THE FACE OF THE FUTURE DEMOCRATIC IRAN

A nuclear-free Iran

The Iran of tomorrow will be a nuclear-free Iran at peace with all nations in the world. In recent days, the earthquake, the tsunami and the explosion of nuclear power plants in Japan have caused distressing tragedies. On behalf of the Iranian people and Resistance, I offer our sympathies to the nation of Japan. These catastrophes, however, proved that the secret and illegal nuclear program of the Iranian regime is a thousand times more dangerous to the lives of the people of our nation. We do not want a nuclear Iran. BERLIN, 19 MARCH 2011

The equality of all nationalities

We are committed to the equality of all ethnicities. We underscore the plan for the autonomy of Iranian Kurdistan, adopted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The language and culture of our compatriots from whatever nationality, are among our nation’s human resources and must spread and be promulgated in tomorrow’s Iran. Platform for Future of Iran-June 22 2013 In the Iran of tomorrow the just right to autonomy of the people of Kurdistan will be recognized. We seek the eradication of dual discrimination against all ethnic minorities in Iran in the framework of the country's indivisible territorial integrity. We say the existence of ethnic minorities in Iran comprises a great and effective force for toppling the mullahs' regime and achieving freedom. Therefore, we should value this multi-cultural and multi-lingual character of our nation. Our compatriots who are from different nationalities, cultures and languages, must be able to equally participate in national decision-makings. They must be able to preserve their cultural, religious and lingual identity. They must be able to speak, work and study in their mother tongues and promote them. Our Iran is an amazingly beautiful garden with freedom and popular sovereignty. Baluchies and Kurds, Arabs and Lors, Bakhtiaries and Turkomans, Azeries and followers of various ethnic groups and faiths are the colorful, lovely flowers of Iran's garden.

Rights of Iranian Workers and Toilers

Workers lost their jobs and livelihood in the course of the unremitting trend of factories going bankrupt … The sale and fraudulent auctions of factories, the economic corruption and expansion of black markets, also the bankruptcy of banks and stepped-up import of foreign goods, target Iran's workers as their prime victims. Also, the treacherous policy of allocating a lion's share of the country's revenues to the war and massacre in Syria, has made Iranian workers ever poorer and destitute. For years, the minimum wage of workers has remained at one dollar per hour… while the one-dollar-an-hour wage of Iranian laborers is not even one-fourth of workers' wage in the world's most crisis-riddled economies, such as Greece…. The Tsunami of lay-offs and dismissals has intensified under Rowhani's government, and group after group of workers join the millions-strong army of unemployed every day… Those who have not lost their jobs are under pressure of having not received their wages while they do not have any job security since they were forced to sign white and temporary contracts to have a job. According to the Iranian regime's Labor Ministry, 93% of the country's working force is working under such contracts. This is one of the regime's most cruel plans designed to subjugate workers and compel them into cheap labor. Iranian workers are among the world's least-paid and most vulnerable work force who face constant threat of dismissal and the lowest job security. Despite the horrific economic stagnation in Iran, it is the ruling mullahs' overlooking of the fate of workers that contributes most significantly to their victimization as a result of criminal policies.

The various regime factions also share interest in the plunder of the product of workers' lives and energy and crackdown on their legitimate protests. This is why workers' conditions deteriorate every year as attested by official figures and reports. It is impossible to gain the minimum rights of Iranian workers and toilers without a regime change. Freedom of independent organizations, the right to stage strikes and protest gatherings, abolition of temporary and white contracts, disbanding of major contractors of labor force, prompt payment of wages and all past-due demands, provision of health and unemployment insurance and other demands of workers threaten the regime's existence because they bring about freedom for workers to various degrees. So, achieving every single one of such demands is intertwined with the struggle for regime change.

An advanced and free education system

The following are the most important demands of Iranian teachers as declared in their demonstrations and published statements. They clearly seek to smash the tyrannical regime prevailing Iran’s education:

• Freedom of imprisoned teachers;
• Recognition of the education faculty's right to protest;
• Provision of student's rights;
• Freedom of guild activity;
• Participation of teachers in educational structures;
• Establishment of a pro bono system of education; and
• Elimination of discrimination and inequality against teachers.

Tomorrow's Iran needs an advanced education system which would be mandatory and free for all children of Iran. Such a system must be free of any political and cultural subjugation and promote political participation of all citizens.
We also need a democratic higher education based on independence of institutions of higher education and recognition of academic freedom.

We need a comprehensive athletic regime based on the fundamental principle of indiscriminate and free access of all youths and youngsters in every city and village to sports accommodations and which provides for free and equal participation of women and girls in various athletic fields across the country.

We say the existence of ethnic minorities in Iran comprises a great and effective force for toppling the mullahs' regime and achieving freedom. Therefore, we should value this multi-cultural and multi-lingual character of our nation.
Our compatriots who are from different nationalities, cultures and languages, must be able to equally participate in national decision-makings. They must be able to preserve their cultural, religious and lingual identity. They must be able to speak, work and study in their mother tongues and promote them.

