A new bill in Congress was promoted by the People’s Mojahedin (MEK), an Iranian Marxist-Shiite group formerly designated as a terrorist organization by the US, UK, and EU.
The bill was first introduced in February and was sponsored by Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA).
It has since gained a bipartisan majority of sponsors in Congress, and failed to mention the MEK’s involvement despite openly lauding and commending its current leader, Maryam Rajavi. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Bill is anti-regime, calls for a democratic, secular Iran
The bill’s contents are strictly anti-regime. It calls for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Republic of Iran, recognizing that “the source of terrorism and warmongering in the Middle East region is the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran.” It also deems the Islamic regime a central cause of the regional conflict, “due to its fueling of weapons, missiles, and drones to its proxies and targeting of ships and free trade in the Red Sea and American forces in the region.”
The bill further stresses Iran’s violations on commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding its nuclear programs, and commends protests in Iran, “primarily led by women and youth,” recognizing that women and minorities Iran have been “the primary targets of repression. Finally, it also reminds that 500 prisoners, including political prisoners and at least 17 women, have been executed in the past year since the current President Pezeshkian took power.
However, three salient clues give out the involvement of MEK in drafting the bill:
First of all, the bill makes use of the slogan “Women, Resistance, Freedom”, an MEK-affiliated version of the original slogan used in Iran, “Women, Life, Freedom”. Secondly, the bill claims that the Iranian people consensually oppose monarchy as an “authoritarian rule,” despite the fact that many Iranians consider themselves to be monarchists loyal to the Pahlavi dynasty.
Lastly and most strikingly, the text of the bill openly commends the current leader of MEK, Maryam Rajavi, for her “Ten-Point Plan for the Future of Iran” – twice. Notably, the bill fails to mention who Rajavi is, who the MEK are, and what background and role Rajavi plays in the MEK.
Iran expert: 'An achievement of the regime'
Mojahedin-e-Khalq, also known as People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), was considered a terrorist organization by the US, Canada, UK, the EU, and Japan up until 2013, and was described by critics as featuring traits of a “personality cult”.
According to the US State Department, during the 1970s, the MEK killed US military personnel and US civilians in Tehran, and supported the takeover in 1979 of the US Embassy; while after the Islamic Revolution, the group focused mainly on regime-affiliated targets. Despite its claims to have given up its arms in 2003 to focus on political lobbying, many Iranians from across the political spectrum still view the MEK in disdain for their ideology and actions.
“There is nothing positive about MEK's activities, period,” said Dr. Raz Zimmt, Director of the Iran and the Shiite Axis research program at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). “If there is one thing that unites the Iranian opposition at home and abroad, from monarchists to leftists to separatists – it’s that they all disapprove of MEK.”
Zimmt referred to the MEK's intensive lobbying activities in the West, which he argued involve huge sums spent on decision makers. “We have known for years that the organization's political council invites former government officials and American politicians to its annual conference every year, and according to all available information, they pay very generously for this participation.”
Zimmt explained that popular disdain for MEK means that any connections with the group directly undermine actions intended to help promote political change in Iran. He added that, as opposed to monarchist elements in opposition who still carry an authentic sense of nostalgia and longing for pre-revolutionary Iran, “MEK is thoroughly loathed by most groups from all sides of the spectrum in the Iranian side.”
For this reason, Zimmt believes that even strongly worded bills such as McClintock’s are “a waste of resources. As soon as Iranians see anyone supporting MEK, they are automatically rejected. Supporting MEK is also detrimental to the ability to make political change.
“This bill is more than just an achievement of MEK,” Zimmt continued. “It’s an achievement for the regime itself. There is virtually nothing more that Khamenei enjoys than painting initiatives – political or social ones – as being led by the MEK. For many Iranians, this can tarnish the entire struggle for political change in Iran, certainly in desirable directions,” he concluded.
