title=Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations |date=15 July 2016 |publisher=Home Office |format=PDF |access-date=27 September 2016 |quote=The Mujaheddin e Khalq (MeK) also known as the Peoples' Mujaheddin of Iran (PMOI) was removed from the list of proscribed groups in June 2008 as a result of judgments of the POAC and the Court of Appeal.}}</ref> followed by the [[Organization:Council of the European Union|Council of the European Union]] on 26 January 2009, after what the group called a "seven-year-long legal and political battle".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/01/26/EU_removes_PMOI_from_terrorist_list/UPI-44751232989491/ |title=EU removes PMOI from terrorist list|publisher=UPI|date=26 January 2009|access-date=2012-09-29}}</ref><ref name=Runner>{{cite web|last=Runner|first=Philippa |url=http://euobserver.com/9/27472|title=EU ministers drop Iran group from terror list |publisher=Euobserver|access-date=2012-09-29}}</ref><ref name=Reuters2009>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUKLQ200287 |work=Reuters|first=Mark|last=John|title=EU takes Iran opposition group off terror list|date=26 January 2009}}</ref> It was also lifted in the United States following a decision by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton<ref name="NYT 2012" /> on 21 September 2012 and lastly in Canada on 20 December 2012.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sen|first1=Ashish Kumar|title=U.S. takes Iranian dissident group MeK off terrorist list|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/28/us-takes-iran-dissident-group-mek-terrorist-list/?page=all|work=Washington Times|access-date=2014-12-17}}</ref>

In 2008, the Luxembourg European Court of First Instance upheld that there was no justification for including the MEK in the EU terrorist list and freezing its funds. The Court then allowed an appeal to delist the MEK from the EU's terror list. An attempt by EU governments to maintain the MEK in the terror list was rejected by the European Court of Justice, with ambassadors of the 27 member states agreeing that the MEK should be removed from the EU terrorism list. The MEK was removed from the EU terror list on 26 January 2009, becoming the first organization to have been removed from the EU terror list.<ref name="hoc" />

The Council of the European Union removed the group's terrorist designation following the Court of Justice of the European Union's 2008 censure of France for failing to disclose new alleged evidence of the MEK's terrorism threat.<ref name=Runner /> Delisting allowed MEK to pursue tens of millions of dollars in frozen assets<ref name=Reuters2009 /> and lobby in Europe for more funds. It also removed the terrorist label from MEK members at Camp Ashraf in Iraq.<ref name=UPI2009 />

[[File:American politicians at the PMOI event 2018.jpg|thumb|Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, James T. Conway, Bill Richardson and other American politicians at the MEK event in 2018]]

On 28 September 2012, the U.S. State Department formally removed MEK from its official list of terrorist organizations, beating a 1 October deadline in an MEK lawsuit.<ref name="NYT 2012" /><ref name="gpo.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-10-04/pdf/2012-24505.pdf|date=4 October 2012|title=Federal Register /Vol. 77, No. 193 /Thursday, October 4, 2012 /Notices 60741 10 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12)|access-date=7 February 2015}}</ref> Secretary of State Clinton said in a statement that the decision was made because the MEK had renounced violence and had cooperated in closing their Iraqi paramilitary base.<ref name="Rudenial"/> It was reported that MEK was removed from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations after intensive lobbying by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.<ref name="NYT_MEK_Albania_2020Feb" /> An official denied that lobbying by well-known figures influenced the decision.<ref name="Rudenial">{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Quinn |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iraq-iran-mek-idUSL1E8KSF3B20120928?type=marketsNews |title=US drops Iranian MEK dissident group from terrorism list |work={{wipe|Reuters}} |date=28 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Delisting of the Mujahedin-e Khalq|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/09/198443.htm|publisher=U.S. Department of State|access-date=20 October 2015}}</ref> Some former U.S. officials vehemently reject the new status and believe the MEK has not changed its ways.<ref name="THS">{{citation|title=Terrorism and Homeland Security|first=Jonathan R.|last=White|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2016|isbn=978-1-305-63377-3|page=239}}</ref>

The MEK advocated to remove itself from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, having paid high-profile officials upwards of $50,000 give speeches calling for delisting.<ref name="adr">{{citation|title=The Politics and Practice of Religious Diversity: National Contexts, Global Issues|series=Routledge Advances in Sociology|first=Andrew|last=Dawson|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=978-1-317-64864-2|pages=162–163}}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite web |title=For Obscure Iranian Exile Group, Broad Support in U.S. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/us/politics/lobbying-support-for-iranian-exile-group-crosses-party-lines.html|first1=Joby |last1=Warrick |first2=Julie|last2=Tate|newspaper=The New York Times |date=26 November 2011|access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref><ref name="Five lessons from the de-listing of MEK as a terrorist group">{{citation|title=Five lessons from the de-listing of MEK as a terrorist group |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/23/iran-usa |first= Glenn |last= Greenwald |newspaper= The Guardian |date= 23 September 2012 |access-date= 1 December 2016}}</ref> Among them, Rendell who admitted himself being paid to speak in support of the MEK<ref>{{citation|title=U.S. Supporters of Iranian Group Face Scrutiny|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/us/us-supporters-of-iranian-group-mek-face-scrutiny.html|first=Scott|last=Shane|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 March 2012|access-date=1 March 2018|quote=Mr. Rendell, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said he had given seven or eight speeches since July calling for the M.E.K. to be taken off the terrorist list and estimated that he had been paid a total of $150,000 or $160,000. Mr. Rendell said he had been told that his fees came from Iranian-American supporters of the M.E.K., not from the group itself.}}</ref> and Hamilton who said he was paid to "appear on a panel Feb. 19 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington".<ref>{{citation|title=US: Iranian "Terrorist" Group Courts Friends in High Places|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/03/us-iranian-terrorist-group-courts-friends-in-high-places/|first=Barbara|last=Slavin|work=Inter Press Service|date=1 March 2011|access-date=1 March 2018|quote=Hamilton, a former chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee who headed the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Center for 12 years until last fall, told IPS that he had also been paid "a substantial amount" to appear on a panel Feb. 19 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707061942/http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/03/us-iranian-terrorist-group-courts-friends-in-high-places/|archive-date=7 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In February 2015, ''The Intercept'' published that Bob Menendez, John McCain, Judy Chu, Dana Rohrabacher and Robert Torricelli received campaign contributions from MEK supporters.<ref>{{citation|url=https://theintercept.com/2015/02/26/long-march-yellow/|title=Long March of the Yellow Jackets: How a One-Time Terrorist Group Prevailed on Capitol Hill|work=The Intercept|author=Ali Gharib, Eli Clifton|date=26 February 2015|access-date=30 March 2018}}</ref>

In May 2018, Daniel Benjamin who held office as the Coordinator for Counterterrorism between 2009 and 2012, told ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'' that the MEK offered him money in exchange for his support.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/world/middleeast/john-bolton-regime-change-iran.html|title=M.E.K.: The Group John Bolton Wants to Rule Iran|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Nilo|last=Tabrizy|date=7 May 2018|access-date=20 May 2018|quote=The amusing thing is that the MEK will try to buy pretty much anyone, you know. I was approached to do events in support of the MEK. I know a number of other former government officials who found them truly detestable also were approached. You know, it's really something to have someone on the phone offering you 15,000$ of 20,000$ to appear at a panel discussion, because that doesn't happen for former diplomats everyday.}}</ref>

Ervand Abrahamian, Shaul Bakhash, Juan Cole and Gary Sick among others, published "Joint Experts' Statement on the Mujahedin-e Khalq" on ''[[Social:Financial Times|Financial Times]]'' voicing their concerns regarding MEK delisting.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/563a29aa-c378-11e0-b163-00144feabdc0|title=Joint Experts' Statement on the Mujahedin-e Khalq|newspaper=[[Social:Financial Times|Financial Times]] |date=10 August 2011}}</ref> The National Iranian American Council denounced the decision, stating it "opens the door to Congressional funding of the M.E.K. to conduct terrorist attacks in Iran" and "makes war with Iran far more likely".<ref name="NYT 2012" /> Iran state television also condemned the delisting of the group, saying that the U.S. considers MEK to be "good terrorists because the U.S. is using them against Iran".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/29/iran-condemns-us-mek-terror-delisting |title=Iran condemns US for 'double standards' over MEK terror de-listing |agency=Associated Press |newspaper={{wipe|The Guardian}} |date=29 September 2012}}</ref>

==Cult of personality==

The MEK has barred children in Camp Ashraf in an attempt to have its members devote themselves to their cause of resistance against the Iranian regime, a rule that has given the MEK reputation of being "cultish"."<ref>{{cite news |title=Iranian dissidents plot a revolution from Albania|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/13/world/iranian-dissidents-albania/#.Xnhh0NNKhE4|work=Japan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918090217/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/13/world/iranian-dissidents-albania/|archive-date=18 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17615065|work=BBC}}</ref> Various sources have also described the MEK as a "cult",<ref>{{cite book|last=Cronin|first=Stephanie|year=2013|title=Reformers and Revolutionaries in Modern Iran: New Perspectives on the Iranian Left|series=Routledge/BIPS Persian Studies Series|isbn=978-1-134-32890-1|publisher=Routledge|pages=274}}</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=144}}</ref> "cult-like",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/608497d45e7c4225b85b70ac839b5249|title=France lashes out at Iranian opposition group|website=AP NEWS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=The Cult of Rajavi|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/13/magazine/13MUJAHADEEN.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 July 2003|access-date=9 March 2016|first=Elizabeth|last=Rubin}}</ref> or having a "cult of personality",{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=139}}<ref name="Clark 2016 65"/> while other sources say the Iranian regime is running a disinformation campaign to label the MEK a "cult".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1406811/%7B%7B|title=Arab News}}</ref><ref>[https://intpolicydigest.org/2018/12/12/iran-s-heightened-fears-of-mek-dissidents-are-a-sign-of-changing-times/ IntPolicyDigest]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/confronting-iran-52077|title=Confronting Iran|first=Joseph Adam|last=Ereli|date=11 April 2019|website=The National Interest}}</ref>

According to a [[Organization:RAND Corporation|RAND Corporation]] policy report, while in Paris, Masoud Rajavi began to implement an "ideological revolution", which required members an increased study and devotion that later expanded into "near religious devotion to the Rajavis". After its settlement in Iraq, however, it experienced a shortfall of volunteers. This led to the recruitment of members including Iranian dissidents, as well as Iranian economic migrants in countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, through "false promises of employment, land, aid in applying for asylum in Western countries, and even marriage, to attract them to Iraq". MEK also gave free visit trips to its camps to the relatives of the members. According to the RAND report, the recruited members were mostly brought by MEK into Iraq illegally and then were asked to submit their identity documents for "safekeeping", an act which would "effectively trap" them. With the assistance of Saddam's government, MEK also recruited some of its members from the Iranian prisoners of the Iran-Iraq war.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}} During the second phase of the ideological revolution, all members were forced to surrender their individuality to the organization.<ref name="Barker" />