We are determined to remove all forms of suppression and censorship. This is the freeway that leads to a democratic regime.
We are determined to provide the conditions for free choice, to flourish political participation through freedom of expression and unrestricted activity, and to pave the way for a thriving political participation.

Let us open the gates of the world and all its knowledge and information on Iranian youths.
We insist on equality of all Iranian citizens;
Everyone's equality in electing and getting elected;
Equality of men and women in all political, social, economic and family rights;
And everyone's enjoyment of equal opportunities for education, higher education, employment and business.
Yes, we are seeking a new order based on freedom, democracy and equality.

The force for this great transformation, is you, the conscious and freedom-loving youths of Iran and I call on all of you to rise for the establishment of a free and democratic Iran

IRANIAN REGIME CRACKS DOWN ON MEK/PMOI

The growing movement calling for justice for the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran, has provoked the Iranian regime to attempt to discredit the movement.State-run Basij News recently wrote, “The People’s Mojahedin of Iran (MEK/PMOI) has organized the maximum propaganda and military activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The unresolved issue is how some of the political circles support the MEK’s measures in the current situation and they question the events of the 80s, while trying to call the hangman a martyr.”
Leadership of the regime have criticized France for hosting the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI)’s annual “Free Iran” event. At “The Islamic Human Rights’ Conference”, Foad Eezadi stated, “France hosts Iran’s enemies, whereas it established economic relations with Iran after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).” He added, “We had a lot of sanctions before the Iran Nuclear Deal. However, the question is that who is left out sanctions after this deal? According to this law, even the President could be sanctioned. The U.S. has enlisted us as the enemy country. Consequently, it doesn’t make much of a difference to give or not to give concessions as long as we are on this list.”
By discrediting the MEK, the regime hopes to discredit the movement. The MEK is seen as the foundation of the protests and domestic uprisings within Iran. The regime wants to confront the MEK, arguing that the regime’s unwillingness to discuss the massacre gives the MEK a foothold with the youth and others, because of the questions they raise.
Mohammad Sadeq Koushki, an international affairs expert in Iran, said, “We should have given people as much information about the MEK that there was no ambiguity about the executions in 1988.”
It appears that the regime is not able to obstruct the popular position of the MEK with the younger generation, although the state-run media, and lobbyists in the international community continue to try. The regime promotes outright suppression of the group. Even with these efforts, the MEK/PMOI continue their focus on the rights of the Iranian people and advocate for human rights and the freedom to express political opinions.
Films made about the MEK must reflect the views of the regime. Historically accurate films cause the filmmaker to be accused of being a supporter of the MEK. A filmmaker was quoted as saying, “Many people, even at the government level, go along with these deceptive slogans.”
The MEK/PMOI questions the actions of the Iranian regime. Their network within the country has exposed the actions of the regime to the international community.
Besides the MEK/PMOI, others who oppose the regime have built a coalition known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is the democratic alternative to the fundamentalism of the regime. They have developed a 10-Point Plan for building a free, non-nuclear, and democratic country to replace the regime’s fundamentalism and exporting of terrorism.

NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN, NOW IT'S TIME FOR A NEW US POLICY TOO

By Alireza Jafarzadeh

On the second anniversary of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran nuclear deal, some argue that the agreement succeeded in slowing Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapon. However, the restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program are only limited, as is the international inspectors’ access to the country’s illicit facilities.In addition, in areas unrelated to the nuclear agreement,

the Iranian regime’s behavior has only gotten worse over the past two years. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has escalated its nefarious activities in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, has deliberately sought out close encounters with American warships, and has boasted of new Iranian military equipment.

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 The White House’s efforts to enforce a harder line on Iran policy is well justified and the president’s signing into law of H.R. 3364, which included a title, “Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017” is a step in the right direction.

In June, the National Council of Resistance of Iran revealed details of the escalation of the Iranian missile program, proving the nuclear threat to be real. The opposition coalition identified more than 40 sites for missile development, manufacturing, and testing, all of which were under the control of the IRGC. What’s more, at least one of those sites was known to be collaborating with the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Farsi acronym SPND, the institution tasked with weaponization activities related to the Iranian nuclear weapons program. SPND activities have continued since the JDPOA.

Such revelations clarified what should already be common knowledge: Iran’s nuclear weapons activities have continued. Even worse, myopic focus on the nuclear issues has distracted attention from the Iranian regime’s terrorism sponsorship, regional intervention, and human rights abuses.

If the IRGC continues to acquire more wealth through its large-scale control of the de-sanctioned Iranian economy, combined with continued lack of access to the nuclear sites of SPND, Iran will undoubtedly deliver a nuclear weapon.

To its credit, the US. has taken steps toward addressing the underlying problem of the IRGC’s expanding control over Iranian affairs. Soon after taking office, Mr. Trump urged the administration to review designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization. With the new Iran sanctions bill now signed into law, the administration should expand all anti-terror sanctions to the whole of the IRGC, including its affiliate entities and associated financial and economic arms.

This is a meaningful start to a new Iran policy that is comprehensive in its aims and in its enforcement. Toward that end, the US should work with the UN and EU to evict the IRCG from the combat zones in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. This will help protect the West and its allies, as well as empower the Iranian people, who are seeking regime change and are more than capable of bringing it about on their own.

