The statement said that in the run-up to the raid by the Albanian police into the MEK camps in Tirana, the criminal group had done its utmost to carry out terrorist attacks across the countries but thanks to the countermeasures and traps set by the Ministry of Intelligence almost all of the attacks were thwarted.
The ministry said it arrested a team of four MEK members in Mazandaran Province in May 2022 after they attacked public and government properties with handmade projectiles.
After the busting of the Mazandaran team, a veteran member of MEK in Tehran was identified and placed under surveillance. The member employed a number of MEK-liked elements and provided them with handmade explosives. The member and those complicit in the plot were arrested shortly before launching their attack, according to the ministry.
It also said it dismantled several small groups linked to MEK in Khuzestan, Fars, and Kuhkiluyeh-and-Bouyer-Ahmad provinces in June this year. Around the same time, MEK-linked teams committed acts of sabotage in Gilan Province and Kish Island. Two individuals involved in these attacks were arrested.
According to the ministry, some of the arrested had the experience of being detained and then released from prison during the September 2022 riots. All these elements have been recruited by MEK through online platforms, it said.
Also, the ministry said the detained members of MEK had received training, money, and equipment from the terror group’s camps in Albania.
The ministry said it has warned European intelligence services about MEK launching terrorist activities from Western soil, especially in the group’s central headquarters in Albania. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is seriously pursuing terrorists outside its borders,” it warned.
“Step forward”
It also expressed appreciation for Albania for countering MEK and described the move as a “step forward.”
The Iranian Intelligence Ministry also said that it has solid intelligence that some of the inveterate supporters of terrorism in Europe and the US, at Israel’s urging, are trying to revive the MEK terror group.
The ministry warned that it will continue its tireless efforts against terrorists who commit acts of sabotage on behalf of the Zionist regime of Israel.
Iran demands extradition of MEK members
Kazem Gharibabadi, the Vice-President of the Judiciary for International Affairs, has called on the European countries to extradite MEK members.
Gharibabadi said Iran has filed lawsuits against the group in various European countries, according to IRIB News.
He was commenting on the consequences of the recent raid by the Albanian police on the camps of the terrorist group.
“We have this complaint toward European countries, especially one of these countries, which have not handled the cases related to the Hypocrites [MEK] well in their judicial system,” he said.
“We consider this as an action to support the Hypocrites.”
In late June, Gharibabadi said that Tehran has used a variety of legal strategies to prosecute MEK members.
He went on to say that countries that provide asylum to MEK must be held accountable for harboring “these criminals” who have slaughtered 17,000 Iranians.
Gharibabadi pleaded with the nations to expel the MEK members and even hand them over to stand trial. However, he pointed out that Iran will keep up its legal actions.
Gharibabadi, also the chief of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, said no terrorist must feel safe anywhere in the world.
The MEK group has come to the limelight in recent weeks after the Albanian police raided their camps in line with counterterrorism measures.
The Interior Ministry of Albania announced last month that Albanian police conducted the raid into the headquarters of the MEK group. The raid was carried out based on the Balkan nation’s counter-terrorism laws.
“Today's operation was carried out in accordance with the laws and according to the ruling of the Supreme Court against terrorism,” the statement said.
The statement added that according to the agreement between Albania and the organization in 2014, the members of this organization had become refugees in this country only for humanitarian reasons, but they have violated this agreement by carrying out terrorist and cyber acts.
The prime minister of Albania has said that his country is no longer willing to continue to host the MEK terrorist group if they want to fight Iran from Albanian soil.
Edi Rama said the MEK group has violated the agreement according to which they were relocated to Albania from Iraq.
Rama pointed out that the MEK has turned Albania into a trench in its campaign against Iran. “Our country is used as a trench in a war that is not ours, it does not work! Of course, they have every right to fight for their freedom, but to do so they must leave Albania,” the prime minister continued.
By Sadegh Fereydounabadi
First published in Tehran Times
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