== Assassinations ==

On 30 August 1981, a bomb was detonated killing the elected President Rajai and Premier Mohammad Javad Bahonar. Iranian authorities announced that Massoud Keshmiri, "a close aide to the late President Muhammad Ali Rajai and secretary of the Supreme Security Council, had been responsible". Keshmiri, an MEK member who was thought to have died in the explosion, "was accorded a martyr's funeral" and was "buried alongside Rajai and Bahonar".{{Sfn|Moin|2001|pp=242–3}}<ref>{{citation|title=Iran's rebels getting bolder day by day|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0915/091530.html|first=James|last=Dorsey|date=15 September 1981|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=1 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VPhLAAAAIBAJ&pg=976%2C5687157|title=Iran: Secret agent was bomber|access-date=15 June 2017|agency=Associated Press|publisher=The Spokesman-Review|date=14 September 1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hiro|first1=Dilip|title=Iran Under the Ayatollahs (Routledge Revivals)|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1-135-04381-0}}</ref>  Various MEK supporters were arrested and executed in reprisal, but Keshmiri apparently slipped through the dragnet.<ref>{{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|pages=28|entry=Bahonar, Mohammad-Javad (1933–1981)|quote=Although the Bahonar-Rajai assassination was solved with identification of bomber Massoud Keshmiri as an MEK agent he remained unpunished. Various mujahedin were arrested and executedin reprisal, but Keshmiri apparently slipped through the dragnet.}}</ref>
The reaction to both bombings was intense with many arrests and executions of Mujahedin and other leftist groups, but "assassinations of leading officials and active supporters of the government by the Mujahedin were to continue for the next year or two".{{Sfn|Moin|2001|p=243}} The MEK also claimed responsibility of assassinating Ali Sayad Shirazi,<ref name="Revolutionary Iran">{{cite book |last1=Axworthy |first1=Michael |title=Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190468965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0YSDAAAQBAJ&q=Revolutionary+Iran:+A+History+of+the+Islamic+Republic&pg=PR4 |access-date=19 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref> and Asadollah Lajevardi, director of Iran's prison system (1998).<ref name="Revolutionary Iran" /> The MEK also failed to assassinate some key figures, including Iran's current leader Ali Khameni.<ref name="Terrornomics"/>

During the fall of 1981, the MEK was in charge of 65 percent of assassinations carried out in Iran (approximately one thousand officials of the Khomeini establishment) {{sfn|Zabih|1988|pp=253}} including killing Mohammad Beheshti and seventy people,{{sfn|O'Hern|2012|p=32}} police officers, judges, and clerics.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} From 26 August 1981 to December 1982, it orchestrated 336 attacks.<ref>{{Citation|first1=Hamid Reza|last1=Qasemi|title=Eradicating Terrorism from the Middle East|series=Policy and Administrative Approaches|chapter=Chapter 12: Iran and Its Policy Against Terrorism|volume=17|editor-first=Alexander R.|editor-last=Dawoody|isbn=978-3-319-31018-3|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-31018-3|year=2016|publisher=Springer International Publishing Switzerland|page=204}}</ref> After the Iran regime had executed 2,500 MEK members, the group counter-attacked against Friday-prayer leaders, revolutionary court judges and members of the IRGC.<ref name="r4" /> In July 1982, 13 IRGC members and Ayatollah Sadduqi, a close advisor to Khomeini were killed by Ebrahimzadeh a member of MEK who detonated a hand grenade in a suicide attack.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Merat|first=Arron|date=2018-11-09|title=Terrorists, cultists – or champions of Iranian democracy? The wild wild story of the MEK|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/nov/09/mek-iran-revolution-regime-trump-rajavi|access-date=2020-07-12|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

According to Ronen A. Cohen, the MEK saw Iran's security agencies as servants of a religious government and a cause for Iran population's state of unhappiness. The MEK first fought against the Revolutionary Guards and later against military units.{{sfn|Zabih|1988|p=252}} Struan Stevenson and other analysts{{who|date=May 2020}} have stated that MEK targets included only the Islamic Republic's governmental and security institutions.<ref name="auto26">{{cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1= Ronen|date= August 2018 |title= The Mojahedin-e Khalq versus the Islamic Republic of Iran: from war to propaganda and the war on propaganda and diplomacy|journal= Middle Eastern Studies |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages= 1000–1014|doi= 10.1080/00263206.2018.1478813|s2cid= 149542445}}</ref> MEK leader Massoud Rajavi stated that they did not target civilians:
{{Quote
|text=I pledge on behalf of the Iranian resistance that if anyone from our side oversteps the red line concerning absolute prohibition of attacks on civilians and innocent individuals, either deliberately or unintentionally, he or she would be ready to stand trial in any international court and accept any ruling by the court, including the payment of compensation.{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=23}}}}

According to Chris Zambelis, writing for The Jamestown Foundation, the MEK "has never been known to target civilians directly, though its use of tactics such as mortar barrages and ambushes in busy areas have often resulted in civilian casualties".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zambelis |first1=Chris |title=Is Iran's Mujahideen-e-Khalq a Threat to the Islamist Regime? |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/C3/C3091956B72C68A59DB7F7B666071904_TM_006_011.pdf |website=Jamestown Foundation}}</ref>

=== Hafte Tir bombing ===
The MEK is accused of detonating a bomb at the Islamic Republican Party headquarters on 28 June 1981.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Colgan |first1=Jeff |title=Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107029675 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enReCU97-zQC&q=1981+IRP+headquarter+bombing+mujahedin+khalq&pg=PA167 |access-date=19 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ismael |first1=Jacqueline S. |last2=Ismael |first2=Tareq Y. |last3=Perry |first3=Glenn |title=Government and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East: Continuity and change |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317662839 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AKpCgAAQBAJ&q=IRP+headquarter+bombing+MEK&pg=PA181 |access-date=19 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |date=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781610692861 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&q=IRP+headquarter+bombing+MEK&pg=PA27 |access-date=19 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|O'Hern|2012|p=32}} Two days after the incident [[Biography:Ruhollah Khomeini|Ruhollah Khomeini]] accused the MEK.{{sfn|O'Hern|2012|p=32}} The incident, called Hafte Tir bombing in Iran, killed 73, including Mohammad Beheshti, the party's secretary-general and Chief Justice of Iran, 4 cabinet ministers, 10 vice ministers and 27 members of the Parliament of Iran.<ref name="hrq204" /><ref name="Chronologies">{{Citation|first1=Barry |last1=Rubin |author2=Judith Colp Rubin|title=Chronologies of Modern Terrorism|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|page=246}}</ref>

The MEK never claimed responsibility for the attack.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Axworthy |first1=Michael |title=Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190468965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0YSDAAAQBAJ&q=Revolutionary+Iran:+A+History+of+the+Islamic+Republic&pg=PR4 |access-date=19 July 2019|page=214 |language=en}}</ref> According to Kenneth Katzman, "there has been much speculation among academics and observers that these bombings may have actually been planned by senior IRP leaders, to rid themselves of rivals within the IRP".{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=101}} According to Ervand Abrahamian, "whatever the truth, the Islamic Republic used the incident to wage war on the Left opposition in general and the Mojahedin in particular". According to the U.S department of state, the bombing was carried out by the MEK.<ref>{{cite web |title=Background Information on Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/10300.pdf |website=www.state.gov |access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref>

== Intelligence and misinformation campaign against the MEK ==

The Shah's regime waged a propaganda campaign against the MEK, accusing them "of carrying out subversive acts at the behest of their foreign patrons" and claiming that "the shoot-outs and bombings caused heavy casualties among bystanders and innocent civilians, especially women and children". It also obtained "public confessions" that accused former colleagues of crimes including sexual promiscuity. The regime claimed that the MEK were "unbelievers masquerading as Muslims", and used the Qur'anic term "monafeqin" (hypocrites) to describe them. This label was also later used by the Islamic Republic to discredit the MEK. According to Ervand Abrahamian, the Iranian regime "did everything it could" to tarnish the MEK "through a relentless campaign by labeling them as Marxist hypocrites and Western-contaminated ‘electics’, and as ‘counter-revolutionary terrorists’ collaborating with the Iraqi Ba’thists and the imperialists".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=143–144, 256}}

According to Katzman, the Iranian regime is concerned about MEK activities and are a major target of Iran's internal security apparatus and its campaign as assassinating opponents abroad. The Iranian regime is believed to be responsible for killing NCR representative in 1993, and Massoud Rajavi's brother in 1990. The MEK claims that in 1996 a shipment of Iranian mortars was intended for use by Iranian agents against Maryam Rajavi.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=104}}

After the bombing at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad which killed 25 and wounded at least 70 people, the Iranian regime immediately blamed the MEK. A month after the attack, a Sunni group calling itself "al-haraka al-islamiya al-iraniya" claimed responsibility for the attack (as well as for the Makki Mosque attack in Zahedan in 1994). Despite this, the Iranian government continued to hold the MEK responsible for both attacks.<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|page=108}}</ref> According to the NCRI, in a trial in November 1999, interior minister Abdullah Nouri admitted that the Iranian regime had carried out the attack in order to confront the MEK and tarnish its image.<ref>{{cite book|first=Alireza|last=Jafarzadeh|title=The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis|year=2008|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|pages=[https://archive.org/details/iranthreatpresid00jafa/page/205 205–6]|isbn=978-0230601284|url=https://archive.org/details/iranthreatpresid00jafa/page/205}}</ref> According to an anonymous U.S. official, Ramzi Yousef built the bomb and MEK agents placed it in the shrine.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brian Williams |title=Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials tell NBC News |website=Rock Center |access-date=13 October 2016 |url=http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/08/10354553-israel-teams-with-terror-group-to-kill-irans-nuclear-scientists-us-officials-tell-nbc-news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229111845/http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/08/10354553-israel-teams-with-terror-group-to-kill-irans-nuclear-scientists-us-officials-tell-nbc-news |archive-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Yonah Alexander has stated that Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) agents have conducted "intelligence gathering, disinformation, and subversive operations against individual regime opponents and opposition governments. [...] According to European intelligence and security services, current and former MEK members, and other dissidents, these intelligence networks shadow, harass, threaten, and ultimately, attempt to lure opposition figures and their families back to Iran for prosecution".<ref name="Yonah Alexander, Milton Hoenig 2007 22">{{citation|title=The New Iranian Leadership: Ahmadinejad, Terrorism, Nuclear Ambition, and the Middle East (Praeger Security International)|author = Yonah Alexander, Milton Hoenig |publisher=Praeger |year=2007|isbn=978-0275996390|pages=22| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ac30INKAu4C&q=mek+mois&pg=PA22}}</ref> According to him, Human Rights Watch was deceived when its 2005 report that accused the MEK of human rights abuses was based on testimonies of former MEK members working for Iran's Ministry of Intelligence.<ref name="Yonah Alexander, Milton Hoenig 2007 22"/>

