How could an organization that fought the Shah, and then the Ayatollah, end up allied with the United States and hosted in an armored facility in the heart of Albania? The Mojahedin-e Khalq (People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran) is one of the most controversial cases in the contemporary history of Iran. The MEK was born in the 60s as a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary group and followed a one-of-a-kind trajectory: from the struggle against the monarchy, through the war against the Islamic Republic, to exile and allegiance with Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war, and finally the endorsement of the Western establishment.
Today, the MEK is accused of operating like a sect, characterized by a closed hierarchical framework and oppressive practices. Meanwhile, it continues to carry out anti-Iran operations remotely from Albania. In this article, we’ll retrace their path, unveiling the grey zones and the blind eyes of the international chessboard toward a controversial and often-overlooked group that rarely makes the headlines and remains a niche geopolitical topic.
Foundation and Ideological Roots of the Organization (1965) ☭ ☪️
MEK’s origins date back to 1965, when a group of Iranian students—led by Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Ali-Asghar Badizadegan—merged Marxist and Islamic thought to found the organization. Their objective was to overthrow the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, which took office after the fall of Mossadeq during the US-led Operation Ajax in 1953. According to Ervand Abrahamian, MEK was: “A modernist interpretation of Islam [that] appealed to the educated youth, who, while still culturally attached to Islam, rejected its old-fashioned and clerical interpretations.” For many years, MEK students were persecuted by Sazman-e Ettela’at va Amniyat-e Keshvar (SAVAK), the Iranian secret police.
In the 1970s, the Mojahedin-e Khalq undertook armed actions against the Shah, including assassination attempts and acts of sabotage. The group endorsed violence especially against U.S. citizens—both American officials and members of civil society were targeted. U.S. colonels and contractors were attacked; the group attempted to kidnap the U.S. ambassador in Tehran, tried to kill the head of the U.S. military mission, and orchestrated attacks against American corporations present in the country, such as General Motors, Shell Oil, Pepsi, and Pan Am Airlines. The organization was brutally repressed; its members were arrested, sentenced to death, or exiled. In 1975, the group underwent further radicalization as the Marxist wing overtook the rest, eliminating all religious elements from the organization.
Different segments of the population contributed to the revolution in Iran. Iranians demanded more freedom, more public speech, and freedom within the Shia religion. The Shah was overthrown in 1979, and religious scholars took control of the country. Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile in France and became the Ayatollah, the Supreme Leader of Iran. After the Shah’s fall, many who had fled Iran returned, expecting to obtain a pivotal role in the new Islamic Republic. Initially, they supported the Ayatollah, but ideological and political differences quickly emerged. MEK envisioned a more pluralistic society and opposed the institution of velayat-e faqih.
The first clashes between MEK militants and the Islamic Republic broke out between 1980 and 1981, when the Mojahedin accused Khomeini of establishing a new dictatorship. Violent attacks and protests began. On June 28, 1981, during a meeting of Islamic Republic leaders, a bomb exploded and killed more than 70 high-ranking officials, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, four ministers, over 20 members of parliament, and other personnel. On August 30, 1981, another bomb exploded at the prime minister’s office, killing President Mohammad Ali Rajaee and Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar.
The repression was brutal. Thousands of MEK militants and sympathizers were arrested, tortured, and executed.
The MEK leadership fled Iran and resettled in France, where Massoud Rajavi—alongside Abolhassan Banisadr, the first president of the Islamic Republic (dismissed by Khomeini)—founded the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a kind of umbrella organization including various political voices, among them Kurdish-Iranian ones.
However, MEK continued to operate from behind this structure.
From Saddam Hussein to Alliance with the US 🇺🇸
With the objective of liberating French citizens captured in Lebanon, France relied on Iranian mediation to free them in exchange for expelling the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK). After experiencing this Iranian diplomatic pressure, Jean-François Mitterrand, then president of France, decided to withdraw shelter from MEK militants. In this context, Rajavi and his group moved to Iraq, where they pledged a controversial allegiance to Saddam Hussein, against the backdrop of the Iran-Iraq War. The Mojahedin obtained a military base in Ashraf and founded the National Liberation Army of Iran, clearly aiming to overthrow the Iranian regime from abroad. Being backed by Iraq sparked discontent among the Iranian people, who saw MEK as traitors.
After the end of the Iran-Iraq War, MEK launched a major military offensive in Iran, backed by Saddam. The attack was brutally repressed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and thousands of combatants were killed. This watershed moment marked the end of their ground operations and turned MEK into a political movement in exile. During the Gulf War in 1991, while Saddam was fighting the international coalition under Operation Desert Storm, MEK contributed to repressing the uprisings of Iraqi Shiites and Kurds.
Following Saddam’s defeat, the UN Security Council imposed harsh economic sanctions due to his invasion of Kuwait. The sanctions aimed to weaken the Saddam Hussein regime and force compliance with UN resolutions. However, they severely impacted the Iraqi population, undermining healthcare, education, and the economy. Iraq also experienced political and economic isolation on the international stage. In this context, as Saddam Hussein became a pariah of the international community, MEK was classified as a terrorist organization by Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State, in 1997—a period that also coincided with a détente between Iran (under Khatami) and the United States.
