Iran Protests Senator McCain's Meeting with Members of the Mujahideen-e Khalq Organization

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry described the meeting between Republican Senator John McCain and Maryam Rajavi, along with members of the Mujahideen-e Khalq organization in Albania, as part of America's efforts to, as he put it, "develop terrorism" and stated that the U.S. must "pay the price" for this "error." According to the state news agency IRNA, Bahram Qasemi said on Monday, April 16, that "even with a change in governance in the U.S., it has been shown that there is a view of developing terrorism in the region, and this is an error that the U.S. government must pay for like other errors." These remarks come as John McCain is a senior senator in the U.S. Congress and does not hold a position in the U.S. government. Reports indicate that Senator McCain visited one of the Mujahideen centers in Albania and met with Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the "National Council of Resistance." During his visit, McCain stated that the Islamic Republic is expanding its "influence and tyranny" throughout the Middle East. Some supporters of the Mujahideen-e Khalq, who had been residing for years in Camp Ashraf and later Liberty in Iraq, have been settled in Albania under UN supervision since 2013, and it was announced last summer that the transfer of these individuals from Iraq to Albania has been fully completed. In January of last year, shortly before Donald Trump's presidency began, 23 former senior U.S. officials wrote a letter asking him to reconsider Washington's policy towards Iran and to work and consult with the "National Council of Resistance of Iran." The "National Council of Resistance of Iran" includes the Mujahideen-e Khalq and several other groups that have been removed from the list of U.S. terrorist organizations for four years. The Islamic Republic refers to the Mujahideen-e Khalq as a "terrorist" group. Previously, at the annual meeting of the Mujahideen-e Khalq in July 2016 in Paris, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi official, attended, and in August of the same year, Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, met and talked with Maryam Rajavi. Both events faced criticism from Iranian officials, and Iran officially protested to France as the host country of the Mujahideen-e Khalq meeting and to Mahmoud Abbas for meeting with Ms. Rajavi. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also referred to the referendum in Turkey as "an internal discussion" and stated that "whatever the majority of the Turkish people accept and vote for will be respected by us." He also announced that if this referendum is approved, the effects of its outcome on regional developments "must be awaited." Qasemi expressed hope that this referendum "could contribute to peace, stability, security, and consensus within Turkey and lead the country towards stability." The Turkish government announced the results of the constitutional referendum on Sunday evening, indicating a very close victory for supporters of constitutional changes and supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but opposition parties have called for a recount of 60% of the votes, claiming that signs of fraud were observed in this election. European Union officials have urged the Turkish government to strive for the greatest possible consensus among its people. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, along with Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, and Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner, issued a joint statement announcing that they are awaiting reports from international observers of this referendum. Meanwhile, reports have emerged of gatherings of opponents of this referendum in the streets of Turkey, accompanied by slogans against Erdoğan. In this context, the meeting of Senator McCain with the leader and supporters of the National Council of Resistance in Albania, the reaction of the spokesperson of the Mujahideen-e Khalq to Turki al-Faisal's comments about Massoud Rajavi, and Iran's reaction to Turki al-Faisal's presence at the Mujahideen gathering are noteworthy.