News / Politics

Iran official reacts to Abbas meeting with MKO ringleader

Monday, 01 August 2016 4:37 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 01 August 2016 8:53 AM ]

Hossein Sheikholeslam, an adviser to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

An adviser to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has harshly criticized the recent meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the ringleader of an anti-Iran terrorist group.

Speaking on Sunday, Hossein Sheikholeslam said the meeting between Abbas and Maryam Rajavi, the ringleader of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), came as no surprise to Iran.

Abbas met with Rajavi in the French capital of Paris late Saturday. According to reports, the two discussed regional issues, and Rajavi briefed Abbas on the MKO’s recent annual meeting.

“That a Palestinian faction that compromises with the Zionists (Israelis) and that has yielded to Israel under US pressure... today meets with terrorist elements is no surprise,” Sheikholeslam said, referring to the Palestinian Fatah party, which is headed by Abbas.

The Islamic Republic, the Iranian official said, was already in possession of evidence of Abbas’ secret collaborations with the United States.

He said the relations between Mahmoud Abbas and terrorist groups and Israelis have been covert and have only become publicized today.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with Maryam Rajavi, the ringleader of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), in Paris, France, July 30, 2016.

Sheikholeslam referred to the MKO’s bleak history of assassinations and bombings against Iranian civilians and officials following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and said the terrorist outfit receives support from the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

He also pointed to the move by the MKO to side with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the eight-year Iraqi war against Iran in the 1980s, and said the group maintains its enmity toward Iran with continued Western support.

In early July, the MKO held a meeting in Paris, where Saudi Arabia’s former spymaster, Turki al-Faisal, gave a 30-minute speech to the gathering and expressed support for the anti-Iran group.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry subsequently summoned the French Ambassador to Tehran François Sénémaud to hand him a strong note of protest over the meeting.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations.

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