{"id":338166,"date":"2025-10-13T17:31:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T16:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=338166"},"modified":"2025-10-13T17:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T16:31:08","slug":"irans-regime-haunted-by-the-pmoi-and-its-own-contradictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-resistance\/demonizing-mek\/irans-regime-haunted-by-the-pmoi-and-its-own-contradictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Regime Haunted by the PMOI and Its Own Contradictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Ali
Ali Shamkhani during the \u201cWar Narrative\u201d interview with state-affiliated host Javad Mogouei, released Oct. 12, 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Four-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s ruling clerics can\u2019t stop circling one adversary: the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK). Across fresh on-the-record remarks by Ali Shamkhani<\/a>, attacks from IRGC-aligned media on the Foreign Ministry, and regime outlets\u2019 old grievances against France and Europe, a throughline emerges: Tehran\u2019s leaders continue to treat the PMOI as a central threat\u2014and that fixation continues to shape diplomacy, internal infighting, and the narrative around past crises from the Iran-Iraq War to Flight PS752.<\/p>\n

Shamkhani\u2019s nuclear regret<\/h2>\n

In an interview published on Sunday, October 12, 2025, Ali Shamkhani\u2014now billed as the Supreme Leader\u2019s political adviser and formerly defense minister\u2014said he wishes<\/a> he had pursued a nuclear weapon in the late 1990s and, asked if he would do so were he back in that role, answered: \u201cYes, I certainly would.\u201d He framed the Khatami era as inhospitable to such plans, quipping that someone advocating a \u201cdialogue of civilizations\u201d wouldn\u2019t chase the bomb. These on-camera lines sit uneasily beside years of official rhetoric denying military intent; they also spotlight the regime\u2019s two-language strategy\u2014conciliatory abroad, coercive at home.<\/p>\n

The same interview carries another explosive admission. On the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 (January 8, 2020), Shamkhani says: \u201cI knew, and the president knew.\u201d He recounts learning \u201cwithin those three days\u201d and says he phoned President Hassan Rouhani immediately to inform him that \u201cour own forces\u201d had fired the missile. That version collides with Rouhani\u2019s later account<\/a> in February 2020, when he insisted on state TV that \u201cthe first moment I was officially told was 4:30 p.m. on Friday\u201d\u2014January 10, 2020\u2014after which he pressed for an announcement.<\/p>\n

It also aligns with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Secretariat statement on February 4, 2020<\/a>, which\u2014citing a Ukrainian TV leak\u2014said the tower and the Civil Aviation Organization knew immediately, and that \u201cby chain of command, Rouhani knew the same day,\u201d with authorities engaging in a sweeping cover-up until the reluctant admission 72 hours later. The episode remains a touchstone of public distrust\u2014and a case study in how the regime manages truth when its security apparatus is implicated.<\/p>\n

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Chain of lies and cover-up by Khamenei, Rouhani, and the IRGC about shooting down Ukrainian airliner. Qatar airways pilot saw the firing of the missiles-Regime parliament was also informed #UkrainianPlane<\/a> #Iran<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/OGNPdZRowD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6qxs8WYsw9<\/a><\/p>\n

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 4, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n