To counter its primary adversaries, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the National Council Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the Iranian regime takes advantage of the West’s appeasement policy, utilizing professional appeasers and lobbying efforts in Europe and the USA.
Various claims, such as ‘the MEK lacks a social base inside Iran or is not popular!’ and ‘The Islamic Republic has no alternative regime!’ are put forth. It’s crucial to note that experience over the past four decades has taught us that such falsehoods are orchestrated and propagated by the regime’s lobbyists. Following their lead inevitably leads us to the think tanks of the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence.
Over the past four decades, especially after the events in the Middle East that began in 2001, the Iranian Resistance has taken various measures to identify the main source of this demonization and expose its motives.
One such effort involved organizing a conference in the European Parliament titled ‘Tracing Iran’s Web of Influence in European Politics,’ chaired by Mr. Francisco Javier Zarzalejos Nieto, a member of the European Parliament and co-chair of ‘Friends of a Free Iran’ in the European Parliament.
This conference, attended by representatives of the European Parliament and their assistants, featured Struan Stevenson, a former member of the European Parliament and coordinator of the campaign for change for Iran, Farzin Hashemi representing the NCRI, and Paolo Casaca, a Portuguese politician and former member of the European Parliament.
They exposed various aspects of the campaign involving false information and demonization of the Iranian Resistance by the regime’s agents.
What sets this conference apart is the creation of a book about one of the regime’s lobbying organizations, called ‘Iran Experts Initiative (IEI).’
This initiative, devised by the regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2014, aimed to unite a network of scientists outside Iran to support the regime’s foreign policy and nuclear strategy.
Three of them were US government officials and associates of Robert Malley (former United States Special Envoy for Iran): Dina Esfandiary, a Senior Advisor in the Middle East and North Africa department of the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Belgium; Ali Vaez, a member of the International Crisis Group and Director of its Iran Project; and Ariane Tabatabai, a senior policy advisor to the United States Department of Defense.
After Tabatabai assumed her position in the US State Department, she faced accusations on social media, first appearing on Twitter, accusing her of capitulating to the Iranian regime.
In September 2023, a significant cache of Iranian regime correspondence and emails, reported for the first time by Semafor, linked Tabatabai with the Iran Experts Initiative.
Leaked emails revealed that Tabatabai sought advice from a senior IRGC officer for her work on Iran policy and whether she should meet with US ally Israel.
In an email to IRGC officer Mostafa Zahrani, after being invited to a conference in Israel, she said, ‘I want to ask your opinion and see if you think I should accept the invitation and go.’
As Mr. Javier Zarzalejos remarked about this organization, it serves as an umbrella to cover and hide the Iranian regime’s ambitious strategy to spread its narrative, shape Western policies, influence decision-makers and public opinion, and demonize the Iranian opposition, with a particular focus on the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Members of this regime-made organization present themselves as genuine experts. However, with a strategy based on dirty tricks, smear campaigns, and gross distortion and unacceptable demonization of opponents, they promote the religious fascism.
Mr. Struan Stevenson’s words shed light on this narrative. A closer look at his speech reveals how the planned activities of the religious fascism ruling Iran, through significant financial investments and the strategic construction of influential lobbies, have continuously sought to change the decision-making processes of Western institutions and governments.
This has been facilitated by a long policy of appeasement, exposing the extent of the Iranian regime’s deep influence on key Western policies.
This issue poses profound dangers for diplomacy and global security. Disclosed information based on the emails translated by Semafor from Farsi to English reveals this dangerous plot.
According to this information, the so-called experts of this illusory organization have been publishing misleading information with the aim of demonizing the NCRI and the MEK.
The leaked emails demonstrate how the Iranian regime intended to use the network of experts to build international relationships with influential academics and researchers, influence governments, think tanks, and advisory groups at the highest level, and spread regime propaganda in the Western media.
They asserted that the NCRI and the MEK have no support inside Iran and should not be considered a viable democratic alternative.
Conversely, they sought to revive the nuclear agreement (JCPOA), lift regime sanctions, and compel Western nations to continue negotiations and appeasement with the mullahs.
