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MKO Seeks Base in Egypt
An anti-Iranian organization is seeking to base its new headquarters in Egypt, a move that could further sour relations between Teheran and Cairo. The People's Mujahidin of Iran, also known as the Mujahidin Khalq Organization (MKO), is an Iranian opposition movement outlawed in Iran. The movement has had camps in Iraq since the early 1980s and sided with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war. Its leaders fled to France during the 1980s. Today, Baghdad seeks to expel MKO members from the country and MKO leaders are looking for alternative bases in the region. Egypt recently agreed to accommodate the MKO on its soil, Iraq sources told the Iranian Mehr news organization. Last month, European states removed the organization from its list of banned terrorist groups. However, the US State Department still designates the MKO a foreign terrorist organization. If Egypt accepts the MKO on its territory, this would strain already tense relations between Egypt and Teheran. Iran cut its diplomatic relations with Egypt following the late president Anwar Sadat's signing of the Camp David peace agreement with Israel in 1979. Sadat's welcoming of the shah of Iran following the collapse of his regime in 1979 sharpened the tensions between the two countries. This was compounded when Iran named a street after Khalid Al-Islambouli, the man who assassinated Sadat in 1981. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-23 |
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