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CNN: The uncertain future of the MEK, what the cases in Albania and France show

2023-07-11 10:46:06Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
CNN: The uncertain future of the MEK, what the cases in Albania and France show
In the photo: Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the MEK, together with Vice President Mike Pence during a visit to Camp Ashraf 3 in Albania

Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the MEK, together with Vice President Mike Pence during a visit to Camp Ashraf 3 in Albania

The prestigious American media CNN has stopped in a long article where the focus is placed on the mujahedin of the MEK and their future, which currently remains unclear.

CNN writes that the Mujahideen's annual conferences have attracted conservative Western politicians, including former US Vice President Mike Pence, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former US National Security Adviser John Bolton.

" But recent events for Iran's most powerful opposition group have led some experts to wonder if their glory days are already numbered ," writes CNN.

The Mujahedin of the MEK were once defined by the US as a terrorist group, but today it considers them as allies. Iran, on the other hand, accuses them of terrorism, saying that they carried out a series of attacks in the 1980s. But the MEK denies these accusations.

The MEK is one of the most organized opposition groups against the Islamic Republic, but has very little support among Iranians. This is because of the violence used in the past and the fact that they supported the President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein during the war with Iran.

"However, analysts say that recent diplomatic activity between Iran and its enemies may not bode well for the group ," CNN writes.

The American media draws attention to the action of the Albanian police at the base of the MEK in Manze of Durrës and the cancellation of a rally in France. A MEK representative told CNN that they believe the actions are part of a "policy of appeasement" with the regime in Tehran.

" It is becoming clear that security concerns were simply a pretext to appease the clerical regime ," said Shahin Gobadi, a member of the MEK in Paris, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. He made the comments in reference to France's ban on the gathering.

CNN also writes about the police action in Camp Ashraf 3.

" The intervention was based on suspicions that the group was involved in political activity. Political activity is prohibited under an agreement that allows them to stay in Albania,"  writes CNN.

The prestigious American goes on to say that Iran welcomed the action and an Iranian official said that some of the seized hard drives have been sent to Tehran. According to him, Iranian experts are working to find information that leads to the identification of the agents of this group and the saboteurs responsible.

The MEK called on Albania to clarify whether any of these devices had been sent to Iran. Regarding this event, Gobadi told CNN that the raid "was carried out on orders or under pressure" from Iran.

But an Albanian coordinator at the Foreign Ministry told CNN that Albania has not sent any seized material to Iran.

"All the seized equipment is with our authorities and will be used for the investigations ", he said to CNN.

In the same week, French authorities banned the planned rally in Paris citing "threats of attacks".

The ban was later lifted by a court order and the rally took place to coincide with an annual meeting of the MEK on the outskirts of Paris that hosted some of the most prominent figures of the right wing.

A French diplomatic source told CNN that Paris police had ordered a halt to the rally "due to risks of disturbing public order".

Gobadi said that MEK activities in Albania and elsewhere are carried out " in accordance with the laws of their host countries" .

But the coordinator of the Albanian Foreign Ministry said that the MEK has broken an agreement not to engage in "illegal hostile activities". He added that Albania has paid a high price by hosting them. The worst, as CNN writes, are the cyber attacks of July 2022 where Albania accused Iran.

"The attack had dramatic consequences for Albania and its citizens because 95% of public services are online," said the coordinator.

Albania severed relations with Iran as a result, but Tehran denies that it was the author of the attacks.

The Albanian coordinator said that it is " deeply insulting " to be accused of easing relations with Iran, given that Albania "welcomed and offered humanitarian protection to the MEK, when no other country in the world would accept them".

The setbacks for the MEK also come after a landmark deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March. The two countries restored diplomatic ties after nearly eight years of tension.

For years, Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of supporting the MEK. Speculation of support was especially fueled when Prince Turki al-Faisal attended a MEK summit in Paris. In his speech in 2016, al-Faisal stated that he too wanted the regime to fall.

In March, al-Faisal said he was not aware of any imminent normalization pact between Tehran and Riyadh and that he was surprised by it.

The prince has said he has no official role in the government, but his comments and support for the MEK have angered Iran. The latter have called the opposition group the "adopted children" of the Saudis.

The MEK denies receiving funds from Saudi Arabia or other governments. Gobadi insists that it is an independent movement that stands on its own "feet both politically and financially".

The French ban on the rally came days after a 90-minute phone call that French President Emmanuel Macron had with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi.

"It is unclear whether the recent diplomatic activity between Iran and its enemies is directly responsible for the developments in France or Albania, but analysts say they are unlikely to be coincidental, especially as Western states hope to resume nuclear talks with Iran." , writes CNN.

Support for the MEK comes largely from countries that have tensions with Iran, said Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute in Washington, DC.

"As a result, when these tensions with Iran increase or decrease, it directly affects the fate of the MEK," he told CNN, adding that since Riyadh and Tehran have reconciled, the MEK is of "less use to Saudi Arabia."

Politicians who have attended Mujahideen conferences include Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former British Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Ali Ahmadi, of the Center for Security Policy in Geneva, says that those who support the MEK are either young conservatives or retired politicians who "are happy to get a big check".

But Gobadi denied to CNN that they were paid by the MEK.

According to the director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, Alex Vatanka, the UN and the EU try to reach new agreements with Iran and for this they can use the future of the MEK.

However, analysts say the MEK is unlikely to disappear anytime soon, having survived for the past six decades despite changing geopolitics.

"I think they are gradually getting weaker," Vatanka said.

CNN closes its article by saying that the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement will weaken them further, but it will not mean their destruction.


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