Without serious sacrifice, Western powers must do their part. The Iranian regime must be more isolated and financially handicapped by the United States. It must also be subject to pressure not just over its nuclear program but also over a range of current and past crimes, including illicit missile testing, escalating regional and sectarian conflicts in the Middle East, and the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. The United States should subject all major human rights violators of the Iranian regime, including dozens involved in the horrific 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. Many of the perpetrators of this crime currently hold key positions in the Iranian regime.

These pressures will make a profound difference in the future of Iran, if coupled with reaching out to the people of Iran and their organized opposition. They will succeed in diminishing the power and influence of the IRGC; bolster the Iranian people and the prospect of the emergence of a truly democratic Iranian government. 

Alireza Jafarzadeh, the deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, is credited with exposing Iranian nuclear sites in Natanz and Arak in 2002, triggering International Atomic Energy Agency inspections. He is the author of "The Iran Threat" (Palgrave MacMillan: 2008). His email is Jafarzadeh@ncrius.org , and is on twitter @A_Jafarzadeh.

originally published in the   foxnews

Senior US Senators meet Iran opposition leader in Albania

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi (left), the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran meeting a senior delegation from the United States Senate

By: Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

The two sides discussed the situation of members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq in Albania and the recent developments in Iran and the Middle East.

Tirana, Albania, Huffington Post, August 12, 2017 - While August seems usually a passive time of the year in politics, it has been quite the opposite for Iran and the wide variety of developments around this controversial international dossier.
A senior delegation of United States Senators travelled to Tirana, the capital of Albania, today, August 12, 2017, to meet the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, who heads the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
The delegation, Senators Roy Blunt, Vice President of the Republican Conference, and member of the Appropriation, Select Intelligence, Rules and Administration, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation committees; John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, and a member of the Judiciary, Select Intelligence, and Finance committees; and Thom Tillis, a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees, also visited members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in the Albanian capital.

 

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi (center), the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran meeting a senior delegation from the United States Senate. From right: Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and John Cornyn (R-TX).

The NCRI is a political coalition calling for regime change in Iran and considered the main threat to Tehran’s mullahs. The MEK is the main member of this coalition of a variety of Iranian dissident groups and individuals.
“Led by Senator Blunt, the delegation congratulated the safe and secure relocation of all Camp Liberty residents outside of Iraq and wished them success in their struggle for democracy and human rights in Iran,” according to an NCRI statement.
Rajavi expressed her gratitude for the tireless efforts of the U.S. Senate, particularly Senator Blunt, regarding the protection of thousands of MEK members in Iraq, and their safe relocation to Albania.
Senator Blunt was among several American dignitaries, including senior former officials, who at a July 2014 Senate briefing strongly condemned Iran’s highly destructive role in Iraq. While describing Tehran as part of the problem plaguing Baghdad and the entire country, Senator Blunt joined the initiative in demanding the urgent transfer of PMOI/MEK members stationed in a former US military base known as Camp Liberty near the Iraqi capital.
Senator Blunt and his colleagues John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and former Senator Carl Levin had urged former Secretary of State John Kerry to “press for the protection of Camp Liberty and to expedite the resettlement of the Camp Residents to countries outside Iraq, including the United States.”

 

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi (right), the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran meeting a senior delegation from the United States Senate. (From right to left) Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).

Earlier in April, Senator McCain, a long supporter of the Iranian opposition and a staunch critic of Tehran’s policies, also visited the MEK in Albania and met with Rajavi. MEK members were able to depart Iraq after a long 4½ year ordeal in Camp Liberty following a forced transfer from their 26-year home in Camp Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad. From 2009 following the transfer of their security from the US military to the Iraqi government, the MEK came under eight major ground and missile/rocket attacks staged by Iran-backed proxies against Ashraf and Liberty. This was parallel to a seven-year logistical and medical siege closing them off from the outside world. After losing over 160 of their colleagues to the attacks and blockade, MEK members were finally able to transfer out of Iraq to a variety of European countries, mainly Albania.
Saturday’s high-profile visit by the senior U.S. Senators comes at a time when Washington has slapped major new sanctions against Iran for its ballistic missile drive, support for terrorism and human rights violations. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards is now subject to sanctions under Executive Order 13224, and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Considering the Guards control over 40% of Iran’s economy, these new sanctions come as a heavy blow to Tehran’s future ambitions. Analysts believe this visit sends a strong signal to Tehran over how the NCRI is gaining momentum through a growing consensus in Congress over the necessity of adopting a policy of regime change vis-à-vis Iran. This time last year Iran’s ruling clerics appeared determined on weakening or dismantling the PMOI/MEK. Only a year later, the tides have turned and it is the Iranian opposition that is now on the offensive. More such developments threatening the very pillars of Iran’s rule are most likely set to come in the near future.

 

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, Contributor, President of the International American Council and board member of the US-Middle East Chamber of Business and Commerce and Harvard IR.
Harvard-educated, Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a world-renowned businessman, a leading Iranian-American political scientist, president of the International American Council on the Middle East, and best-selling author. He serves on the advisory board of Harvard International Review.

