The Situation of the Mujahideen-e Khalq Members After Their Bases Were Bombed by the U.S. - April 17, 2003

The situation of the Mujahideen-e Khalq members after their bases were bombed by the U.S. and the terms of the surrender agreement they signed with U.S. special forces on April 17, 2003. The Mujahideen-e Khalq did not fight against U.S. forces in the current war. However, in the 1970s, they killed several American military personnel in Iran and subsequently carried out terrorist actions against the Islamic Republic. Their surrender to U.S. forces has created several problems. According to the Geneva Convention, if the Mujahideen-e Khalq are treated as prisoners of war, they must be returned to their country at the end of the conflict. However, such an action would lead to the death of some of their members. According to sources from the Ministry of Defense, U.S. forces bombed two Mujahideen bases near Baghdad. The agreement made on Tuesday between the Mujahideen and U.S. special forces includes 3,000 Mujahideen and 7,000 of their relatives. According to the surrender agreement, Mujahideen fighters must leave their bases in Iraq and gather at their main base in Baqubah, northeast of Baghdad. They must disable all their weapons and, unarmed, move towards Baqubah with a white flag raised on their vehicles along designated roads. Warplanes will monitor their behavior during the surrender. Colonel Nick Morano, a watch officer at the U.S. operational center, added, 'Saddam recognized them as refugees, but they are now prisoners of war, and this is problematic for us.' The Saddam regime had provided the Mujahideen with 400 tanks and armored vehicles, and according to the U.S. State Department, they were involved in suppressing the Kurdish uprising after the 1991 Gulf War. After the current war highlighted their connections with Saddam, several U.S. congressional leaders turned away from them and the National Resistance Council; however, the White House states that the Mujahideen-e Khalq have disclosed important information regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear programs.