On May 7, an Iranian dissident group, Ghiam ta Sarnegouni (uprising until regime overthrow), seized control of 210 websites, apps, servers, and databases belonging to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, obtaining tens of thousands of classified documents.
A batch of documents reveal the Iranian regime’s fear of its principal opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), and how the regime mobilized its entire diplomatic apparatus against the organization.
One document states that the Supreme National Security Council has assigned the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) as the main entity responsible for combating the MEK.
This document offers a glimpse into the ongoing and extensive demonization campaign conducted by the Iranian regime and its ministries against the MEK.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has established a “political committee” with the purpose of countering the MEK, also addressed derogatorily by the regime as “hypocrites.”
“The Political Committee on Hypocrites (MEK) held six meetings between December 22, 2018, and January 20, 2021, with representatives from relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Intelligence, the Quds Force, the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards, the NAJA (Law Enforcement Force), Interpol, the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and related departments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” The report reads in part adding,
In its first sessions, the committee focused on monitoring the movements and activities of the MEK. Its primary mission was “to discredit hypocrites and undermine their advantages and values.” The committee found that this discrediting should take place in all spheres, not just political.
Over the past four decades, the Iranian regime has persistently launched a propaganda campaign to discredit both the MEK and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Despite facing severe repression, the MEK has maintained strong support among the Iranian people, thwarting the regime’s attempts to annihilate it. Consequently, the regime has resorted to demonizing the MEK through various means, including the publication of books and articles, holding exhibitions, and creating movies and documentaries.
It is worth noting that the ex-MOIS Minister, Ali Fallahian, revealed in 2018 how Tehran uses a network of its spies abroad, who operate while pretending to be “journalists.” In recent years, Tehran has used a vast network of its so-called “friendly journalists” to spread lies against the MEK.
“The ministry requires cover for gathering information both domestically and internationally. It is evident that we do not send an agent to Germany or America and openly declare, ‘I am an agent of the information ministry, here to collect information; please cooperate.’ Instead, they operate under the guise of business or other professions, including journalism. Many of our reporters, in fact, serve as agents of the ministry,” Fallahian said.
A real threat to Mullahs
The leaked documents suggest that the regime acknowledges that “Unlike the monarchists, the hypocrites have unity and coherent organizations. Also, the hypocrites have announced that they are looking for regime change by forming Resistance Units.” In the documents, the MFA acknowledges that the MEK is “the only organization that has a plan to be an alternative.”
The documents warn that “Overall, this group is highly perilous and can be viewed as an entity with the intention of overthrowing the system.”