High-ranking U.S. Senate Delegation Met Maryam Rajavi in Tirana, the Capital of Albania

High-ranking U.S. Senate Delegation met the NCRI president, Maryam Rajavi in Tirana

News Now, Aug. 13, 2017 - On Saturday, August 12, 2017, a senior delegation from the United States Senate meet with Maryam Rajavi , in the Albanian capital, Tirana, and discussed the situation of the members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Albania, the latest developments in Iran and the Middle East as well as solutions to end to current crisis in that region.
The Senate delegation was comprised of Senators Roy Blunt, Vice President of the Republican Conference, and member of the Appropriation, Select Intelligence, Rules and Administration, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committees; John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, and a member of the Judiciary, Select Intelligence, and Finance committees; and Thom Tillis, a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs committees.
The meeting, at one of the centers of the MEK in Albania, was initiated by Senator Roy Blunt, as the delegation was on a visit to Albania.
Led by Senator Blunt, the delegation congratulated the safe and secure relocation of all Camp Liberty residents outside of Iraq and wished them success in their struggle for democracy and human rights in Iran. Having undertaken extensive efforts to ensure the security of MEK members in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and their transfer outside that country in previous years, Senator Blunt described the relocation as a major victory for the Iranian people and Resistance and lauded the efforts of Maryam Rajavi and the Iranian Resistance for the success of this major mission.
Maryam Rajavi thanked the Senators for their decisive position vis-à-vis the Iranian regime, especially the adoption of a new resolution which imposed sanctions on the clerical regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for human rights abuses, the ballistic missile program, and the export of terrorism. She expressed gratitude for the efforts of the U.S. Senate, particularly Senator Blunt, regarding the protection of thousands of MEK members in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and their safe relocation to Albania.

Maryam Rajavi emphasized that contrary to the propaganda by the Iranian regime’s apologists, the ruling theocracy was rotten to the core and very fragile. Without foreign support, especially the policy of appeasement pursued in the U.S. and Europe, it would not have survived so long. She added that regime change in Iran is necessary and within reach because a viable and democratic alternative exists. Maryam Rajavi said equating regime change by the Iranian people for democracy with war and instability in the region is a sheer lie, the source of which is the Iranian regime’s lobby in western capitals. They demagogically turn the truth on its head, she noted, adding that the overthrow of the Tehran regime was a prerequisite to ending crisis and war in the Middle East.
Maryam Rajavi underscored the need for imposing comprehensive sanctions on the Iranian regime’s banking and oil sector, expelling the IRGC and its affiliated militias from Syria, Iraq, and other regional countries, taking urgent steps to punish the regime for widespread political executions, especially the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, setting up a commission of inquiry to investigate this major crime against humanity with the aim of bringing to justice the perpetrators, and recognizing the aspirations of the Iranian people and Resistance to overthrow the ruling religious tyranny and to establish freedom and democracy, and a republic based on the separation of religion and state, gender equality, and a non-nuclear Iran.
The Senate delegation also met with a number of MEK members as well as witnesses to, and victims of, the Iranian regime’s atrocities in Iran and camps Ashraf and Liberty.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

The Reasons Behind Demonization of the PMOI/MEk by Iran Regime's Apologists

By Jubin Katiraie

The signing into law of the new sanctions on Russia, North Korea and Iran and the impact of this legislation is already being felt, even before the commencement of practical measures which are on the way.

The officials of Iranian regime, in particular, are already afraid of the consequences of the new sanctions. In addition to economic implications of the sanctions, what worries them the most is the actions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. Designating and imposing sanctions on the IRGC was long overdue. Khamenei’s military arm serves as the guarantee to preserve the entirety of the mullahs’ regime and is the main entity responsible for domestic suppression, the export of terrorism and extremism, and obtaining weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

The new bill has added to the already shaky regime’s fears. Janati, the head of the Guardian Council, announced on Thursday that the main issue preoccupying the Supreme leader is his concern over regime change. The actions of the regime in recent years is proof that change from within will not be successful, as the regime is geared to its own preservation and not the best interests of its people, including their international rights and freedoms.

Regime change was the main topic of the July 1, 2017 annual gathering of Iranian resistance (The Mujahedin-e-Khalq or MEK) under the umbrella of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Paris. Many speakers talked about the regime change and their support for the NCRI, as a viable democratic alternative to the current regime.

“I’m happiest to be here because I can say, can probably say this with a good deal of authority, that the government of the United States supports you,” said Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, referring to MEK supporters in the gathering.

“We’re behind you, we agree with your values. The government of the United States understands the danger of Iran. The government of the United States will not allow Iran to become an empire in the Middle East,” added Giuliani.

“I have come to bring you a simple message. Iran must be free. The only practical goal is to support a movement that could free Iran, and that's you,” said former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, when addressing MEK supporters in the gathering. “The presence of 3000 MEK in Albania is a decisive defeat for dictatorship in Tehran. The name of your president will stand the same as George Washington and Lafayette in the United States.”

