Paying the Price: The Untold Story of the Iranian Resistance

Preface

I decided to write this book six years ago after being introduced to members of the People’s Mujahadeen of Iran, or Mujahadeen-e-Khalq in Paris, France. I was introduced through a friend who was involved in the Free Iran rally in the summer of that year.

I consider myself a traveled and educated person. I’ve done business in over forty countries, traveled to many more while in the military, including time in the Middle East, and during a long stint on Wall Street.

However, when confronted with the existence of the PMOI/MEK, I had to admit to myself I had never heard of them.

Why is that? I asked myself.

As I investigated this question, I found out there was a very good reason for this situation — a concerted and extremely successful disinformation campaign by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and successive administrations of the United States government.

This piqued my curiosity to dig even more. Who were these people? Why were they so persecuted? Why did the Iranian government want them killed? In other words, why was the Iranian government so scared of them?

In contrast to the incompetence and arrogance of the George W. Bush administration, and the outright treachery of the Obama administration, the Mujahadeen can actually say they have been right about the Middle East all along. The MEK warned Bush that Iran would use the Iraq War to cement control over the entire region if the U.S. wasn’t careful in Iraq. The warnings were ignored.

The Obama administration tried as hard as it could to allow the MEK to be killed — before the courts, Congress, and public opinion forced their relocation to Albania in 2016.

Even today, the Iranian MOIS (Ministry of Intelligence) is repeatedly trying to destroy the MEK on foreign soil.

I spent weeks with the MEK in their headquarters in Paris, and in their Camp Ashraf 3 in Albania. I was the first Western journalist to visit the camp.

We will go into depth on all of these points. However, I guarantee one thing: you will learn a lot from the book, much you did not know — or should I say, weren’t permitted to know.

As thousands of Iranian teenagers are being murdered as we speak in Iranian cities by the mullahs, I hope this book resonates with the free world.

L Todd Wood

Introduction

Born from revolution under the Shah, the MEK believed they were going to share power with the mullahs in Iran after the fall of the monarch — to build a new Persian society, free of tyranny.

They were wrong.

The mullahs, bent on total control, savagely oppressed the MEK and do still to this day. Over 130,000 members have been executed by the regime, a large percentage children and a large percentage female.

To counter this oppression, the MEK built a powerful military force on the Iraqi border. They miraculously acquired three hundred armored vehicles and trained ten thousand soldiers, many of whom were female.

Incursions from this Iraqi base, including Operation Eternal Light, severely threatened the mullahs’ grip on power.

Unfortunately, the U.S. military during the first Gulf War, disarmed the MEK, labeled them terrorists, abandoned their protection under the Geneva Convention, and allowed Iraqi forces to murder at will with infantry assaults and missile attacks.

The U.S. Department of State acted nefariously during these murders, abandoning the U.S. responsibility it acquired when it guaranteed the MEK protection under the Geneva Convention.

Eventually, public pressure forced Washington to relocate the remaining three thousand combatants to Albania, where the majority reside today. A Federal judge forced their removal from the U.S Terrorist Watchlist.

Today, the only thing the Iranian theocracy actually fears is the MEK, so the repression continues.

I spent weeks with the MEK, first at their Albanian Camp Ashraf 3 outside of Tirana, and then at their global headquarters in Paris. I spent hours interviewing many of their personnel. The MEK is essentially still a paramilitary operation.

The organization is run by females, as they show a future of equal rights for women within a tolerant Islam, not possible today in much of the Muslim world.

Their global satellite network beams a message of a free Iran into Iranian society. Their global fundraising operation across the Iranian diaspora is impressive.

The MEK has a ten-point plan to install democracy, freedom, equal rights, free markets, et cetera for the Persian people. You can read it at the end of this introduction.

At a minimum, the world needs to understand the true nature of the resistance to the regime in Iran, not what Western mockingbird media portrays.

The motto of the movement is — Pay the Price.

The MEK understands — freedom is not free.

Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan

for Iran’s Democratic Future

President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Maryam Rajavi’s commitment to freedom and democracy in Iran has been outlined in her ten-point plan for the future of Iran. The NCRI is a coalition of more than 500 distinct Iranian opposition groups, including the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK). The organization elected Maryam Rajavi as its leader, she runs the democratic Iranian government in exile.

Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan

for a brighter Iranian future

Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan outlines the NCRI’s vision for Iran following the end of the clerical rule. It serves as a roadmap for a new era of democratic rule, with the NCRI and Maryam Rajavi as the head of a tolerant democratic government.

Universal Suffrage

The first point of the plan asserts the NCRI’s commitment to free and fair democratic elections. Legitimacy is earnt at the ballot box, and in a democratic Iran, the NCRI would hold fair elections with universal suffrage, granting every Iranian citizen a vote.

Political Freedom

The NCRI is committed to political freedom. Under its government, citizens would have the political freedom to create political parties, the media would be free of censorship, and all individuals would enjoy unrestricted access to the internet.