According to Abbas Milani, lobbyists paid for by the Iranian regime campaigned against delisting the MEK calling it a "dangerous cult".<ref name="auto14">{{citation|url=https://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-inside-story-americas-favorite-terrorist-group-5776|first=Abbas|last=Milani|title=The Inside Story of America's Favorite Terrorist Group|work=The National Interest|access-date=1 August 2018|date=18 August 2011}}</ref> There have also been reports that the Islamic Republic has manipulated Western media in order to generate false allegations against the MEK.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Voices/2018/11/27/European-visit-to-Albania-exposes-Irans-misinformation-campaign/2581543322843/ |title=European visit to Albania exposes Iran's misinformation campaign |work=United Press International |access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://townhall.com/columnists/ivansheehan/2018/12/06/tehrans-influence-operations-a-threat-to-journalistic-independence-n2537103 |title=Tehran's Influence Operations a Threat to Journalistic Independence |work=Townhall.com |access-date=11 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207114234/https://townhall.com/columnists/ivansheehan/2018/12/06/tehrans-influence-operations-a-threat-to-journalistic-independence-n2537103 |archive-date=7 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2018, U.S. District Court charged two alleged Iran agents of "conducting covert surveillance of Israeli and Jewish facilities in the United States and collecting intelligence on Americans linked to a political organization that wants to see the current Iranian government overthrown". During the court process, it was revealed that the two alleged agents of Iran had mostly gathered information concerning activities involving the MEK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.apnews.com/ec9c2b547c5043938d1bdba4a4f724b9|title=2 alleged agents of Iran arrested for spying in US|work=The National Interest|access-date=1 August 2018|date=18 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823010219/https://apnews.com/ec9c2b547c5043938d1bdba4a4f724b9|archive-date=23 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The two men pleaded guilty in November 2019 to several charges including conspiracy and "acting as an undeclared agent of the Iranian government". The Justice Department said that one of the men arrived in the US to gather "intelligence information" about the MEK (as well as Israeli and Jewish entities). The other admitted to taking photographs at a 2017 MEK rally in order to profile attendees.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iranian-agents-plead-guilty-to-collecting-info-on-opposition-groups-in-the-us/30256144.html |title=Iranian Agents Plead Guilty To Collecting Info On Opposition Group In The US |access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/two-individuals-plead-guilty-acting-illegal-agents-government-iran |title=Two Individuals Plead Guilty to Acting as Illegal Agents of the Government of Iran |access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref>

In January 2020 Iranian-American Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar was sentenced by a U.S. court to 38 months in prison for conducting surveillance on American MEK members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/voa-news-iran/iran-silent-12-iranians-detained-us-despite-pledge-swap-prisoners-again|title=Iran Silent on 12 Iranians Detained by US Despite Pledge to Swap Prisoners Again|website=Voice of America}}</ref> In September 2020 {{wipe|The New York Times}} published a report where researchers alleged that opponents of the Iranian regime had been targets of a cyber attack by Iranian hackers through a variety of infiltration techniques. MEK was reportedly among the most prominent targets of the attacks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/world/middleeast/iran-hacking-encryption.html|title=Iranian Hackers Found Way Into Encrypted Apps, Researchers Say|website=New York Times|date=18 September 2020|last1=Bergman|first1=Ronen|last2=Fassihi|first2=Farnaz}}</ref>

=== Disinformation through recruited MEK members ===

A 2001 report by the [[General Intelligence and Security Service]] said that "one of the tasks of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) is to track down and identify those who are in contact with opposition groups abroad. Supporters of the most important opposition group, the PMOI [MEK], are especially under scrutiny of Iranian Security Services more than any other group."  The report also said that officials of the Iranian regime place pressure on Western countries to ban the MEK in order to "destabilise the organisation and demonise the MEK in the host country and thus end their political and social activities".

A report named "People's Mojahedin of Iran" by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution said that "VAVAK is directing and financing a misinformation campaign, which is also carried out through former opponents of the regime. As in previous years, the Iranian intelligence service is trying to recruit active or former members of opposition groups. This in many cases is done by threats to use force against them or their families living in Iran." A 2005 report added that "for collecting information and spying activities, Iran's intelligence service (MOIS) uses a network of agents who have defected from these organizations."<ref>{{cite book|first=André|last=Brie|title= People's Mojahedin of Iran : mission report|year= 2005|isbn=978-2747593816|publisher= [[Company:L'Harmattan|L'Harmattan]]|pages=16–17}}</ref>

A December 2012 report by the US library of Congress's Federal Research Division profiling the MOIS describes how the MOIS recruited former MEK members and "used them to launch a disinformation campaign against the MEK".<ref name="Security 2012, p. 26">"Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile", A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress under an Interagency Agreement with the Combating Terroism Technical Support Office's Irregular Warfare Support Program, December 2012, p. 26</ref> MOIS has also been known to recruit and extort non-Iranians to demonize the MEK.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.struanstevenson.com/about/parliament/reports/iran-intelligence-ministry-report-pentagon-and-library-congress|title=Iran Intelligence Ministry - a report by The Pentagon and The Library of Congress|date=10 January 2013|website=www.struanstevenson.com|access-date=22 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523063747/https://www.struanstevenson.com/about/parliament/reports/iran-intelligence-ministry-report-pentagon-and-library-congress|archive-date=23 May 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/14/iran-s-spies-tried-to-recruit-me|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20180830043036/https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/14/iran-s-spies-tried-to-recruit-me|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 August 2018|title=Iran's Spies Tried to Recruit Me|first=Shane|last=Harris|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=15 June 2015|via=www.thedailybeast.com|access-date=29 April 2019}}</ref>

The Islamic Republic of Iran has also been known to kidnap and torture captured MEK members and their families.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQS8cOvsSm4C&q=disinformation+campaign+against+the+mek&pg=PA171|title=Congressional Record|date=29 June 2005|publisher=Government Printing Office|via=Google Books|isbn=9780160118449}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/12/iran-committing-crimes-against-humanity-by-concealing-fate-of-thousands-of-slaughtered-political-dissidents/|title=Ongoing crimes against humanity in Iran|website=www.amnesty.org|date=4 December 2018}}</ref>

In 2009, activists and MEK supporter Farzad and Sabham Madadzadeh were arrested by Iranian police. According to Farzad, Iranian officers tortured him and his sister, and wanted him to confess to crimes that he had not committed: "They told me, 'You come and do an interview against the PMOI, the MEK, and the NCRI [...]. They would throw me on the ground and treat me like a football between three people. [...] Several times they did this to me in front of Shabnam's eyes in order to break her".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weeklystandard.com/kelly-jane-torrance/tortured-by-moderates|title=Tortured by 'Moderates'|date=11 August 2017|website=The Weekly Standard}}</ref>{{reliable|date=February 2021}}

== Assassination of MEK members outside Iran ==

From 1989 to 1993, the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out numerous assassinations of MEK members. Between March and June 1990, three MEK members were assassinated in [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]]. On 24 February 1990, Dr Kazem Rajavi (a National Council member) was assassinated in [[Place:Geneva|Geneva]]. In January 1993, an MEK member was murdered in Baghdad.<ref name="auto26"/>

In March 1993, the NCRI's spokesman was murdered in Italy. In May 1990, a MEK member was murdered in Cologne. In February 1993, a MEK member was murdered in [[Place:Manila|Manila]]. In April 1992, a MEK member was murdered in the Netherlands. In August 1992, a MEK member was murdered in [[Place:Karachi|Karachi]]. In March 1993, two assassins on motorcycles murdered NCRI representative Mohammad Hossein Naqdi in Italy. {{citation needed|date=November 2018}} This led to the European Parliament issuing a condemnation of the Islamic Republic of Iran for political murder.<ref name="auto26"/>

In May 1994, Islamic Republic agents assassinated two MEK members in Iraq. In May 1995, five MEK members were assassinated in Iraq. In 1996, two MEK members were murdered in [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] (including NCRI member Zahra Rajabi); in the same year two MEK members were killed in {{wipe|Pakistan}} and another one in Iraq.<ref name="auto26"/><ref>European Union, Resolution on Iranian human rights violations, O.J. C150 (31 May 1993), p.264.</ref><ref>Chicago Tribune wires, ‘Iraq Denies Link with Death of Opposition Leader in Rome’, Chicago Tribune (17 March 1993), p.4.</ref><ref>Safa Haeri, ‘A bad month’, Middle East International, No. 463 (19 November 1993), p.11.</ref>

=== Assassination attempts ===

On 23 September 1991, an attempt was carried out to assassinate Massoud Rajavi in [[Place:Baghdad|Baghdad]]. In August 1992, a MEK member was kidnapped and brought to Iran. In September 1992, MEK offices in Baghdad were broken into. In January 1993, a MEK bus was bombed without casualties. Towards the end of 1993, anonymous gunmen attacked Air France offices and the French embassy in Iran after France allowed Maryam Rajavi and 200 MEK members to enter France.<ref name="auto26"/>

==Islamic Republic of Iran allegations against the MEK==
=== Execution of Mohammad-Reza Sa’adati ===
In 1979, engineer Mohammad-Reza Sa’adati was arrested by Iranian security forces outside the Soviet embassy and charged with spying on behalf of the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=173}}<ref>{{cite book |first= Mehrzad |last= Boroujerdi |title=Postrevolutionary Iran: A Political Handbook |publisher= Syracuse University Press |year=2018|isbn= 978-0815635741 |pages=10}}</ref> Revolutionary Guards detained him while trying to enter the Soviet Embassy reportedly carrying sensitive documents about the Revolutionary Council.<ref name="auto18">{{cite book|last1=Zabir|first1=Sepehr|title=The Iranian military in revolution and war|date=2011|publisher=Routledge|page=111|isbn=978-0-415-61785-7}}</ref> According to historian Abbas Milani, the MEK had informed the Soviets that they had obtained the documents and case of Ahmad Moggarrebi, an Imperial Iranian Army general who was executed for espionage for the Soviets by the Shah's regime.<ref name="Milani">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ixU33FaG_dgC&q=KGB+MEK+Sa%27adati&pg=PA467|last1=Milani|first1=Abbas|title=Eminent Persians: The Men and Women who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979|volume=1|date=2008|publisher=Syracuse University Press|location=Syracuse, N.Y.|isbn=978-0815609070|pages=467}}</ref>

