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US ’set to remove’ Iran group MEK’s from terror list

22 September 2012 11:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The US is set to remove dissident Iranian group Mujahideen-e Khalq from its terror blacklist, APA reports quoting US officials.
According to the information, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has sent a classified opinion to Congress and a decision is expected to be announced in the following days.

A state department spokeswoman has not confirmed what the opinion contains, but US congressmen welcomed the expected decision in favour of MEK. A US appeals court had given Mrs Clinton until 1 October to give her recommendation.

The MEK, also known as the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) led a guerrilla campaign against the US-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s and also opposed Iran’s clerical leaders who replaced the Shah.It was given refuge in Iraq by former leader Saddam Hussein but has fallen out of favour with Iraq’s new Shia-dominated leadership.Members of the group have been based at a refugee camp in Iraq but Baghdad is taking steps to expel them. It says its presence on the list puts members living in Iraq under threat.The group was listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in 1997. Britain removed the group of its terror list in 2008, followed by the European Union in 2009.