Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli PM Office: Netanyahu has ordered that the Rafah crossing will not open until further notice.
Ambrey: Cameroon-flagged tanker issues distress call following explosion abroad, approximately 60NM south of Yemen's Ahwar.
Araghchi: Iran adopted a constructive approach in its engagement to ensure the European Union and the E3 fully honored their commitments and lifted all sanctions.
Araghchi: After a year of Iran’s full compliance with the agreement, it began implementing gradual, proportionate, and reversible compensatory steps in accordance with its recognized rights under the deal.
Araghchi: Iran demonstrated the utmost restraint in the face of repeated and fundamental violations and made extensive efforts to restore balance and preserve the agreement.
In his letter, Araghchi stated: The E3 failed to fulfill their obligations and instead imposed additional illegal sanctions on Iranian individuals and institutions.
Araghchi: These coercive measures constituted a grave violation of international law and the UN Charter, causing severe disruption in the implementation of the agreement.
Araghchi: Washington initially refrained from fulfilling its commitments, then withdrew from the agreement, reimposed its illegal and unilateral sanctions, and even expanded them.
Araghchi: UN Security Council Resolution 2231 has expired and fully ceased to be in effect as of today, in accordance with its explicit provisions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry: Reimposing sanctions on Iran is illegal

MKO, A decaying organization that no one wants to back: Report

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Responsible Statecraft
  • 26 Jun 2023 14:35
  • 1 Shares
7 Min Read

The Mujahedin-e-Khalk Organization is facing dwindling popularity among its Western backers and partners.

  • x
  • Former US Vice President Mike Pence during a speech at Iranian terror group MKO's headquarters in Albania at Ashraf-3 camp in Manza town, about 30 kilometers west of Tirana, Albania, June 23, 2022 (AP)
    Former US Vice President Mike Pence during a speech at Iranian terror group MKO's headquarters in Albania at Ashraf-3 camp in Manza town, about 30 kilometers west of Tirana, Albania, June 23, 2022 (AP)

Former US Vice President Mike Pence has become one of the sole supporters of the Iranian terrorist organization, Mujahedin-e-Khalk (MKO) at a time when its popularity is dwindling because its main backers are coming to realize that it is more of a liability than anything else, Responsible Statecraft reported.

The cult-like exiled Iranian opposition group notorious for its human rights abuses spent nearly two decades on the US list of terrorist organizations, yet its political wing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has long been receiving backing from prominent US officials, including Pence.

Pence is trying to use the MKO as a trump card in his run for the 2024 presidency, hailing it as a "secular, democratic, non-nuclear" alternative to the Islamic Republic of Iran in a bid to boost his popularity through hawkishness toward Iran in a bid to assimilate with fellow Trump administration senior officials John Bolton and Mike Pompeo.

Currently, Pence is trying to overthrow the man under whom he served as Vice President, Republican front-runner Donald Trump, but his legal troubles might take care of that, but if he were to be disqualified, no one knows what the Republican arena would look like.

The backing of the MKO would win over the neoconservative campaign donors and lobbies who oppose a lenient, or merely more lenient, approach toward Iran, - such the Biden administration's attempts to de-escalate tensions with Tehran - in pursuit of the Trump-era "maximum pressure" policy against the Islamic Republic.

Despite throwing his weight behind the NCRI, Pence might be in trouble, as his push might only benefit him in the US political landscape rather than in making any actual change in Iran, mainly due to the organization's unpopularity and its waning fortunes.

Disdain is growing for the MKO all over the world. The Albanian police on Tuesday raided the country's MKO base to which its top brass was relocated from its base in Iraq, due to its violation of the US-mediated agreement allowing for their resettling in the country. 

Originally, the deal was aimed at hosting a couple of thousand individuals disdain for which was growing after the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq; however, the organization members took to using their presence in the country as a base of operations for political activities, including carrying out cyberattacks and mass online harassment of opponents.

The MKO was violent in resisting the Albanian raid, resulting in the death of at least one person and the injury of dozens more, prompting concerns about the group having grown into a "state within a state" in the country that has been granting them humanitarian asylum for years.

In an interview, published by VOX News Albania, a former member of the MKO, Mustafai Beheshti, revealed what happened inside the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organisation (MKO) camp located in Manza, Durrës.