The MEK claimed that Sa’adati, who was responsible for foreign relations on behalf of the MEK, had only interviewed officials from various nations and organizations, and had been arrested on false charges. Sa’adati also accused the Iranian regime of trying to link MEK operations to the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite book |first= Ervand |last= Abrahamian |title=Tortured Confessions|publisher= University of California Press |year=1999|isbn= 978-0520218666 |pages=128–129}}</ref>{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=192–193}} Sa'adati was tried and sentenced to serve ten years in prison. In June 1981 when conflicts escalated between the MEK and Khomeini's government, Sa'adati was retried and executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran for "allegedly managing the guerrilla war from inside the prison".<ref name="auto18"/><ref>{{cite book |first= Abbas |last= Milani |title=Eminent Persians: The Men and Women Who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979 |publisher= Syracuse University Press |year=2008|isbn= 978-0815609070 |pages=466–467}}</ref>

=== 1992 attacks ===
In April 1992, Iranian authorities carried out an air raid against MEK bases in Iraq. The IRI claimed that the attack had been in retaliation to the MEK targeting Iranian governmental and civilian targets. The MEK and Iraq denied the allegations, claiming that Iran had "invented this attack on its territory to cover up the bombardment of the Mojahedin bases on Iraqi territory".<ref name="auto26"/>

=== Other ===

On 9 February 2012, Iran senior officer Mohammad-Javad Larijani alleged to NBC news that "MOSSAD and the MEK were jointly responsible for the targeted killing of Iranian scientists," although the claim has never been backed up with evidence.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}<!-- Empty reference <ref name="Now the Cards Are on the Table"/-->

On 19 June 2017, the Alborz Central Prosecutor and Revolutionary Prosecutor announced the arrests of two people in Karaj in connection with the Mojahedin Khalq Organization. Those arrested confessed to have received money from the MEK for gathering information and pictures of the elections.<ref name="kARAJ2017">{{cite web |title="دو نفر در ارتباط" با سازمان مجاهدین خلق در کرج دستگیر شدند |url=https://www.radiofarda.com/a/b14-two-mwmbers-of-mko-are-arrested-in-karaj/28564921.html |website=radiofarda |access-date=19 June 2017}}</ref>

As Ali Shamkhani, national security chief mentioned in the saying to members of parliament the "Mujahedin-e-Khalq was behind the protests" which raised after increasing the price of petrol.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Daragahi |first1=Borzou |title=Iran protests: Fuel price rise shakes nation as demonstrations ignited |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-protests-fuel-petrol-price-rise-death-toll-arrests-government-latest-a9206206.html |website=independent |date=17 November 2019 |access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref> Arab News reported that "key organizers of recent protests could be said to be associates of this oppositional group (MEK)".<ref>{{cite web |last1=RAFIZADEH |first1=MAJID |title=Iranian protesters need protection from the regime |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1595921 |website=arabnews |date=8 December 2019 |access-date=8 December 2019}}</ref> Tehran has criticised the United States for "failure to condemn and disarm the MEK".<ref>{{cite book |first= Armin |last= Tarzi |title=The Iranian Puzzle Piece: Understanding Iran in the Global Context |year=2009|isbn= 978-1475059717|pages=10}}</ref>

In January 2018, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani phoned French president Emmanuel Macron, asking him to order kicking the MEK out of its base in Auvers-sur-Oise, alleging that the MEK stirred up the 2017–18 Iranian protests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/rouhani-calls-on-macron-to-act-over-anti-iran-terrorists-in-france|title=Rouhani calls on Macron to act over anti-Iran 'terrorists' in France|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102215915/https://www.timesofisrael.com/rouhani-calls-on-macron-to-act-over-anti-iran-terrorists-in-france/|archive-date=2 January 2018}}</ref>

On 27 November 2020, Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated. Iranian official, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, who heads the Supreme National Security Council, blamed Mujahideen-e-Khalq and Israel.<ref>{{cite news|date=30 November 2020|title=Mohsen Fakhrizadeh: Iran scientist 'killed by remote-controlled weapon'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55128970|work=BBC|access-date=30 November 2020}}</ref> for the attack.

== Ties to foreign and non-state actors ==
[[File:Letter_from_the_People's_Mujahedin_of_Iran_to_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union.jpg|thumb|Letter in Persian requesting that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union lend any amount of money (up to US$300,000,000) to the Mujahedin Organization and requesting that the supporters of the Mujahedin Organization be allowed to cross the Soviet-Iranian border and be granted a temporary asylum; memorandum to the TsK KPSS from Olfat<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt767nf11z/entire_text/|title=Register of the Archives of the Soviet communist party and Soviet state microfilm collection: Russian State Archive of Contemporary History (Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv noveishei istorii - RGANI)|website=oac.cdlib.org}}</ref>]]
MEK was among the opposition groups receiving supports from Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=Shireen |title=Iran's Foreign Policy in the Post-Soviet Era: Resisting the New International Order, p. 193 |date=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9780313381942 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLtA_J3VUt4C&q=saudi+arabia+mujahedin+khalq+iran&pg=PA193 |access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref>

On 7 January 1986, the MEK leaders sent a twelve-page letter to the "comrades" of Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, asking for temporary asylum and a loan of $300&nbsp;million to continue their "revolutionary anti-imperialist" actions. It is not clear how the Soviets responded, according to Milani.<ref name="auto14"/> [[Place:Israel|Israel]]'s foreign intelligence agency Mossad maintains connections with the MEK, dating back to the 1990s.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Iran's Nuclear Program and the Israeli-Iranian Rivalry in the Post Revolutionary Era|first1=Farhad|last1=Rezaei|first2=Ronen|last2=Cohen|journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies|volume=41|number=4|year=2014|doi=10.1080/13530194.2014.942081|pages=8–9|s2cid=159623327}}</ref>

Hyeran Jo, associate professor of Texas A&M University wrote in 2015 that the MEK is supported by the {{wipe|United States}}.<ref>{{cite book|first=Hyeran|last=Jo|year=2015|title=Compliant Rebels: Rebel Groups and International Law in World Politics|isbn=978-1-107-11004-5|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=129}}</ref> According to Spiegel Online security experts say that U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel provide the group with financial support, though there is no proof for this supposition and MEK denies this.<ref name="sp-online">{{cite news |last1=Hommerich |first1=Luisa |title=Prisoners of Their Own Rebellion: The Cult-Like Group Fighting Iran |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/people-s-mujahedin-and-its-quiet-war-against-iran-a-1253507.html |access-date=22 April 2019 |work=Spiegel Online |date=18 February 2019}}</ref>

While dealing with anti-regime clergy in 1974, the MEK became close with secular Left groups in and outside Iran. These included the confederation of Iranian Students, The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, and the People's Front for the Liberation of Oman, among others.{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=152-154}} The MEK sent five trained members into South Yemen to fight in the Dhofar Rebellion against Omani and Iranian forces.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sepehr|last=Zabir|title=The Left in Contemporary Iran (RLE Iran D)|date=2012|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-136-81263-7|page=86}}</ref> Until 2001, the MEK received support from the [[Religion:Taliban|Taliban]].<ref name=taliban>{{cite journal|author=Sheikhneshin, Arsalan Ghorbani|title=Iran and the US: Current Situation and Future Prospects|journal=Journal of International and Area Studies|year=2009|quote=The American military campaign in Afghanistan has terminated the Taliban support to the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK). This group enjoyed support from the Islamic Republic's enemies including Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Taliban in Afghanistan.|pages=103–104}}</ref>

In April 2012, journalist Seymour Hersh reported that the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command had trained MEK operatives at a secret site in Nevada from 2005 to 2009. According to Hersh, MEK members were trained in intercepting communications, cryptography, weaponry and small unit tactics at the Nevada site up until President Barack Obama took office in 2009.<ref name=hersh>{{cite web | url =https://www.businessinsider.com/iran-terrorist-organization-trained-by-us-in-nevada-2012-4|title = US special forces trained foreign terrorists in Nevada to fight Iran|work=Business Insider| first = Michael | last = Kelly | date=10 April 2012}}</ref>

== Intelligence and operational capabilities ==

During the years MEK was based in Iraq, it was closely associated with the intelligence service ''Mukhabarat'' (IIS),<ref>{{citation|first1=Neela|last1=Banerjee|first2=Douglas|last2=Jehjuly|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/22/world/after-the-war-intelligence-us-said-to-seek-help-of-ex-iraqi-spies-on-iran.html|title=After the War: Intelligence; U.S. Said to Seek Help of Ex-Iraqi Spies on Iran|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=1 August 2018|date=22 July 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-first1=Karl R. |editor-last1=DeRouen |editor-first2=Paul|editor-last2=Bellamy|year=2008|title=International Security and the United States: An Encyclopedia|volume=1|isbn=978-0275992538|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|page=375|quote=It fostered anti-Iranian activities through the Mujahidin-i Khalq and provided financial support for Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Palestine Liberation Front and the Arab Liberation Front.}}</ref> and even had a dedicated department in the agency. Directorate 14 of the IIS worked with the MEK in joint operations while Directorate 18 was exclusively responsible for the MEK and issued the orders and tasks for their operations.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Todd|year=2003|title=Global Intelligence: The World's Secret Services Today|isbn=9781842771136|publisher=Zed Books|page=173|quote=D14, believed to be the largest directorate, was charged with the joint operations with the Iranian opposition forces of the Mujahidi Khalq (MKO), whose cross-border guerrilla operations varied directly with the overall state of relations with Tehran. The MEK also had its own dedicated department in the Mukhabarat, D18.}}</ref><ref>{{citation|first1=John|last1=Pike|first2=Steven|last2=Aftergood |url=https://fas.org/irp/world/iraq/mukhabarat/org.htm|title=Iraqi Intelligence Service - IIS [Mukhabarat]|publisher=Federation of American Scientists|access-date=1 August 2018|date=26 November 1997}}</ref> The MEK offered IIS with intelligence it gathered from Iran, interrogation and translation services.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}}

