Iran thanks Albania for prosecution of MKO members

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
2 Jul 2023 23:09

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry hailed the Albanian government following the raid conducted on the Ashraf-3 camp on June 20.

Mujahedin-e-Khalq members clash with Albanian police during a raid on the Ashraf-3 and Ashraf-4 camps on June 20, 2023. (Social Media)

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry hailed the Albanian government and security services, on Sunday, for prosecuting members of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), which Tehran has labeled as a terrorist organization.

According to Tasnim, an Iranian news outlet, the ministry said that "the Albanian government's recent decisions in relation to MKO terrorists deserve praise."

It is worth noting that the Albanian police raided an MKO camp on June 20, owing to the group's involvement in "terror and cyberattacks" against foreign organizations.

Officials seized 150 electronic devices suspected of being used in terrorist activity. During the skirmishes in the Ashraf-3 camp in Tirana's northwest, at least one person was murdered and many were injured.

According to reports, one of the MKO members slain in the attack was Abdolvahhab Faraji, a high-profile commander of the terrorist organization. He was believed to be an expert in military engineering operations, and was apparently in charge of technical and engineering efforts during an MKO terrorist operation against Iran in July 1988.

A week later, Albanian police entered the Ashraf-3 camp, and security troops were stationed at the camp's gate and regulated all vehicles leaving the facility.

Nasser Kanaani, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, has stated that the anti-Iran terror group would always represent a threat to the security of its host countries, and hoped that Albania would "make up for its mistake of hosting this terrorist cult."

After the terrorists were rejected by the administration of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after they had been hosted by Saddam Hussein, Albania began harboring them.

The European country is estimated to have been accommodating some 3,000 members of the terror organization since 2016.

Previously, the European Union, Canada, the United States, and Japan designated the MKO as a "terrorist organization." The group was removed from the United States' list of terrorist groups in 2012. Following suit, the EU removed the organization from its list of terrorist organizations as well.