The bipartisan effort in this legislation showed that the threat posed by the current Iranian regime has created a united front from the United States.

“The outcome of the president’s policy review should be to determine that the Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1979 revolution will not last until its 40th birthday,” said former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton during the recent “Free Iran” gathering in early July.

It has been over thirty years since the Iranian people and their just resistance (MEK) began to seek a regime change. But the brutal internal suppression, along with international and the U.S. policy of appeasement towards Iran, have been the main obstacles to achieving this goal.

Now the time has come for a regime change, and Iranian regime understands this more than anyone else, Iranian lobbies and apologistsare spreading fake news that regime change in Iran means another war in the Middle East. They argue that it will mean a repeat of the war in Iraq will be repeated in Iran and the U.S. will get stuck in another war.

Iran lobbies have started a widespread campaign against the MEK to demonize the group and attempt to weaken its international support system. Their goal from demonizing the MEK is to eliminate any alternative for regime change, forcing the West to search for a solution within the regime and to try to find “moderates” inside the regime.

Contrary to many countries, including Iraq, a democratic and organized opposition exists in Iran. The Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) has been fighting with this regime for over thirty-eight years. Since June 20, 1981, the Iranian regime has executed over 120,000 political prisoners, mostly members and supporters of the MEK. In the summer of 1988 alone, over 30,000 political prisoners, a majority of them from the MEK, were massacred.

In addition to the massacre of MEK members and supporters, the Iranian regime created an atmosphere of fear and terror within the Iranian society. The terror atmosphere was such that whoever had any connection of any kind with the MEK would be arrested and tortured. Even using the name of MEK was prohibited. Any call or communication with MEK members in Ashraf and Liberty camps in Iraq by their family members was considered a crime. Many MEK family members were arrested and tortured just because they called to talk to their loved ones.

Despite all the carnage, pressures, suppression, and demonizing campaigns, the MEK continued its fight against the regime. After the transfer of MEK members to Albania, they focused on activities inside Iran. In the past nine months, the MEK supporters have staged a campaign regarding the 1988 massacre in Iran, revealing many atrocities of the regime. The campaign has been so wide spread and extensive that the supreme leader of the regime, Ali Khamenei, was forced to react by defending the massacre of MEK members and supporters in the prisons.

The new law which imposes new sanctions on the regime for violating human rights and pursuing ballistic missiles, as well as designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity, is an essential step in rectifying the damaging policy of appeasement. Other measures need to be pursued in conjunction with this bill, include the eviction of the IRGC and its affiliated militia, particularly from Syria and Iraq. Finally, the international community needs to recognize the right of the Iranian people to overthrow the clerical regime.

Some background on MEK:

A Long Conflict between the Clerical Regime and the MEK

The origins of the MEK date back to before the 1979 Iranian Revolution., the MEK helped to overthrow the dictatorship of Shah Reza Pahlavi, but it quickly became a bitter enemy of the emerging the religious fascism under the pretext of Islamic Republic. To this day, the MEK and NCRI describe Ruhollah Khomenei and his associates as having co-opted a popular revolution in order to empower themselves while imposing a fundamentalist view of Islam onto the people of Iran.

Under the Islamic Republic, the MEK was quickly marginalized and affiliation with it was criminalized. Much of the organization’s leadership went to neighboring Iraq and built an exile community called Camp Ashraf, from which the MEK organized activities aimed at ousting the clerical regime and bringing the Iranian Revolution back in line with its pro-democratic origins. But the persistence of these efforts also prompted the struggling regime to crack down with extreme violence on the MEK and other opponents of theocratic rule.

The crackdowns culminated in the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, as the Iran-Iraq War was coming to a close. Thousands of political prisoners were held in Iranian jails at that time, many of them having already served out their assigned prison sentences. And with the MEK already serving as the main voice of opposition to the regime at that time, its members and supporters naturally made up the vast majority of the population of such prisoners.

As the result of a fatwa handed down by Khomeini, the regime convened what came to be known as the Death Commission, assigning three judges the task of briefly interviewing prisoners to determine whether they retained any sympathy for the MEK or harbored any resentment toward the existing government. Those who were deemed to have shown any sign of continued opposition were sentenced to be hanged. After a period of about three months, an estimated 30,000 people had been put to death. Many other killings of MEK members preceded and followed that incident, so that today the Free Iran rally includes an annual memorial for approximately 120,000 martyrs from the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.

The obvious motive behind the 1988 massacre and other such killings was the destruction of the MEK. And yet it has not only survived but thrived, gaining allies to form the NCRI and acquiring the widespread support that is put on display at each year’s Free Iran rally. In the previous events, the keynote speech was delivered by Maryam Rajavi, who has been known to receive several minutes of applause from the massive crowd as she takes the stage. Her speeches provide concrete examples of the vulnerability of the clerical regime and emphasize the ever-improving prospects for the MEK to lead the way in bringing about regime change.