Related News

Most powerful decision-maker in Iraq is US: Sheikh Al-Khalisi

Trump's immigration curbs may cut 15 million US workers by 2035

It was also reported that Mustafai underscored that the MKO camp was filled with well-trained terrorists and are very dangerous. The former member stated "The oldest are soldiers and they know a lot of things. Many of them lived in America and were IT engineers. Even now there are people in America working for them. They have a lot of money.

Mustafai then went on to highlight that people in the camp had no freedom and that their basic human rights were violated. For example, he explained that he had not seen his son or family for 22 years. He said "After 22 years, I want to see my family. When I left, I left my grandson who was only one year old. We can't go there, our families can't come here."

The Albanian Ministry of the Interior announced that the raid, carried out by the police in the Ashraf 3 camp, which houses Iranian anti-revolution members who belong to MKO, "was carried out in accordance with the law and an order issued by the Anti-Terrorism Court."

"There is no reason for a sovereign state like Albania to tolerate on its territory some enclaves where its national laws don’t necessarily apply," Responsible Statecraft argued.

The raid in Albania came after France refused to grant permission to a large NCRI gathering set for Paris in July on the grounds of security, marking another hit dealt to the group that uses rallies to gain international support as it continues to prove to the West that it is more costly than beneficial for its backers, with the French having long been uncomfortable with the group's presence on its soil.

Many of the group's militants had resorted to France as a shelter after losing to the Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini whom they had supported against the Western-backed monarchy initially before turning against the revolution.

The MKO's militants moved from France to Iraq, where they cooperated with Saddam Hussein in the latter stages of the Iran-Iraq war, earning them the hatred of the Iranians.

France and Albania were lambasted by pro-MKO US officials, such as Senator Ted Cruz, who accused them of acting at the "ayatollah's behest"; however, the Texan lawmaker perhaps forgot that Albania and Iran have had their diplomatic ties severed since 2022 in the wake of a suspected wave of Iranian cyberattacks against Albania.

His theory on France, though, has different grounds as Paris is seeking closer cooperation with Tehran in the hopes of reviving the Iran nuclear deal flushed down the drain by the United States under Donald Trump, who left the deal and imposed harsh sanctions on Iran.

France also wants to convince Iran to phase out support for Russia in light of the Ukraine war, with direct talks taking place between Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. "As long as the diplomatic channels with Tehran remain open, the [MKO's] activities in France are seen as harmful," the report added.

The MKO's latest blow was the normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as Riyadh was suspected of being one of the main backers of the organization for years, with senior Saudi diplomats attending MKO rallies abroad. However, it seems that Saudi will phase out support for the group, as it is speculated that Tehran and Riyadh's rapprochement stipulated that the latter downgrade its ties to the terror group.

As Mike Pence tries to give life back to the MKO to try and revive his political career, his attempts may be more than futile as its international partners are deserting it one by one as its true colors are revealed and as the world comes to terms with the fact that the Islamic Republic is there to stay.

  • United States
  • Mujahedin-e-Khalq
  • Mike Pompeo
  • Tehran
  • John Bolton
  • France
  • Mike Pence
  • Donald Trump
  • Iran

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi in an undated image in Gaza, occupied Palestine (Social media)

Gaza Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi killed by collaborators

  • Politics
  • 12 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Illustration of fists breaking shackles, representing the liberation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. (Illustrated by: AL Mayadeen English/Batoul Chamas)

4 prominent Palestinian detainees to be freed: Who are they?

  • Palestine
  • 13 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Iraqi religious leader Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi on Al Mayadeen Plus, October 18, 2025 (Screengrab)
Politics

Most powerful decision-maker in Iraq is US: Sheikh Al-Khalisi

Flags of Iran, Russia, and China (IRNA)
Politics

Iran, Russia, China confirm: Iran nuclear issue out of UNSC

Member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc Ali Fayyad speaks to Al Mayadeen, October 18, 2025 (Screengrab)
Politics

Hezbollah, allies will reject direct talks with 'Israel': MP Fayyad

The bodies of killed Palestinians held by "Israel" during the war are downloaded from Red Cross vehicles after their release, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP)
Politics

From rubble to graveyards, Gaza continues recovering its martyrs

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS