TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that the United States’ reported decision to remove the Mojahedin Khalq Organization from its list of terrorist groups would be a violation of its international commitments.
Mehmanparast made the remarks in reference to a Reuters story published on September 21 that quoted U.S. officials as saying that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had made the decision to remove the MKO from the list and that it was expected to be announced formally in the coming days.
Mehmanparast said, “In the event that the United States decides to remove the group of munafiqin (MKO), which has a long history of terrorist actions, from its list of terrorist groups, it would be a violation of this country’s international commitments and would undermine global efforts in the campaign against terrorism and would draw condemnation from the public and the world’s freethinkers.
“The double standards of the United States in regard to terrorism and the fact that it is using the groups linked with this evil phenomenon as a tool to advance its political purposes and interests is not a new issue.
“The transfer of the members of this terrorist group from Camp Ashraf to another place is in no way an acceptable excuse for the international community for ignoring the terrorist nature of this group.
“In the event that the U.S. government takes such a measure, it should be held accountable for the (death) of thousands of Iranian and Iraqi citizens by members of this group, who favor sectarianism.”