The recipients of that message are diverse and they include more than just the assembled crowd of MEK members and supporters. The expectation is that the international dignitaries at each year’s event will carry the message of the MEK back to their own governments and help to encourage more policymakers to recognize the role of the Iranian Resistance in the potential creation of a free and democratic Iranian nation. It is also expected that the event will inspire millions of Iranians to plan for the eventual removal of the clerical regime. And indeed, the MEK broadcasts the event via its own satellite television network, to millions of Iranian households with illegal hookups.

MEK’s Domestic Activism and Intelligence Network

What’s more, the MEK retains a solid base of activists inside its Iranian homeland. In the run-up to this year’s Free Iran rally the role of those activists was particularly evident, since the event comes just a month and a half after the latest Iranian presidential elections, in which heavily stage-managed elections resulted in the supposedly moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani securing reelection. His initial election in 2013 was embraced by some Western policymakers as a possible sign of progress inside the Islamic Republic, but aside from the 2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers, none of his progressive-sounding campaign promises have seen the light of day.

Rouhani’s poor record has provided additional fertile ground for the message of the MEK and Maryam Rajavi. The Iranian Resistance has long argued that change from within the regime is impossible, and this was strongly reiterated against the backdrop of the presidential elections, when MEK activists used graffiti, banners, and other communications to describe the sitting president as an “imposter.” Many of those same communications decried Rouhani’s leading challenger, Ebrahim Raisi, as a “murderer,” owing to his leading role in the massacre of MEK supporters in 1988.

That fact helped to underscore the domestic support for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, insofar as many people who participated in the election said they recognized Raisi as the worst the regime had to offer, and that they were eager to prevent him from taking office. But this is not to say that voters saw Rouhani in a positive light, especially where the MEK is concerned. Under the Rouhani administration, the Justice Minister is headed by Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who also served on the Death Commission and declared as recently as last year that he was proud of himself for having carried out what he described as God’s command of death for MEK supporters.

With this and other aspects of the Islamic Republic’s record, the MEK’s pre-election activism was mainly focused on encouraging Iranians to boycott the polls. The publicly displayed banners and posters urged a “vote for regime change,” and many of them included the likeness of Maryam Rajavi, suggesting that her return to Iran from France would signify a meaningful alternative to the hardline servants of the clerical regime who are currently the only option in any Iranian national election.

Naturally, this direct impact on Iranian politics is the ultimate goal of MEK activism. But it performs other recognizable roles from its position in exile, not just limited to the motivational and organization role of the Free Iran rally and other, smaller gatherings. In fact, the MEK rose to particular international prominence in 2005 when it released information that had been kept secret by the Iranian regime about its nuclear program. These revelations included the locations of two secret nuclear sites: an uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and a heavy water plant at Arak, capable of producing enriched plutonium.

As well as having a substantial impact on the status of international policy regarding the Iranian nuclear program, the revelations also highlighted the MEK’s popular support and strong network inside Iran. Although Maryam Rajavi and the rest of the leadership of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran reside outside of the country, MEK affiliates are scattered throughout Iranian society with some even holding positions within hardline government and military institutions, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Drawing upon the resources of that intelligence network, the MEK has continued to share crucial information with Western governments in recent years, some of it related to the nuclear program and some of it related to other matters including terrorist training, military development, and the misappropriation of financial resources. The MEK has variously pointed out that the Revolutionary Guard controls well over half of Iran’s gross domestic product, both directly and through a series of front companies and close affiliates in all manner of Iranian industries.

In February of this year, the Washington, D.C. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran held press conferences to detail MEK intelligence regarding the expansion of terrorist training programs being carried out across Iran by the Revolutionary Guards. The growth of these programs reportedly followed upon direct orders from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and coincided with increased recruitment of foreign nationals to fight on Tehran’s behalf in regional conflicts including the Syrian and Yemeni civil wars.

In the weeks following that press conference, the MEK’s parent organization also prepared documents and held other talks explaining the source of some of the Revolutionary Guards’ power and wealth. Notably, this series of revelations reflected upon trends in American policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. And other revelations continue to do so, even now.

MEK Intelligence Bolstering US Policy Shifts

Soon after taking office, and around the time the MEK identified a series of Revolutionary Guard training camps, US President Donald Trump directed the State Department to review the possibility of designating Iran’s hardline paramilitary as a foreign terrorist organization. Doing so would open the Revolutionary Guards up to dramatically increased sanctions – a strategy that the MEK prominently supports as a means of weakening the barriers to regime change within Iran.

The recent revelations of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran have gone a long way toward illustrating both the reasons for giving this designation to the Revolutionary Guards and the potential impact of doing so. Since then, the MEK has also used its intelligence gathering to highlight the ways in which further sanctioning the Guards could result in improved regional security, regardless of the specific impact on terrorist financing.

For example, in June the NCRI’s Washington, D.C. office held yet another press conference wherein it explained that MEK operatives had become aware of another order for escalation that had been given by Supreme Leader Khamenei, this one related to the Iranian ballistic missile program. This had also been a longstanding point of contention for the Trump administration and the rest of the US government, in light of several ballistic missile launches that have been carried out since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations, including an actual strike on eastern Syria.