A 2008 report by the United States Army Intelligence Center, states that the MEK operates a HUMINT network within Iran, which is "clearly a MEK core strength". It has started a debate among intelligence experts that "whether western powers should leverage this capability to better inform their own intelligence picture of the Iranian regime's goals and intentions".<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a495015.pdf|id=OMB No. 0704-0188|author=2LT Connor Norris|title=Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) Part I: Genesis and Early Years|publisher=United States Army Intelligence Center, University of Military Intelligence|access-date=1 August 2018|date=27 July 2008}}</ref> Rick Francona told ''Foreign Policy'' in 2005 that the MEK teams could work in conjunction with collection of intelligence and identifying agents. U.S. security officials maintain that the organization has a record of exaggerating or fabricating information, according to ''Newsweek''. David Kay believes that "they're often wrong, but occasionally they give you something".<ref>{{citation|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2005/11/02/with-friends-like-these-4/|first=Erik|last=Sass|title=With Friends Like These|work=Foreign Policy|access-date=1 August 2018|date=2 November 2005}}</ref>

American government sources told ''Newsweek'' in 2005 that the Pentagon is hoping to utilize MEK members as informants or give them training as spies for use against Tehran.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.newsweek.com/looking-few-good-spies-122699?webSyncID=51731583-22e9-1495-4461-c36c6d9a1d5a&sessionGUID=b77de3db-02a4-24b0-0bd2-73e5a8e044a9|first=Mark|last=Hosenball|title=With Friends Like These|work=Newsweek|access-date=1 August 2018|date=13 February 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923162620/https://www.newsweek.com/looking-few-good-spies-122699?webSyncID=51731583-22e9-1495-4461-c36c6d9a1d5a&sessionGUID=b77de3db-02a4-24b0-0bd2-73e5a8e044a9|archive-date=23 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The MEK is able to conduct "telephone intelligence" operations effectively, i.e. gathering intelligence through making phone calls to officials and government organizations in Iran.{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=}} According to Ariane M. Tabatabai, the MEK's "capabilities to conduct terrorist attacks may have decreased in recent years".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Other side of the Iranian coin: Iran's counterterrorism apparatus|first=Ariane M.|last=Tabatabai|journal=Journal of Strategic Studies|volume=41|number=1–2|year=2017|doi=10.1080/01402390.2017.1283613|pages=4–5|s2cid=157673830}}</ref>

== Propaganda campaign ==
The MEK's first act of counter-propaganda was to release about 2014 Iranian prisoners of war within a period of 9 months. It started on 11 March 1986 when the NLA released 370 prisoners of war. They then released 170 prisoners of war in November 1987 that had been captured by the NLA. A third wave of 1300 prisoners of war were released in August 1988, with some joining the NLA ranks. During the last release, Masoud Rajavi promoted it this as an act of compassion by the NCRI, which was in contrast to the Islamic Republic's "cruel manner of treating" prisoners of war.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cohen|first1=Ronen|date=August 2018|title=The Mojahedin-e Khalq versus the Islamic Republic of Iran: from war to propaganda and the war on propaganda and diplomacy|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=54|issue=6|pages=1000–1014|doi=10.1080/00263206.2018.1478813|s2cid=149542445}}</ref> According to Wilfried Buchta, the MEK has used propaganda in the West since the 1980s.<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=112–114}}</ref> In the 1980s and the 1990s, their propaganda was mainly targeted against the officials in the establishment.{{sfn|Harmon|Bowdish|2018|p=166}} According to Anthony H. Cordesman, since the mid-1980s the MEK has confronted Iranian representatives overseas through "propaganda and street demonstrations".<ref>{{Citation|editor-last1=Cordesman|editor-first1=Anthony H.|title=Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1999|isbn=978-0-275-96528-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/iraqwarofsanctio00cord/page/160 160]|quote=The MEK directs a worldwide campaign against the Iranian government that stresses propaganda and occasionally uses terrorist violence.|url=https://archive.org/details/iraqwarofsanctio00cord/page/160}}</ref> Other analysts have also alleged that there is a propaganda campaign by the MEK in the West, including Christopher C. Harmon,{{sfn|Harmon|Bowdish|2018|pp=165–167}} Wilfried Buchta,<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=114–115, 218}}</ref> and others.<ref>{{citation|title=France lashes out at Iranian opposition group|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-france-lashes-out-at-iranian-opposition-group-2014jun27-story.html|agency=Associated Press|via=The San Diego Union-Tribune|date=27 June 2014|access-date=1 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706191236/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-france-lashes-out-at-iranian-opposition-group-2014jun27-story.html|archive-date=6 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to Kenneth Katzman, the MEK is able to mobilize its exile supporters in demonstration and fundraising campaigns. The organization attempts to publicize regime abuses and curb foreign governments’ relations with Tehran. To do so, it frequently conducts anti-regime marches and demonstrations in those countries.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=105}}

A 1986 U.S. State Department letter to KSCI-TV described "MEK propaganda" as being in line with the following: "[T]he Iranian government is bad, the PMOI is against the Iranian government, the Iranian government represses the PMOI, therefore, the PMOI and its leader Rajavi are good and worth of support".<ref>{{citation|editor-first1=Lisa |editor-last1=Parks |editor-first2=Shanti|editor-last2=Kumar|title=Planet TV: A Global Television Reader|publisher=New York University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-8147-6691-0|page=387}}</ref> According to Masoud Kazemzadeh, the MEK has also used propaganda against defectors of the organization.<ref>{{citation|first=Masoud|last=Kazemzadeh|title=Islamic Fundamentalism, Feminism, and Gender Inequality in Iran Under Khomeini|publisher=University Press of America|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7618-2388-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/islamicfundament0000kaze/page/63 63]|quote=When the democratic and progressive members of the opposition made the smallest criticisms of Rajavi, the whole PMOI propaganda machinery would commence vicious personal attacks against them and spread false rumors that they were collaborating with the fundamentalist regime's Ministry of Intelligence.|url=https://archive.org/details/islamicfundament0000kaze/page/63}}</ref>

Al Jazeera reported on an alleged Twitter-based MEK campaign. According to Exeter University lecturer Marc Owen Jones, accounts tweeting #FreeIran and #Iran_Regime_Change "were created within about a four-month window", suggesting bot activity.<ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2018/09/faking-online-debate-iran-180915121527882.html Faking the online debate on Iran], Al Jazeera, 15 September 2018</ref>

In an article published by ''The Intercept'' on 9 June 2019, two former MEK members claimed that "Heshmat Alavi" is not a real person, and that the articles published under that name were actually written by a team of people at the political wing of MEK. Alavi contributed to several media outlets including ''{{wipe|Forbes}}'', ''The Diplomat'', ''The Hill'', ''The Daily Caller'', ''The Federalist'' and the English edition of Al Arabiya's website. According to the Intercept, one of Alavi's articles published by ''Forbes'' was used by the White House to justify Donald Trump Administration's sanctions against Iran.<ref name="TheIntercept-19JUN09-HeshmatAlaviNotReal">{{cite news |last1=Hussain |first1=Murtaza |title=An Iranian Activist Wrote Dozens of Articles for Right-Wing Outlets. But Is He a Real Person? |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/06/09/heshmat-alavi-fake-iran-mek/ |access-date=13 June 2019 |work=The Intercept |date=9 June 2019}}</ref> Since the article's publication, [[Company:Twitter|Twitter]] has suspended the "Heshmat Alavi" account, and the writings in the name of "Heshmat Alavi" were removed from ''The Diplomat'' and ''Forbes{{'}}'' website.<ref name="TheIntercept-19JUN09-HeshmatAlaviNotReal" /> A website purported to be a personal blog of "Heshmat Alavi" published a post with counterclaims saying that their Twitter account had been suspended.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Heshmat |last1=Alavi |title=My Twitter account has been suspended |url=https://irancommentary.wordpress.com/2019/06/09/my-twitter-account-has-been-suspended/ |website=Iran Commentary |via=[[Software:WordPress.com|WordPress.com]] |access-date=13 June 2019 |date=9 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="TheIntercept-19JUN09-HeshmatAlaviNotReal" /><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/11/why-does-us-need-trolls-make-its-iran-case/ Why does the U.S. need trolls to make its Iran case?], Washington post, 11 June 2019</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.com/persian/world-48604383 مجله فوربز مقالات 'کارشناس ایرانی جعلی' را حذف کرد], BBC Persian, 11 June 2019</ref>

== Human rights record ==

In 2006, Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki told the MEK it had to leave Iraq, but the MEK responded that the "request violated their status under the Geneva Convention". Al-Maliki and the Iraqi Ministry of Justice maintained that the MEK had committed human rights abuses in the early 1990s when it aided Saddam Hussain's campaign against the Shia uprising.<ref>{{citation|title=Iraq's Insurgency and the Road to Civil Conflict|author=Anthony H. Cordesman, Emma R. Davies|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2008|isbn=978-0-313-35001-6|volume=2|series=Iraq's Insurgency and the Road to Civil Conflict|page=635|contribution=Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington, D.C.)}}</ref> According to ''{{wipe|Time (magazine)}}'', the MEK has denied aiding Saddam in quashing Kurdish and Shia rebellions.<ref>{{citation|title=At Tehran's Bidding? Iraq Cracks Down on a Controversial Camp By Rania Abouzeid|work=Time |url=http://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1913399,00.html|access-date=11 October 2019}}</ref>

In a 2004 public release, Amnesty International stated it continues to receive reports{{by whom|date=December 2018}} of human rights violations carried out by the MEK against its own members.<ref>{{citation|title=Further Information on UA 318/03 (EUR 44/025/2003, 5 November 2003) "Disappearance" / fear for safety /forcible return New concern: fear of execution/unfair trial|publisher=Amnesty International|date=20 August 2004|url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/96000/mde130322004en.pdf|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> In 2018, Amnesty International also condemned the government of [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] for executing MEK prisoners in 1988 and presented the MEK as being mainly peaceful political dissidents despite reports that they have killed thousands of Iranians and Iraqis since 1981.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.amnesty.at/media/4621/amnesty_blood-soaked-secrets_iran-dezember-2018.pdf |title=Blood-Soaked Secrets: Why Iran's 1988 prison massacres are ongoing crimes against humanity |publisher=Amnesty International |location=Austria |access-date=4 December 2018}}</ref>

In May 2005, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report named "No Exit: Human Rights Abuses Inside the MKO Camps", describing prison camps run by the MEK and severe human rights violations committed by the group against its members, ranging from prolonged incommunicado and [[Social:Solitary confinement|solitary confinement]] to beatings, verbal and psychological abuse, [[Social:Forced confession|coerced confessions]], threats of execution, and [[Philosophy:Torture|torture]] that in two cases led to death.<ref>{{citation|title=No Exit: Human Rights Abuses Inside the MKO Camps|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=May 2005|url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/mena/iran0505/iran0505.pdf|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> However, disagreements over this provided evidence has been expressed.<ref name="hoc" />

