MKO Terrorists Constant Threat to Host Nations: Iranian Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman highlighted the terrorist nature of the notorious Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) and its most recent clash with the Albanian police, warning that the terror group will always pose a threat to the security of its host countries.
Nasser Kanaani explained in a series of tweets on Wednesday that the Iraqi government expelled MKO members from its territory as many other governments have also refused to accept them due to their terrorist nature, Press TV reported.
He also expressed hope that Albania, which has played host to the terror group and thousands of its members for a decade at the urging of its Western backers, would “make up for its mistake of hosting this terrorist cult.”
His statements followed reported clashes that erupted on Tuesday after Albanian police forces raided a camp belonging to the MKO due to its engagement in “terror and cyber-attacks” against foreign institutions.
At least one person was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes at the camp, known as Ashraf-3, in the northwest of the capital Tirana.
Citing press reports on the incident, Kanaani explained that the Albanian police entered the Ashraf-3 camp for an inspection based on a legal ruling issued by Albania’s Special Court Against Crime and Corruption on June 20.
It was announced that “criminal and terrorist” measures by MKO members in Albania were the reason for the raid, he added.
Kanaani further said that the relevant Albanian officials announced the seizure of a number of electronic systems and drones that the MKO members had used to track and direct their terrorist moves.
The Albanian officials were cited as saying that through its terrorist and cyber actions, the MKO violated the 2014 agreement that allowed its members to reside in Albania, he added.
MKO members spent many years in Iraq, where they were hosted and armed by the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They sided with Saddam during the 1980-88 imposed war against Iran and then helped him quell domestic uprisings in various parts of the Arab country.
Albania began hosting the terrorists after the group was shunned by the government of former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The European country is estimated to have been accommodating some 3,000 members of the terror cult since 2016.