That strike was widely viewed as a threatening gesture toward the US. And the MEK has helped to clarify the extent of the threat by identifying 42 separate missile sites scattered throughout Iran, including one that was working closely with the Iranian institution that had previously been tasked with weaponizing aspects of the Iranian nuclear program.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) led by Maryam Rajavi is thus going to great lengths to encourage the current trend in US policy, which is pointing to more assertiveness and possibly even to the ultimate goal of regime change. The MEK is also striving to move Europe in a similar direction, and the July 1 gathering is likely to show further progress toward that goal. This is because hundreds of American and European politicians and scholars have already declared support for the NCRI and MEK and the platform of Maryam Rajavi. The number grows every year, while the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran continues to collect intelligence that promises to clarify the need for regime change and the practicality of their strategy for achieving it.

How Iran Fears MEK as Its Opposition

 Pooya Stone

The regime in Iran has come under immense domestic and international pressure recently. Most vivid are the sweeping sanctions imposed by US Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump.

These developments are sparking an endless stream of reactions from Iran’s senior officials and various media outlets. Over 500 interviews, reports, posts, sessions, book introductions and others events have been discussed in this regime’s official outlets, all regarding the opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The reason behind this chorus of remarks and attacks aimed at the MEK is obvious. It is crystal clear for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his entire regime apparatus how the MEK represent the source of all their strategic defeats.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has recently been classified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity. This is mainly due to the hundreds of revelations, press conferences, articles, posts and other activities by the MEK and its umbrella group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The IRGC blacklisting is considered a strategic setback for Tehran, especially since 40% of the regime’s economy is controlled by the Guards.

The MEK also delivered major blow to Khamenei’s blueprints aimed at unifying his regime through engineering the May 19th presidential election. Conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, Khamenei’s preferred candidate, was groomed by the hardliners to replace the incumbent Hassan Rouhani as president.

The MEK’s vast network of activists inside Iran, coupled with a variety of measures abroad, shed light on Raisi’s past as a member of an infamous “Death Commission” in charge of supervising the 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners across the country who mostly were members of MEK.

As Raisi failed to reach the presidency, the mullahs’ entire apparatus suffered a major defeat, understood best by Khamenei himself.

The MEK best gained international credibility in 2002 after blowing the whistle on Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program. In the years since the MEK has maintained a solid record of revealing Iran’s secret and underground nuclear sites, forcing Tehran to succumb to a still highly-flawed agreement with the P5+1 aimed at curbing its nuclear program.

To this day Iran’s human rights violations have also been condemned in 63 resolutions issued in the past four decades by various United Nations organizations. UN special rapporteurs, such as Ahmed Shaheed and Asma Jahangiri, have condemned Iran in numerous texts. Again, the MEK’s role in alarming the world of the mullahs’ atrocities has been crucial.

Amnesty International and other such organizations, alongside numerous parliaments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the US Congress have also voiced their deep concerns and denounced Iran’s actions.

As our world becomes further connected through the Internet, the MEK and Iranian opposition supporters have taken to social media to enhance their effort against the mullahs.

Iran is known for its media and internet censorship, and yet social media and certain technology are allowing this young population connect with the outside world. This platform has provided means for the MEK and its vast network to express their desires and shed light on the truth about the mullahs’ devastating policies.

Sensing the dangers in this regard, Iran has stepped up its filtering efforts, especially the highly popular Telegram platform that enjoys dozens of millions of users in Iran. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has recently underscored despite claims made by Tehran his company will not yield to this regime’s demands to censor any political channels.

Topping Iran’s concerns is the medium provided by the MEK and NCRI to realize a policy of successful regime change in Iran. As Washington weighs its comprehensive Iran policy and senior Trump administration officials have voiced support for regime change initiatives, this potential has become extremely concerning for Tehran.

“There are those who say the Islamic Republic will not reach its 40th year and they seek to topple the establishment in the coming years,” said Ahmad Jannati, chair of the ultraconservative Guardian Council in a recent session.

In addition to making remarks, conducting interviews and posting text in media outlets, Iran has also sought practical measures against its opposition.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Paris failed to convince French officials to prevent the MEK from holding its annual convention on their soil.

Kamal Kharrazi, career diplomat and former Iranian foreign minister, also went to Paris following the Iranian opposition rally in an attempt to place limitations on this opposition organization’s activity in France.

Through the years Tehran has reached this conclusion that maintaining its grip on power hinges heavily on eliminating its main opposition. During the past three decades, Khamenei and his regime pursued this path with all their will.

To this end, the MEK and NCRI represent the Iranian people’s true demand ofregime change in Iran. Supporting this opposition is tantamount to standing alongside the Iranian people.

Why is Changiz Ghadam Kheiri, a political prisoner on hunger strike?

Kurd political prisoner Changiz Qadam Kheiri who has been transferred to serve his time in Masjed Suleiman Prison

Iran, 28 July 2017-- Iranian political prisoner, changiz Ghadam Kheiri has been on hunger strike since Monday July 24 to protest pressures on him by the prison officials.