After the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Coalition Provisional Authority, once MEK was disarmed and placed under U.S. army surveillance, conferred protected person status to MEK members under the Fourth Geneva Convention. U.S. General David Petraeus, deputy commander of the allied coalition, transferred responsibility for MEK to the Baghdad government. However, Baghdad showed little interest in maintaining this Iranian enclave on its soil. On April 8, 2011, the Iraqi army conducted a lethal operation against Camp Ashraf, causing 34 casualties among MEK militants and sparking outrage from Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
After years of lobbying, MEK was removed from the list of terrorist organizations by the UK in 2008, by the EU in 2009, and by the U.S. in 2012, under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. MEK militants were transferred from Iraq to Albania, to a camp named Ashraf-3. From there, they carried out propaganda activities against Iran through online conferences, Twitter bots, and endorsements of the Western narrative of regime change in Iran. In recent years, MEK has been accused of orchestrating cyber-attacks and collaborating with Israeli Mossad, while presenting itself as a “democratic alternative” for Iran.
From Sectarianism Allegations to the Relocation to Albania 🇦🇱
Over the years, Maryam Rajavi, Massoud’s wife, who took control of the organization after her husband’s death, has been accused of turning the organization into a sectarian body. Absolute veneration for the leader is promoted, with titles such as “sun of the revolution” and “eternal president.” Militants are forced to renounce marriage during their commitment and to sever contact with their family members. Members are manipulated and brainwashed; like Khmer Rouge militants, they are made to take part in self-criticism sessions where they must confess their sins and mistakes. Additionally, they were cut off from external communication.
Half of the militants are women, and Maryam Rajavi insists that, from a young age, they are taught that joining MEK represents female empowerment. The concept of martyrdom is portrayed as being inspired by the light and wisdom of Maryam and Massoud Rajavi. Many recruits were minors at the time of their enlistment.
While in Iraq, those who attempted to leave were subjected to arbitrary detention. Dissidents faced corporal punishment and isolation.
To avoid further attacks from Iraq and distance themselves from ties to Saddam Hussein, MEK militants were relocated to Albania. As many as 30,000 members were received by Albania. The operation was initially financed with $20 million through the UNHCR. The facility is located in Manez, Durres, and is strictly militarized, heavily surveilled, and difficult to approach.
Since MEK’s relocation to Albania, relations between Albania and Iran have deteriorated.
In June 2023, Albanian law enforcement and anti-terrorism units raided Camp Ashraf with a search warrant due to alleged MEK involvement in cyber interference and terrorism.
In December 2023, a group called Homeland Justice Front conducted a cyberattack targeting Albanian infrastructure. The operation was associated with the hashtag #DestroyDurresMilitaryCamp (DDMC) and was linked to the military camp hosting the Mojahedin.
The situation in the Balkans is already critical, as the area has become a logistical hub supporting various Middle Eastern war policies. MEK’s activities in Albania are considered dangerous because, like Wahhabis and Salafis, they share hostility toward Shiites and the so-called Shiite Crescent. Their presence risks further destabilizing a region already marked by high tension and instability.
At any rate, according to reporter Alireza Niknam, MEK’s situation is deteriorating. Last year, MEK leaders attempted to relocate older militants—those over 65—to Canada, seeking to escape the pressure generated by increasingly hostile Albanian public opinion. They allegedly tried to leverage Canadian parliamentary influence, perhaps persuading some MPs to secure a safe haven for Maryam Rajavi and the group’s senior leadership. However, the Canadian government exposed their true nature and denied them entry. Currently, the Mojahedin are receiving less financial support from the U.S., as regional dynamics and geopolitical alliances continue to shift.
Conclusions 📢
The Mojahedin of the Iranian People represent neither an accountable nor a desirable alternative to the Iranian government. The Iranian population does not recognize their legitimacy; on the contrary, there is widespread hostility toward them due to their use of terrorist methods. Moreover, there is a fear that, if they were to gain power, they would adopt the same repressive tactics as the current regime. Despite the apparent moderation shown in recent years, the MEK remains anti-American: they targeted U.S. citizens during the Shah’s reign, endorsed the assault on the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and rejected the release of U.S. hostages in 1981.
There is a risk that U.S. or European politicians may be charmed by their discourse on female emancipation, secularism, and democracy, while overlooking the fact that they remain dangerous, manipulative, and opaque.
Backing the Mojahedin of the Iranian People would mean repeating the same mistakes made in the past: relying on groups that present themselves as the opposition to a brutal regime, nurturing them, and eventually finding oneself in an unstable country ruled by a new regime no better than the previous one. The mistake of interfering in the internal affairs of a country—supporting actors not considered legitimate by the civil society—can lead to further instability. Every change should be triggered by an internal political process, not by imposition or destabilization from external forces.
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