Germany Begins Investigation into 'Suspicious' Fire at MEK Office

The German police announced that they are investigating a 'suspicious' fire early on Monday, December 4, at the office of the 'National Council of Resistance of Iran' in Berlin, which police believe may have been intentional. The Berlin police stated in a press release that members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political arm of the MEK, one of the opposition groups against the Islamic Republic, noticed flames in the building's window around 2:15 AM local time and were able to extinguish it before it spread further. According to a report by the Associated Press citing the Berlin police statement, no one was harmed and investigations are ongoing. The statement did not provide further details or indicate who might be responsible for the fire. The National Council of Resistance of Iran claimed that agents affiliated with the Islamic Republic 'initiated the attack by throwing incendiary materials at the building.' The European Union removed the MEK from its list of terrorist organizations in 2008, and the United States did so in 2012. The MEK has revealed the Islamic Republic's oil and military collaborations, and security forces have destroyed parts of the graves of political prisoners executed in the 1980s. Other news includes a hacking incident at the Ministry of Science where hackers reported access to 20,000 documents, President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Assadollah Assadi, and Maryam Akbari Monfared being sentenced to two years in prison as she approaches her fourteenth year of incarceration. Paris police have banned a MEK gathering citing security risks.