The report prompted a response by the MEK and four European MPs named "Friends of a Free Iran" (FOFI), who published a counter-report in September 2005.<ref name="fofi">{{cite web|url=http://ncr-iran.org/images/stories/advertising/ep%20report-with%20cover.pdf|title=People's Mojahedin of Iran – Mission report|access-date=29 August 2006|publisher=Friends of Free Iran – European Parliament|year=2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620060931/http://ncr-iran.org/images/stories/advertising/ep%20report-with%20cover.pdf|archive-date=20 June 2010}}</ref> They stated that HRW had "relied only on 12 hours [sic] interviews with 12 suspicious individuals", and stated that "a delegation of MEPs visited Camp Ashraf in Iraq" and "conducted impromptu inspections of the sites of alleged abuses". Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca (PP), one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, said that Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) was the source of the evidence against the MEK.<ref name="fofi" /> In a letter of May 2005 to HRW, the senior US military police commander responsible for the Camp Ashraf area, Brigadier General David Phillips, who had been in charge during 2004 for the protective custody of the MEK members in the camp, disputed the alleged human rights violations.<ref>{{citation|first=Tahar|last=Boumedra|year=2013|title=The United Nations and Human Rights in Iraq, The Untold Story of Camp Ashraf|publisher=New Generation Publishing|isbn=978-1-909740-64-8|pages=16–23|quote=I directed my subordinate units to investigate each allegation. In many cases I personally led inspection teams on unannounced visits to the MEK facilities where the alleged abuses were reported to occur. At no time over the 12 month period did we ever discover any credible evidence supporting the allegations raised in your recent report. (...) Each report of torture, kidnapping and psychological depravation turned out to be unsubstantiated.}}</ref> Former military officers who had aided in guarding the MEK camp in Iraq said "its members had been free to leave since American military began protecting it in 2003." The officers said they had not found any prison or torture facilities.<ref name="NYT_MEK_Albania_2020Feb" />

Human Rights Watch released a statement in February 2006, stating: "We have investigated with care the criticisms we received concerning the substance and methodology of the [No Exit] report, and find those criticisms to be unwarranted". It provided responses to the FOFI document, whose findings "have no relevance" to the HRW report.<ref>{{citation|title=Statement on Responses to Human Rights Watch Report on Abuses by the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO)|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=14 February 2006|access-date=11 June 2017|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2006/02/14/statement-responses-human-rights-watch-report-abuses-mojahedin-e-khalq-organization?_ga=2.29931135.1513883160.1500019089-1666524046.1479911309}}</ref>

In July 2013, the {{wipe|United Nations}} special envoy to Iraq, Martin Kobler, accused the leaders the group of [[Social:Human rights abuses|human rights abuses]], an allegation the MEK dismissed as "baseless" and "[[Philosophy:Cover-up|cover-up]]". The United Nations spokesperson defended Kobler and his allegations, stating: "We regret that MEK and its supporters continue to focus on public distortions of the U.N.'s efforts to promote a peaceful, humanitarian solution on Camp Ashraf and, in particular, its highly personalized attacks on the U.N. envoy for Iraq".<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-iraq-dissidents-idUSL1N0FM1UI20130716|title=U.N. envoy accuses Iran group's leaders in Iraq of rights abuses|date=16 July 2013|access-date=11 June 2017|work=Reuters|first=Louis|last=Charbonneau|editor-first=Mohammad|editor-last=Zargham}}</ref>

Jo Hyeran, in her work examining humanitarian violations of rebel groups to international law, states that the MEK has not accepted International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visits to its detention centers.<ref>{{cite book|first=Hyeran|last=Jo|year=2015|title=Compliant Rebels: Rebel Groups and International Law in World Politics|isbn=978-1-107-11004-5|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=288}}</ref> According to Ronen A. Cohen, the MEK controlled their people most importantly by "abuse of women".{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=}} According to criticism of Human Right groups, marriage had been banned in the camp.<ref>{{cite book |author= Foreign and Commonwealth Office |title=Human Rights and Democracy: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report |publisher=The Stationery Office |isbn=978-0101801720 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=d7EuvEl5loQC&q=Human+rights+MEK+member&pg=PA223|date=March 2011 |author-link=Foreign and Commonwealth Office}}</ref> Upon entry into the group, new members are indoctrinated in ideology and a revisionist history of Iran. All members are required to participate in weekly "ideologic cleansings".<ref>{{citation|title=Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Birth of a Regional Nuclear Arms Race?|series=Praeger Security International Series|first1=Anthony H. |last1=Cordesman |first2=Adam C. |last2=Seitz |publisher=ABC-LIO|year=2009|isbn=978-0-313-38088-4|page=334}}</ref>

Journalist Jason Rezaian remarked in his detailing the connections between John R. Bolton and the MEK that "the few who were able to escape" were "cut off from their loved ones, forced into arranged marriages, brainwashed, sexually abused, and tortured".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rezaian |first1=Jason |title=John Bolton wants regime change in Iran, and so does the cult that paid him |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/03/24/john-bolton-wants-regime-change-in-iran-and-so-does-the-cult-that-paid-him/ |access-date=15 April 2019 |work=The Washington Post |date=24 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=R. Pillar |first1=Paul |title=The MEK and the Bankrupt U.S. Policy on Iran |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/mek-and-bankrupt-us-policy-iran-35982 |access-date=15 April 2019 |agency=National Interest |publisher=nationalinterest.org |date=13 November 2018}}</ref> Members who defected from the MEK and some experts say that these [[Social:Self-criticism (Marxism–Leninism)|Mao-style self-criticism]] sessions are intended to enforce control over sex and marriage in the organization as a [[Philosophy:Total institution|total institution]].{{sfn|Harmon|Bowdish|2018|p=170}} MEK denied the brainwashing claims and described the former members as Iranian spies,<ref name="NYT_MEK_Albania_2020Feb" /> also saying that "any cult' comparisons were coming from the Iranian regime as part of its 'misinformation campaign.'"<ref>{{cite news |title=Who are the People's Mujahedeen of Iran? |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/who-are-the-peoples-mujahedeen-of-iran|work=Fox News}}</ref>

Some MEK defectors have accused the MEK of human right abuses,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-50339928|title=The Iranian opposition fighters who mustn't think about sex|last=Pressly and Kasapi|first=Linda and Albana|date=11 November 2019|work=BBC}}</ref><ref name="r4"/> while the MEK has denied these claims saying they are part of a misinformation campaign by the Iranian regime.<ref name="Security 2012, p. 26"/>

In March 2019 a Hamburg court ruled that Der Spiegel had "acted illegally in publishing false allegations of 'torture' and 'terrorist training' by the MEK in Albania". In July 2020 a German court ordered the [[Social:Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]  to remove false information about the MEK including untrue reports of human right abuses by the MEK against its members.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran's Fake News Campaign Suffers A Heavy Blow |url=https://tsarizm.com/analysis/2020/07/03/irans-fake-news-campaign-suffers-a-heavy-blow/|work=Tsarizm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Volksmojahedin Iran & FAZ |url=https://www.freitag.de/autoren/martin-patzelt/volksmojahedin-iran-faz-die-wahrheit-siegt|work=Freitag.de}}</ref>

== Fundraising ==

In {{wipe|Germany}}, the MEK used a NGO to "support asylum seekers and refugees". Another alleged organization collected funds for "children whose parents had been killed in Iran" in sealed and stamped boxes placed in city centers. According to the Netjang Society, in 1988, the Nuremberg MEK front organization was uncovered by police. Initially, The Greens supported these organizations while it was unaware of their purpose.<ref>{{citation|title=Terrornomics|editor-first=David|editor-last=Gold|pages=73–74|isbn=978-1-317-04590-8|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|chapter=An Analysis of the Role of the Iranian Diaspora in the Financial Support System of the ''Mujahedin-e-Khalq''|author=Mark Edmond Clark}}</ref>

In December 2001, a joint FBI-Cologne police operation discovered what a 2004 report calls "a complex fraud scheme involving children and social benefits", involving the sister of Maryam Rajavi.<ref name="FBI2004">{{citation|url=https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/FBI%20-%20REPORT.pdf|title=2004 MUJAHEDIN—E KHALQ (MEK) CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION|date=29 November 2004|access-date=20 December 2016|work=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref> The High Court ruled to close several MEK compounds after investigations revealed that the organization fraudulently collected between {{wipe|United States dollar}}5 million and $10&nbsp;million in social welfare benefits for children of its members sent to Europe.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}}

In 2003, [[General Intelligence and Security Service]] (AIVD) claimed that Netherland charity that raises money for "children who suffer under the Iranian regime" (SIM ({{lang-nl|Stichting Solidariteit met Iraanse Mensen}})) was fundraising for the MEK. A spokesperson for the charity said that SIM was unrelated to the MEK, and that these allegations were "lies from the Iranian regime".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trouw.nl/home/stichting-wij-steunen-geen-terrorisme~af629086/|title=Stichting: Wij steunen geen terrorisme|date=20 June 2003|access-date=28 September 2016|publisher=Trouw}}</ref> 'Committee for Human Rights' and 'Iran Aid', were two charities operated by MEK "claimed to raise money for Iranian refugees persecuted by the Islamic regime," but was later found to be a front for the National Liberation Army, MEK's military arm.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tovrov |first1=Daniel |title=MEK Pays US Officials, But Where Do The Iranian Exiles Get Their Money? |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/mek-pays-us-officials-where-do-iranian-exiles-get-their-money-214388 |access-date=28 June 2019 |work=International Business Times |date=29 March 2012}}</ref>

It also operated a {{wipe|United Kingdom}}-based charity Iran Aid which "claimed to raise money for Iranian refugees persecuted by the Islamic regime" and was later revealed to be a [[Organization:Front organization|front]] for its military wing (according to conversations at the Nejat Society).<ref name="Terrornomics73"/><ref name="ibtimes">{{cite web|first=Daniel|last=Tovrov|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/mek-pays-us-officials-where-do-iranian-exiles-get-their-money-214388|title=MEK Pays US Officials, But Where Do The Iranian Exiles Get Their Money?|date=29 March 2012|access-date=28 September 2016|work=International Business Times}}</ref> In 2001, Charity Commission for England and Wales closed it down<ref>{{Cite news|first=David|last=Leigh|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/31/iran.usa|title='Tank girl' army accused of torture|date=30 May 2005|access-date=28 September 2016|newspaper={{wipe|The Guardian}}}}</ref> after finding no "verifiable links between the money donated by the British public [approximately [[Finance:Pound sterling|£]]5 million annually] and charitable work in Iran".{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}}

As [[Organization:RAND Corporation|RAND Corporation]] policy reported, MEK supporters seek donations at public places, often showing "gruesome pictures" of human rights victims in Iran and claiming to raise money for them but funnelling it to MEK.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}} A 2004 report by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that the organization is engaged "through a complex international money laundering operation that uses accounts in Turkey, Germany, France, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates".<ref name="FBI2004" />

In 1999, after a 2 1⁄2-year investigation, Federal authorities arrested 29 individuals in Operation Eastern Approach,<ref>{{citation|title=29 arrested in immigration fraud ring|url=http://edition.cnn.com/US/9903/16/immigration.fraud/index.html|date=16 March 1999|work=CNN|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref> of whom 15 were held on charges of helping MEK members illegally enter the United States.<ref>{{citation|title=15 Held on Charges of Helping Alleged Terrorists Enter U.S.|first=David|last=Rosenzweig|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1999/mar/17/local/me-18221|date=17 March 1999|work=The Los Angeles Times|access-date=5 August 2018}} {{dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The ringleader was pleaded guilty to providing phony documents to MEK members and violation of Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.<ref>{{citation|title=Man Convicted of Assisting Terrorist Group|first=David|last=Rosenzweig|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1999/oct/27/local/me-26632|date=27 October 1999|work=The Los Angeles Times|access-date=5 August 2018}} {{dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Californian pleads guilty to aiding Irani terrorist group|url=http://edition.cnn.com/US/9910/27/fraud.ring/index.html|date=27 October 1999|work=CNN|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref>

On 19 November 2004, two front organizations called the Iranian–American Community of Northern Virginia and the Union Against Fundamentalism organized demonstrations in front of the Capitol building in Washington, DC and transferred funds for the demonstration, some {{wipe|United States dollar}}9,000 to the account of a Texas MEK member. Congress and the bank in question were not aware that the demonstrators were actually providing material support to the MEK.<ref name="Terrornomics73"/>

==Perception==
===Inside Iran===

The [[Organization:RAND Corporation|RAND Corporation]] policy report on the group suggests that between 1979 and 1981 it was the most popular dissident group in Iran, however, the former reputation is diminished to the extent that it is now "the only entity less popular" than the Iranian government.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}{{Page needed|date=September 2021}} Certain sources have cited the MEK's collaboration with Saddam Hussain as diminishing the MEK's standing inside Iran.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.economist.com/node/13447429|title=Iranian dissidents in Iraq: Where will they all go?|newspaper=The Economist|date=11 April 2009|access-date=15 June 2018|quote=In return, the PMOI made attacks on Iran itself, which is why Iranians of all stripes tend to regard the group as traitors.}}</ref><ref name="Afshon Ostovar 2016 73–74"/><ref>{{cite book|first=Magdalena|last=Kirchner|title=Western Foreign Policy and the Middle East|chapter='A good investment?' State sponsorship of terrorism as an instrument of Iraqi foreign policy (1979–1991)|editor-first1=Christian|editor-last1=Kaunert|editor1-link=Christian Kaunert |editor-first2=Sarah |editor-last2=Leonard |editor-first3=Lars |editor-last3=Berger |editor-first4=Gaynor|editor-last4=Johnson|year=2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317499701|pages=36–37|quote=With regard to weakening the Iranian regime domestically, MEK failed to establish itself as a political alternative, its goals and violent activities were strongly opposed by the Iranian population–even more so its alignment with Iraq.}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Terrorism and Homeland Security|first=Jonathan R.|last=White|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2016|isbn=978-1-305-63377-3|page=239|quote=The group is not popular in Iran because of its alliance with Saddam Hussein and Iran–Iraq war.}}</ref> Ronen Cohen agrees that MEK's popularity decreased because it sided with Iraq,{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=174|ps="there was a decrease in the Iranian people's support for the Mojahedin since it had joined since it had joined and cooperated with their worst enemy - Iraq - during the long years of the war"}} but adds that this is hard to prove "because of the nature of the government in Iran".{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=23}} Other analysts cite the group being "unpopular among Iranians" for "attacks on Iranian soldiers and civilians".<ref name="auto34">{{citation|first=Yeganeh|last=Torbati|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-iran-opposition-idUSL1N1F610K|title=Former U.S. officials urge Trump to talk with Iranian MEK group|date=16 January 2017|access-date=20 July 2017|agency=Reuters|quote=The MEK's supporters present the group as a viable alternative to Iran's theocracy, though analysts say it is unpopular among Iranians for its past alignment with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and attacks on Iranian soldiers and civilians.|work=Reuters}}</ref> According to Struan Stevenson: "The claim that the [MEK] is an irrelevant group or has no support within Iran is a myth".<ref>[https://www.struanstevenson.com/about/parliament/reports/iran-intelligence-ministry-report-pentagon-and-library-congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523063747/https://www.struanstevenson.com/about/parliament/reports/iran-intelligence-ministry-report-pentagon-and-library-congress |date=23 May 2019}} | Iran Intelligence Ministry - a report by The Pentagon and The Library of Congress</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2021}} After the 1979 Iranian revolution, Ervand Abrahamian says the MEK gained significant support from the Iranian public, becoming a leading opposition to Khomeini's theocratic regime. Even though the MEK still asserts that it has significant support, Ervand Abrahamian says the MEK's popularity "plummeted after becoming more violent in the early 1980s".<ref name="Iran MEK Albania"/> Inside Iran, the strength of the MEK is uncertain since many of its supporters have been executed, tortured, or jailed.<ref>{{cite book|title=World Terrorism: An Encyclopedia of Political Violence from Ancient Times to the Post-9/11 Era: An Encyclopedia of Political Violence from Ancient Times to the Post-9/11 Era, 2nd Edition|first=James|last=Cimment|year=2011|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0765682840|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3_0TBwAAQBAJ&q=mek+support+inside+Iran&pg=PT822|pages=73–74|quote= The strength of the movement inside Iran is uncertain: hundreds of MEK supporters have been executed and many more tortured and jailed.}}</ref><ref name="auto26"/>

According to Abrahamian, by 1981 many foreign diplomats considered MEK to be "the largest, the best disciplined, and the most heavily armed of all the opposition organizations".{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=1}} Karim Sadjadpour believes the MEK is a "fringe group with mysterious benefactors that garners scant support in its home country", and that the population of its supporters in Iran "hovers between negligible and nill".<ref name="NBC-Giuliani">{{cite news |last1=Ainsley |first1=Julia |last2=W. Lehren |first2=Andrew |last3=Schapiro |first3=Rich |title=Giuliani's work for Iranian group with bloody past could lead to more legal woes |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/giuliani-s-work-iranian-group-bloody-past-could-lead-more-n1067766 |access-date=28 October 2019 |work=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> Kenneth Katzman wrote in 2001 that the MEK is "Iran's most active opposition group".{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=97}} A 2009 report published by the Brookings Institution notes that the organization appears to be undemocratic and lacking popularity but maintains an operational presence in Iran, acting as a [[Social:Proxy war|proxy]] against Tehran.<ref>{{cite book|title=Which Path to Persia?: Options for a New American Strategy toward Iran|chapter=Toppling Tehran|first1=Kenneth M. |last1=Pollack |first2=Daniel L. |last2=Byman |first3=Martin S. |last3=Indyk |first4=Suzanne|last4=Maloney|year=2009|publisher=Brookings Institution|isbn=978-0-8157-0379-2|page=164|quote=The group itself also appears to be undemocratic and enjoys little popularity in Iran itself. It has no political base in the country, although it appears to have an operational presence.}}</ref> According to Ilan Berman, MEK's supporters consider the group to be "the most organized and disciplined" opposition group, while its detractors regard it as a "fringe" element.<ref>{{cite news |title=Making Sense of The MeK|publisher=National Interest|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/making-sense-mek-65496}}</ref>

Many sources have regarded the MEK to be Iran's main political opposition group.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=1}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/making-sense-mek-65496 |title=Making Sense of The MeK |newspaper=National Interest}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://intpolicydigest.org/it-s-time-to-support-the-iranian-opposition-that-tehran-wants-to-destroy/ |title=It's Time to Support the Iranian Opposition that Tehran Wants to Destroy |newspaper=International Policy Digest}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/18/iran.uksecurity|title=Government fights to keep ban on main Iranian opposition group |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>{{sfn|Piazza|1994|p=9}}<ref>{{cite journal |title = The Role of Women in Iran's New Popular Revolution|journal = The Brown Journal of World Afairs|volume=9 |issue=2 |date=Winter–Spring 2003|author=Ramesh Sepehrrad |pages=226|quote=Due to the NCRI's popular support inside and outside of Iran, the Iranian government considers them, in particular its largest member orgaization - the PMOI - as its main threat. In fact, the Iranian government constantly demands from western countries the restriction of PMOI activities as the pre-condition for improving relations.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title = Camp Ashraf: Iraqi Obligations and State Department Accountability : Joint Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, December 7, 2011 |year = 2011 |isbn = 9780160905018 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LNcKdNiTHSQC&q=islamic+republic+main+opposition+group&pg=PA137 |quote =Teharan (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday urged visiting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to expel Iran's main opposition group from Iraqi territory}}</ref>

===Outside Iran===
According to a 2009 Danish Immigration Service Report, "Even though the MKO has a worldwide network of members and supporters, it is an unpopular organisation among many Iranians because of its armed struggle against Iran during the past 30 years.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} According to the NBC, the MEK has a roster of prominent supporters including "former FBI Director Louis Freeh; former Democratic governors and presidential candidates Howard Dean and Bill Richardson; Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton; and former Obama national security adviser James L. Jones."<ref name="NBC-Giuliani"/>

=== By other Iranian opposition parties ===
The group kept a friendly relationship with the only other major Iranian urban guerrilla group, the Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG).{{Sfn|Abrahamian|1982|p=491}} An October 1994 report by the U.S. Department of State notes that other Iranian opposition groups do not cooperate with the organization because they view it as "undemocratic" and "tightly controlled" by its leaders.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|pp=104–105}} In 1994 rival exiled groups question the organizations's claim that it would hold free elections after taking power in Iran, pointing to its designation of a "president-elect" as an evidence of neglecting Iranian people.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|pp=104–105}}

Due to its anti-Shah stance before the revolution, the MEK is not close to monarchist opposition groups and Reza Pahlavi, Iran's deposed crown prince.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|pp=104–105}} Commenting on the MEK, Pahlavi said in an interview: "I cannot imagine Iranians ever forgiving their behavior at that time [siding with Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war]. [...] If the choice is between this regime and the MEK, they will most likely say the mullahs".<ref>{{cite news |title=The Late Shah's Son Wants a Democratic Revolution in Iran|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-19/iran-s-ex-prince-pahlavi-wants-a-democratic-revolution|work=Bloomberg L.P.|date=19 June 2018|access-date=20 June 2018|first=Eli|last=Lake}}</ref>

