On 28 and 29 July 2009, more than 3000 members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) [1] were forcibly evicted by the Iraqi police from their Ashraf base in Iraq. The armed confrontation left 13 people dead, 36 missing and countless wounded.

Adressing the western media, the Mujahedin office in Paris [2] alleged that the operation was carried out by the government of Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at Iran’s behest. Furthermore, the organization accused the International Red Cross of passive complicity with both the Iraqi and Iranian authorities.

The truth of the matter is that the decision to sever ties with the MEK was taken by Washington following a study undertaken by the Rand Corporation, which established, on the one hand, the criminal character of the organization (cracking down on Kurdish and Shia dissidents on behalf of Saddam Hussein) and, on the other hand, its sectarian set-up (the religious cult of the Rajavi couple and the sequestration of their members). In particular, the study shows that the Mujahedin – highly adept at spinning – managed to hoodwink the Department of Defence and to obtain Donald Rumsfeld’s direct protection on the basis of false allegations [3].

A public version of this report titled "The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq. A Policy Conundrum" has been put out by the Rand Corporation [see attached document below]. It is undoubtedly the best reference work on the subject.

Voltaire Network was unable to obtain the classified version of the document. It contains, in addition, an account of the false intelligence transmitted by the MEK since 2003 to the Department of Defence regarding the so-called Iranian nuclear military program. Such intelligence, on which the neo-conservatives used to feast, was subsequently verified and totally discredited by the Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Mike McConnell [4].

It would appear that Washington’s decision was prompted by the failure of the « green revolution ». This operation was in fact orchestrated with the participation of the Mujahedin-e Khalq who staged various attacks during the presidential campaign and organized bloody provocations during the demonstrations. Considering the fiasco, it was preferable to part company with such incompetent collaborators and to erase any trace of that collaboration.

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[1] «Les Moudjahidin perdus» [The Lost Mujahedin], by Paul Labarique, Voltaire Network, 17 February 2004.

[2] The group occupies a headquarters in the Paris area. According to the recommendations of Yves Bonnet (former director of National Security), the French intelligence services were convinced that the MEK constituted a reliable source of information on Iranian politics.

[3] «Richard Perle soutient les Moudjahidin du Peuple» [Richard Perle supports the Mujahedin-e Khalq], «Une campagne pour réarmer les Moudjahidines du peuple» [A Campaing to rearm the Mujahedin-e Khalq], «Le Jundallah revendique des actions armées aux côtés des Moudjahidines du Peuple» [The Jundallah claims responsibility for armed actions together with the Mujahedin], Voltaire Network, 2 February 2004, 26 January 2007, 13 June 2009.

[4] «Washington décrète un an de trêve globale»[Washington declares a one-year global truce], by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network, 3 December 2007. «Pourquoi McConnell a-t-il publié le rapport sur l’Iran?» [Why did McConnell publish the report on Iran?], Horizons et débats, 17 December 2007.

titre documents joints


Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Political Conundrum


(PDF - 2.9 KiB)