The Abolition of the Death Penalty

The NCRI and Maryam Rajavi oppose the use of the death penalty in all cases.

Secular Government

The NCRI is also determined to separate religion from government. Iran would become a place of religious freedom and pluralism, with followers of all religions welcome and free to practice their religious beliefs.

Equality

Maryam Rajavi and her NCRI government would uphold equality in all areas of Iranian society. Women would receive equal participation in political leadership, have the freedom to choose their clothing, their husbands, and be free to divorce.

Independent Judiciary

The NCRI is dedicated to the establishment of an independent judicial system. The accused would be considered innocent until proven guilty and have the right to legal counsel, defense in court, and a fair trial.

In Defense of Human Rights

Following the fall of the mullahs, the NCRI would uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, eliminating discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities. The Iranian Kurdistan region will receive a plan of political autonomy, and all minority languages and cultures will receive the necessary protections.

A Market Economy

Maryam Rajavi and the NCRI seek to instate a market economy, with private property and investment. Investors will receive relevant protections and the NCRI will govern over a revitalized economy and environment.

The Pursuit of Peace

Iranian foreign policy will be based on the pursuit of peace and stability in the region. The NCRI will respect the UN Charter and seek peaceful coexistence with its international neighbors, both in the Middle East and beyond.

A Non-Nuclear Iran

Finally, the NCRI and Maryam Rajavi remain committed to establishing a non-nuclear Iran, free from weapons of mass destruction.

The Beginning

I had been to Ashraf 3 several times before, but marveled as it changed every time I passed through the gates. These people were very industrious and creative in perfecting a new home for themselves. The five men filtered into the conference room, and we enjoyed coffee and sweets before the conversation started.

They were elderly but not frail. There was a quiet confidence about them — a confidence that comes with starting, and surviving, a political revolution.

I had thought about attempting to write my own history of the MEK, but soon realized I could not do a better job than simply transcribing the spoken words of these wise men.

I typed fast as they spoke.

Early MEK member, Speaker #1:

"You have to understand the political and social circumstances at the time of the rise of the MEK. We’ve had a 120-year struggle for freedom. In 1906, we succeeded in a constitutional movement and elected Iran’s first parliament — we were a constitutional monarchy. It was a progressive arrangement. Unfortunately, the British instituted a coup d’état and put their man in charge as they needed control. They installed Reza Khan ruler of Iran, an ex-army officer.

"Mohammed Mosaddeq was elected a member of parliament in Iran, the Majlis, the fifth parliament [after an already lengthy political career]. Mosaddeq opposed Reza Khan as king. Mosaddeq was imprisoned and exiled for some time. On October 31st of 1925, Khan put in place harsh repressive measures eliminating freedoms that had been previously given. In 1931 he passed a law — this is how we ended up in prison.

"During WWII, the allies met in Iran and decided to put Reza Khan in exile. They installed his son as the new shah of Iran. There was an open political environment during the change, and the people thrived. Mosaddeq was freed and became active in parliament; he had the most votes. Also, the Tudeh Party was very active in Iran; it was a mouthpiece of the Soviet KGB.

"One particular Mosaddeq initiative was to take back oil concessions that had been given to the British regarding Iranian energy resources in the south. In the north, the Tudeh Party and the Soviet Union were pressuring Iran to give concessions. One of the most important communists was Ja’far Pishevari, who formed a communist government in the north.

"Mosaddeq opposed communists; his new motto was ‘negative balance.’ Neither British nor Soviet influence was to be tolerated. It was quite a progressive model and wildly popular among Iranians, whose wealth benefited from this policy. Mosaddeq kicked out the British and nationalized Iranian oil. He went to the United Nations, The Hague, and won. Mosaddeq was revered by millions of Iranians.

In 1952, the Shah dismissed Mosaddeq from being Prime Minister; there was a national uprising in support of Mosaddeq. A public backlash forced him back into the Prime Minister position. The Shah could not challenge Mosaddeq. He told the Shah, You are only a figurehead, you have no role in running the government. This is where the United States begins its involvement in Iranian politics. To this day, it is a very important juncture.

"In 1953, a coup was organized by the CIA and MI6 with the collusion of the royal court, and clerics, including Abol-Ghasem Kashani. The coup brought down Dr. Mosaddeq. At this critical juncture, the United States, allied with reactionary clerics and the monarchial dictatorship, arrested Mosaddeq. His foreign minister, Dr. Hossein Fatemi, was executed by the Shah. All media was banned, and the progressive atmosphere was ended. Amir Mokhtar Karimpour Shirazi, a publisher, journalist, and virulently anti-Shah, was arrested and burned. The Shah’s sister Ashraf ordered him to be burned to death.

"The Shah then formed the SAVAK, the hated secret police, and Iran became a police state after the coup d’état. This led to the suppression of the Iranian people. This