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The National Council of Resistance of Iran<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(NCRI)<\/span>\u00a0held its annual \u201cFree Iran Global Summit\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>in July. This<\/span>\u00a0event\u00a0<\/span>connected<\/span>\u00a0Iranian expatriates from more than 100 countries, and featured speeches from several dozen political dignitaries and foreign policy experts who\u00a0<\/span>underlined<\/span>\u00a0that there is a viable alternative to the theocratic dictatorship.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As more people approach the Iranian Resistance, both inside and outside Iran, the Iranian regime intensifies its<\/span>\u00a0disinformation\u00a0<\/a><\/span>to tarnish the image of its viable alternative<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>nvariably, that disinformation can be traced back to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which has been running a campaign to demonize and delegitimize the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(PMOI\/MEK)\u00a0<\/span>ever since it established itself as the leading advocate for democratic governance in place of\u00a0<\/span>Ruhollah<\/span>\u00a0Khomeini\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>regime.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0<\/span>MEK<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is the largest constituent group of<\/span>\u00a0NCRI\u2019s coalition of Resistance, and it\u00a0<\/span>is responsible for much of the direct action intended to drive the mullahs out of power. Since the end of 2017, the\u00a0<\/span>MEK\u00a0<\/span>play<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0a leading role\u00a0<\/span>during the<\/span>\u00a0two nationwide uprisings<\/a> and a range of over large-scale protests, which have shaken the\u00a0<\/span>regime<\/span>\u00a0to its core. That role was acknowledged by none other than Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in January 2018, when the first uprising was still at its peak, and he has been joined by other regime officials in warning about the\u00a0<\/span>MEK\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0ascendancy ever since.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These sorts of statements stand in direct contrast to the disinformation<\/a> that Iranian intelligence has tended to promote. Among the most prominent regime talking points is the idea that the\u00a0<\/span>MEK<\/span>\u00a0lacks meaningful support inside\u00a0<\/span>Iran<\/span>. Even in the wake of the recent uprisings, Tehran has not really given up this position. Khamenei\u2019s remarks about\u00a0<\/span>MEK<\/span>\u00a0leadership certainly make the talking point more difficult to sustain, but they were not directed at a foreign audience, whereas references to the\u00a0<\/span>MEK<\/span>\u00a0as a \u201ccult\u201d are prolific in the regime\u2019s English language propaganda and in testimony to Western media by its intelligence assets.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Under these circumstances, the growing cracks in the regime\u2019s propaganda narrative are visible to those who are paying close attention to what the mullahs are saying among themselves, as well as what is going on from day to day throughout Iranian society.\u00a0<\/span>The regime\u2019s demonizing campaign is<\/span>\u00a0specifically tailored toward convincing\u00a0<\/span>the international community<\/span>\u00a0to disregard the\u00a0<\/span>MEK\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0potential role in\u00a0<\/span>leading people\u2019s struggle for a free Iran.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The prime significance of the NCRI\u2019s recent\u00a0<\/span>virtual<\/span>\u00a0conference, the Free Iran Global Summit, is that it provided policymakers, journalists, and other interested parties with a window into the regime\u2019s true attitudes toward the Iranian Resistance, divorced from its more deliberate communications with the outside world. At the same time, it permitted survivors of the regime\u2019s repression to expose the full extent of its obsession with stamping out organized dissent. The catalogue of brutal political violence is clear evidence of a regime that is deeply worried about the security of its grip on power, and this worry has only grown in the face of ongoing unrest.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Much of the second section<\/a> in the three-day summit was dedicated to giving a voice to former Iranian political prisoners and the families of those who died in prior crackdowns that targeted the\u00a0<\/span>MEK<\/span>. Members and supporters of the NCRI continued a long campaign of highlighting the 1988\u00a0<\/a><\/span>massacre, in which \u201cdeath commissions\u201d at numerous Iranian prisons ordered the systematic execution of all those who refused to disavow their dissident affiliations\u00a0<\/span>succumb to the regime\u2019s pressure<\/span>. Over the course of several months,\u00a0<\/span>over<\/span>\u00a030,000 political prisoners<\/a> were killed, and\u00a0<\/span>the overwhelming majority of<\/span> them were supporters of the MEK.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This incident alone undermines a great deal of Iran\u2019s propaganda<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>As former US Ambassador Adam\u00a0<\/span>Ereli<\/span>\u00a0pointed out<\/a> in his remarks to the Free Iran summit, \u201cThe greatest testimony to [the MEK\u2019s] effectiveness is the fact that the Iranian regime hates [it] so much and will stop at nothing to destroy [it].\u201d But beyond that, the regime\u2019s failure to achieve that goal, even after 30,000 killings, is a clear testament to the fact that the MEK has long boasted enough popularity and organizational strength and still remains at the forefront of an active movement to overthrow the theocratic dictatorship.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n .@erelija<\/a>: Iran’s regime has a sophisticated and coordinated plan to spread terror and violence and destabilization in the region. #MEK<\/a> has been exposing this conspiracy of terror over many years. #ExpelIranDiplomatTerrorists<\/a> #FreeIran2020<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/Jiy2ZBgkVa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 23, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n In fact, the 30,000 victims of the 1988 massacre represent only about a quarter of the total number of\u00a0<\/span>MEK<\/span>\u00a0members who have lost their lives to Iranian terrorism, executions, and assassinations over the years. Not only has the organization recovered from\u00a0<\/span>all of<\/span> those losses, but it has also sustained a rise in popularity ultimately\u00a0<\/span>allowing to play a leading role during<\/span> the January 2018 uprising and then to another, the even larger and more wide-ranging uprising in November 2019.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The latter movement quickly encompassed approximately 200 Iranian cities and towns, bringing slogans like \u201cdeath to the dictator\u201d even further into the mainstream. It also generated some of the worst crackdowns on dissent since the 1988 massacre, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fatally shooting roughly 1,500<\/a> peaceful protesters and pushing for liberal use of capital punishment in the wake of thousands of arrests. Nonetheless, communication<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0among regime officials an<\/span>d think tanks show little sign of confidence that dissent will diminish\u00a0<\/span>as a result of<\/span>\u00a0this repression.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Quite to the contrary, Supreme Leader Khamenei is still warning of the\u00a0<\/span>MEK<\/span>\u2019s potential to promote and direct large-scale protests on university campuses and elsewhere. And advisors on these matters are recommending further consolidation of power among repressive institutions,\u00a0<\/span>in order to<\/span>\u00a0confront the new uprisings that are no doubt on the horizon. At the same time, the campaign against foreign awareness of the\u00a0<\/span>MEK<\/span> is continuing without alteration, extending the reach of what former US Senator Robert Torricelli called \u201ca shadow of public relations firms, operatives, and companies that are disseminating false information.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n All those who are responsible for setting policy toward\u00a0<\/span>Iran<\/span>, or for advising or informing policymakers on related matters, should be aware of the prevalence of this false information, and should make concerted efforts to oppose its influence.<\/span>\u00a0The\u00a0<\/span>trial of the regime\u2019s so-called \u201cdiplomat<\/a>\u201d who was arrested while attempting to bomb<\/a> NCRI\u2019s \u201cFree Iran\u201d gathering in 2018 in Paris, is\u00a0<\/span>a testament to this fact that regime\u2019s terrorism and demonizing campaign\u00a0<\/span>against the Iranian Resistance are two sides of\u00a0<\/span>the same<\/span>\u00a0coin.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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