Despite certification by the prison physicians that he needs surgery due to his deteriorating health situation, Changiz who is currently in Masjed Soleiman Prison in the Khouzestan province (Southwestern Iran) has been deprived of receiving medical care imposed by the Ministry of Intelligence.

In protest to the Ministry of Intelligence's impedement in releasing him on medical grounds, and his inadequate situation in prison, he has gone on hunger strike since Monday July 24.

Changiz Ghadam Kheiri who was wounded at the time of his arrest, despite the passage of more than five years from the time of his arrest, still has shrapnel in his body and has been kept in poor sanitary conditions.

While he does not use any tobacco, he is kept in section 1, where addicts are kept.

According to reports, the request of the prisoner to transfer him to another section has been denied by the regime's Ministry of Intelligence.

Changiz Ghadam Kheiri, born in 1988, was arrested in 2011 and transferred to Sanandaj central prison. After two years, he was exiled to Masjed Soleiman prison.

This prisoners was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment for a six-month membership in one of the Kurdish parties by a regime’s court in Sanandaj.

It is worth mentioning that after the arrest of Changiz Ghadam Kheiri, his family was informed about the arrest and wounding of the prisoner only after a few months of having no news about him.

YOUR PERSEVERANCE GIVES US HOPE

By Linda Chavez

 July 17, 2017-- There is a growing conviction throughout the world that the only way to counter the extremism and the fundamentalism in the theocratic regime in Iran is to replace that regime. And you — you, the free people of Iran — are the hope for the future of all of the Iranian people.You are the ones who can eradicate this scourge on humanity and who can stop the export of terrorism that is from the regime in Tehran.

Your movement, under the leadership and the direction of Madame Maryam Rajavi, is the one true movement that can replace this regime. I want to salute you today for your courage and for your perseverance of the MEK and the NCRI. You are the ones who remain committed to freedom and to democracy for Iran, and to eradicate the suppression, the terrorism and the regime’s demonizing campaign that has been directed at you.

Your perseverance gives us hope that we shall in the end defeat the phenomena of Islamic fundamentalism, whose heart beats in the clerical regime in Iran.

Linda Chavez is founder and chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity and a syndicated columnist. This excerpt is from remarks she gave at the July 1 rally in Paris.

Former Iran's Intelligence Minister Admits 1988 Massacre of Political Prisoner

ondon, 18 Jul - The former intelligence minister of Iran has admitted that former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini ordered the executions of 30,000 political prisoners affiliated with the Iranian Resistance group, People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI or MEK) in the summer of 1988.

Ali Fallahian, gave an interview to the Regime-affiliated Tarikh Online website on July 9, in which he acknowledged that Khomeini had announced a fatwa calling for the extermination of all those affiliated with the MEK.

He said: “The Imam (Khomeini) decreed, ‘At least execute those who say this and who maintain their belief. It doesn’t make sense to release them.’ Then some continued to put pressure and moan that these people are this and that in prison, so it was decided that a committee be formed. Some people say that these people handed down sentences for a collective massacre. They did not do such a thing. It was decided that this 3-man committee, whose members were from the (Intelligence) Ministry and judges and were knowledgeable and were from the Prosecutor’s Office, would evaluate to see if anyone was pardonable from execution. That was the task of this committee; they were not tasked with issuing death sentences.”

It is worth noting that the interviewer seemed shocked by this admission and pointed out that the death commissions also spared some people from execution, which Fallahian agreed with. In reality, the death commission spared very few people and the PMOI (MEK) member had to renounce their political belief, go on TV to denounce the PMOI (MEK), and check the areas where Iran was fighting Iraq for landmines.

Fallahian referred to those people who refused to renounce their beliefs as “crazy”, but when you consider their alternative, you can understand why many stand by their beliefs.

He also revealed that many of those who were arrested for supporting the MEK were not armed when they were arrested and those who were armed, were at home and there were only a couple of guns between a big group of people. The MEK members were only classed as being part of an armed rebellion because they were part of the MEK, which the Regime saw as a political threat.

Fallahian revealed that the Regime made no distinction between members and supporters, which is why they executed even the lowest-ranking supporters rather than holding them as prisoners of war.

He said: “They were part of that organisation. They were prepared to carry out operations. Maybe today someone goes and buys bread for the people in the team house, or someone might go provide other provisions… (But they are all part of it).”

Hossein-Ali Montazeri, then heir to the supreme leader, spoke to the death commission and criticised them for executing pregnant women, which is against even the laws that the mullahs wrote. For this he was stripped of his position and kept under house arrest for the rest of his life.

In 2016, when his son Ahmad released an audio recording of his father’s conversation with the death commission, he was sentenced to 21 years in jail.

Fallahian said: “[Montazeri Snr.] had another problem, and he found differences with the Imam (Khomeini). At the beginning he too agreed (with Khomeini’s position). But he became of the view that these executions would eventually lead to history judging against us and against Islam so it’s better that we don’t do this so that in the future when our enemies take up their pens they would not write appallingly about us. But the Imam said, ‘No, you carry out your religious duties and don’t wait for history’s judgment’.”

So, now the international community must bring the Iranian Regime before the International Criminal Court in order to account for their crimes against humanity.