Iran's deposed president Abolhassan Banisadr ended his alliance with the group in 1984, denouncing its stance during the Iran–Iraq War.{{sfn|Katzman|2001|pp=104–105}}

The National Resistance Movement of Iran (NAMIR), led by Shapour Bakhtiar, never maintained a friendly relationship with the MEK. In July 1981, NAMIR rejected any notion of cooperation between the two organizations and publicly condemned them in a communiqué issued following the meeting between
Iraqi Foreign Minister, Tariq Aziz and Rajavi in January 1983 as well as the "Holy and Revolutionary" nature of Rajavis in April 1984.<ref name="Khonsari">{{cite thesis|last=Khonsari|first=Mehrdad|year=1995|title=The National Movement of the Iranian Resistance 1979–1991: The role of a banned opposition movement in international politics|type=Ph.D. thesis|publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2837/|page=289–293|access-date=25 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026110434/http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2837/|archive-date=26 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Documentary films ==
* ''A Cult That Would Be an Army: Cult of the Chameleon'' (2007): Al Jazeera documentary directed by Maziar Bahari.{{sfn|Harmon|Bowdish|2018|p=300}}
* ''The Strange World of the People's Mujahedin'' (2012): BBC World Service documentary directed by Owen Bennett-Jones and produced by Wisebuddah company.<ref>{{citation|title=The Strange World of the People's Mujahedin|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/15/mujahedin200312|publisher=BBC World Service|date=8 April 2012|access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref> It won New York Festivals award for Best Investigative Report in 2013.<ref>{{citation|title=Ian Burrell: It's time for the BBC to give independent radio a break|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/15/mujahedin200312|work=The Independent|date=7 July 2013|access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref>
* ''Chasing Iranian Spies'': documentary directed by Michael Ware as an episode of the ''Uncensored with Michael Ware'' (S1E3), aired on 7 February 2017 by the National Geographic.

=== Series, films and documentaries by the Islamic Republic of Iran on the MEK ===
* ''Comrades in Arms: Ashraf Camp in Iraq Turned into a Harem for Leader'' (2014): Press TV documentary.
* ''The Secrets Behind Auvers-sur-Oise'' (2016): Press TV documentary.
*''Handwritings'' ({{lang-fa|دست نوشته ها|Dast Neveshteha}}): The 1987 action, Drama, Thriller film was directed by Mehrzad Minui, based on scenario of Behrouz Afkhami.<ref name= tasniim/> 
* ''The Wolves'' ({{lang-fa|گرگها|Gorg-ha}}): four-part eight-houred documentary series initially released in 2007 and reissued in 2013 as a 90-minutes documentary, aired by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. It includes footage from Ba'athist Iraq archives of confidential top-level meetings.<ref name="WP">{{Citation|first1=David |last1=Lesch |first2=Mark L.|last2=Haas|title=The Arab Spring: The Hope and Reality of the Uprisings|publisher=Westview Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0-8133-4974-9|pages=187}}</ref>
* ''An Unfinished Film for My Daughter, Somayeh'' ({{lang-fa|فیلم ناتمامی برای دخترم سمیه}}): 2014 documentary directed by Morteza Payeshenas, aired by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.<ref name="WP" /> Somayeh Mohammadi said that the videos and photos used in the documentary were "given to the regime's intelligence to make a documentary against PMOI."<ref>{{cite web |title=Daughter's anguish at father's Iran Camp Ashraf 'hostage' claims |url= https://www.thenational.scot/news/17363198.daughters-anguish-fathers-iran-camp-ashraf-hostage-claims/|website=The National |access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref>
* ''The Insider'' ({{lang-fa|نفوذی|Nofoozi}}): 2008 feature film directed by Ahmad Kaveri and starring Amir Jafari as an MEK defector who returns to Iran in 2004.<ref name= tasniim>{{cite web |title=رد منافقین در سینما و تلویزیون |url= https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1396/03/21/1433141/رد-منافقین-در-سینما-و-تلویزیون |website=tasnimnews |access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref>
* ''Cyanide'' ({{lang-fa|سیانور|Siyanor}}): 2016 feature film directed by Behrouz Shoaibi which portrays the organization during the 1970s.<ref>{{citation|title="Cyanide" about MKO story premieres in Tehran|url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/407443/Cyanide-about-MKO-story-premieres-in-Tehran|work=Tehran Times|date=18 October 2016|access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref> The cast includes Babak Hamidian, Behnoosh Tabatabaei, Hanieh Tavassoli, Atila Pesyani, Mehdi Hashemi and Hamed Komeili.<ref>{{citation|title='Cyanide' intl. screening kicks off in Canada|url=http://en.mehrnews.com/news/121431/Cyanide-intl-screening-kicks-off-in-Canada|publisher=Mehr News Agency|date=19 November 2016|access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref>
* ''Mina's Choice'' ({{lang-fa|امکان مینا|Emkan-e Mina}}): 2016 drama about happy marriage of couple Mina and Mehran which tears apart. According to the director Kamal Tabrizi and producer Manouchehr Mohammadi, the film intends to "give warnings to families" about the MEK.<ref>{{citation|title="Mina's Choice" gives warnings to families about danger of Daesh: director|url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/252812/Mina-s-Choice-gives-warnings-to-families-about-danger-of-Daesh|work=Tehran Times|date=7 February 2016|access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref>
* ''The Midday Event'' ({{lang-fa|ماجرای نیمروز}}): 2017 political drama directed by Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavian, it features the MEK during the 1980s and was named the best film in the 35th Fajr International Film Festival.<ref>{{citation|title=Political drama 'Midday Event' named best at Fajr Film Festival|url=http://en.mehrnews.com/news/123477/Political-drama-Midday-Event-named-best-at-Fajr-Film-Festival|publisher=Mehr News Agency |date=11 February 2017|access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref>
* ''The Gift of Darkness'' ({{lang-fa|ارمغان تاریکی|Armaghan-e Tariki}}): 2011 drama series directed by Jalil Saman features the MEK during the 1980s.<ref name="Saman">{{citation|title="Nafas" amusement drama which has something to say|url= https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1396/03/08/1422724/نفس-سرگرم-کننده-ای-که-حرف-دارد |language=fa |publisher=Tasnim News Agency |date=29 May 2017 |access-date=13 June 2017}}</ref>
* ''Parvaneh'' ({{lang-fa|پروانه}}): 2013 drama series directed by Jalil Saman about the MEK during the 1970s.<ref name="Saman" />
* ''Nafas'' ({{lang-fa|نفس}}): 2017 drama series directed by Jalil Saman features 1970s.<ref name="Saman" />
* ''Trace of blood'', second season of "The Midday Event", political drama directed by Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavian, it features the MEK during Operation Mersad and was awarded in the 37th Fajr International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web |title="ماجرای نیمروز۲: رد خون" از چهارشنبه اکران میشود |url= https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1398/06/31/2102093/ماجرای-نیمروز2-رد-خون-از-چهارشنبه-اکران-می-شود |website=Tasnim news |access-date=22 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=سیمرغهای سی و هفتمین جشنواره فیلم فجر اهدا شدند |url= http://www.fajrfilmfestival.com/news/1610/سیمرغهای-سی-و-هفتمین-جشنواره-فیلم-فجر-اهدا-شدند |website=fajrfilmfestival |access-date=12 February 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
* List of cults of personality
* Guerrilla groups of Iran
* Mohammad-Reza Kolahi
* MEK Compound
* Somayeh Mohammadi
* Order of battle during the Iran–Iraq War
* Organizations of the Iranian Revolution
* List of works about the People's Mujahedin of Iran

===Splinter groups===
* Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (Islamist only)
* Organization of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class (Marxist only)

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first=Ervand |last=Abrahamian |title = Iran Between Two Revolutions |publisher = Princeton University |year=1982}}
* {{cite book |first=Ervand |last=Abrahamian |title = Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin |year=1989 |publisher = I.B. Tauris |isbn = 978-1-85043-077-3}}
* {{cite report |last1=Goulka |first1=Jeremiah |last2=Hansell |first2=Lydia |last3=Wilke |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Larson |first4=Judith |year=2009 | title=The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum |publisher=RAND corporation |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG871.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222043501/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG871.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2016 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |first=Ronen |last=Cohen |title = The Rise and Fall of the Mojahedin Khalq, 1987-1997: Their Survival After the Islamic Revolution and Resistance to the Islamic Republic of Iran |publisher = Sussex Academic Press |year=2009 |isbn = 978-1845192709}}
* {{cite book |first1 = Christopher C. |last1 = Harmon |first2 = Randall G. |last2 = Bowdish |year=2018 |chapter = Advertising: The People's Mujahideen e Khalq |title = The Terrorist Argument: Modern Advocacy and Propaganda |publisher = Brookings Institution |isbn = 978-0-8157-3219-8}}
* {{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Katzman |chapter=Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran |title = Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country? |publisher = [[Astronomy:Nova|Nova]] |year=2001 |editor-first = Albert V. |editor-last = Benliot |isbn = 978-1-56072-954-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Moin |first=Baqer |title = Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah |year =2001 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |isbn = 978-1-84511-790-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_V-RDwAAQBAJ&q=Moin,+Khomeini,+2001 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last=O'Hern |first=Steven K. |title = Iran's Revolutionary Guard: The Threat that Grows While America Sleeps | year = 2012 | publisher = Potomac Books |isbn=978-1-59797-823-1<!-- electronic edition ISBN --> }}
* {{cite journal |first=James A. |last=Piazza |title = The Democratic Islamic Republic of Iran in Exile |date=October 1994 |journal = Digest of Middle East Studies |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages = 9–43 |doi=10.1111/j.1949-3606.1994.tb00535.x}}
* {{cite book |first=Sepehr |last=Zabih |chapter = The Non-Communist Left in Iran: The Case of the Mujahidin |pages = 241–258 |title = Ideology and Power in the Middle East |editor-first1=Peter J. |editor-last1=Chelkowski |editor-first2=Robert J. |editor-last2=Pranger |year=1988 |publisher = Duke University Press |isbn = 978-0-8223-8150-1}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=Ronen A. |title=The Mojahedin-e Khalq's utilization of Karbala's ethos and the creation of an ''ex-patriot'' nationalism |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |date=2021 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1080/00263206.2021.1962305|s2cid=238735667 }}

==External links==



{{DEFAULTSORT:People's Mojahedin of Iran}}
[[Category:Left-wing populism]]

{{Sourceattribution|People's Mujahedin of Iran|1}}