Two Individuals Arrested in Connection with the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization in Karaj

On Tuesday, June 18, the public prosecutor and revolutionary court of Alborz province announced the arrest of two individuals in Karaj in connection with the Mojahedin-e Khalq organization. According to Tasnim News Agency, Haji Reza Shakeri stated that the two individuals, a man and a woman, have confessed to their connections with a 'hub' of the Mojahedin-e Khalq. The prosecutor added that these individuals had also received money for their activities and are currently in prison. Without providing further details about the detainees, he mentioned that 'investigations are ongoing.' In this context, the state news agency IRNA reported that this judicial official said, 'The detainees, who had connections with the hypocrites, provided news and photos, especially regarding the elections, to the hypocrites.' He added, 'In exchange for providing information and photos to the hypocrites, they received sums of money from them.' The activities of members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq organization in Iran have been a sensitive issue for the Islamic Republic's officials. In December of last year, shortly before Donald Trump's presidency began, 23 former senior American officials urged him to reconsider Washington's policy towards Iran and to work with the 'National Council of Resistance of Iran.' The 'National Council of Resistance of Iran' includes the Mojahedin-e Khalq and several other groups that operate against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Following the letter from senior officials to the U.S. President, Republican Senator John McCain met with Maryam Rajavi and members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq in Albania, which further heightened sensitivities for the Islamic Republic. According to IRNA, Bahram Qasemi stated on Tuesday, April 16, that 'even with the change of administration in the U.S., it has been shown that there is a focus on expanding terrorism in the region, and this is a mistake that the U.S. government must pay for, like its other mistakes.' These remarks come as John McCain is a senior senator in Congress and does not hold a position in the U.S. government. Several supporters of the Mojahedin-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 late last summer that their transfer from Iraq to Albania had been fully completed. Previously, at the annual meeting of the Mojahedin-e Khalq in July 2016 in Paris, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, a former Saudi official, attended, and in August of that year, Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, met and discussed with Maryam Rajavi, the leader of this group. Both events faced criticism from Iranian officials, and Iran officially protested to France as the host country of the Mojahedin-e Khalq meeting and to Mahmoud Abbas for meeting with Ms. Rajavi. The Islamic Republic labels the Mojahedin-e Khalq as a 'terrorist' group, while the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which includes the Mojahedin-e Khalq, was removed from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations about four years ago.