TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A defected member of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) said the group, which played a major role in the unrest following the 2009 presidential election in Iran, has no clear strategy and is only after getting brownie points from the US and Israel.
During a press conference here in Tehran on Tuesday, two defected members of the MKO, namely Maryam Sanjabi and Ebrahim Khodabande, touched on some of the activities the terrorist organization has carried out against the Islamic Republic in the past years.
The ex-MKO member, Ebrahim Khodabande, said that the terrorist group is not after improving its public image or social standing, as it is only trying to satisfy Israel and the US.
He further pointed to the terrorist groups important role in stirring up post-election unrest in 2009 in Iran, and said the MKO resorted to various acts of sabotage to destabilize the country, such as planting bombs.
Maryam Sanjabi, too, said the MKO played a leading role in fomenting violence after the presidential election. The terrorist organization, she said, sent a number of people into streets to carry out violent acts. Then it released photos and video recordings of the unrest on the Internet.
Asked about the threat of the MKO to Iran, Khodabande said, "politically the terrorist group can pose no threat to Iran."
The MKO is considered as a terrorist group since it has been behind many cases of bombings and assassinations against the Iranian officials and people.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it received the support of Iraq's executed dictator Saddam Hussein and set up its camp near the Iranian border.
Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, some 12,000 have fallen victim to the acts of terror carried out by the MKO.
The group also fought alongside the regime of Saddam Hussein during the 8-year Iraqi-imposed war on Iran in 1980s.