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| PMOI/MEK |
This article is very good for getting to know the PMOI
Formed in 1965, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the largest and best-organized Iranian opposition movement, is the main component of the coalition, National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which acts as the parliament-in-exile.
The NCRI and MEK, have been committed to a secular, democratic, non-nuclear republic; gender equality; freedom of religion, thought, press, and association; support for peace in the Middle East; and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The president-elect of the NCRI is Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, who addressed a rally of 100,000 in Paris, well attended by dozens of prominent speakers from all over the world.
A. The MEK role was critical in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb
The MEK has been instrumental in exposing Iran's nuclear weapons program. Relying on a vast network inside Iran, MEK revelations of the weapons program significantly contributed to the world peace and the national security of the United States.
These revelations triggered the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz and Heavy Water Facility in Arak in 2002 for the first time, and since then, the majority of the visits by the IAEA inspection teams have been to the sites first exposed by the MEK.
Senior U.S. officials including President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have repeatedly pointed to the role the MEK had played in getting the world attention on Iran's nuclear weapons program.
In March 2005, President, George W. Bush, emphasized that the MEK's revelation of Natanz prompted an international campaign to stop the nuclear weapons program of Iran. "Iran has concealed its -- a nuclear program. That became discovered, not because of their compliance with the IAEA or NPT, but because a dissident group pointed it out to the world."
Many of the key front companies exposed by the MEK such as Mesbah Energy, Novin Energy, Kalaye Electric, Kavoshyar Company, and Farayand Technique were eventually sanctioned by the Treasury Department. In July 2011, the MEK exposed a new nuclear organization overseeing the entire nuclear program and run by the military, known as SPND. The U.S. Government designated that entity in 2014. In addition, many companies, key nuclear experts, and military institutions exposed by the MEK have been sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council resolutions 1737, 1747, and 1803.
If it were not for the MEK nuclear revelations, Tehran would have had the bomb by now. Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) told a House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing "We all owe a debt of gratitude to the MEK for bringing this information to the world, and causing the United States and the world to focus on the problem."
B. MEK exposed the terrorist network of Iran
The MEK has played a key role in exposing the terrorist operations by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and its entity, the Qods Force. MEK's actionable intelligence on Qods Force operations in Iraq saved many lives, and thwarted many terrorist operations by the Iranian regime.
MEK documented the details of the Qods force production and shipment of advanced EFP's (Explosively Formed Projectiles), the number one killer of U.S. forces in Iraq. MEK also exposed Iran's involvement in the bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 American servicemen.
C. MEK enjoys extensive bi-partisan support in U.S. Congress
Over the past two decades, MEK has gained extensive support among a large bi-partisan group of members of congress. Congress strongly rejected MEK's FTO designation, which it viewed as a goodwill gesture to Tehran, as 99 members (52 D and 47 R) called for the group's delisting. Secretary Clinton revoked the designation in 2012, after being urged by the U.S. Court of Appeals- DC Circuit.
Congress held hearings in the House and the Senate strongly supporting the safety & security of thousands of MEK members based in camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq, as they were being subject to attacks instigated by Tehran. There were several pieces of legislations in support of MEK members in Iraq, e.g., H.Res.704 with 224 co-sponsors (126 D and 98 R).
