MEK remains on US terrorist list

Despite its leadership's intensive efforts to get out of the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list of US state Department, Mujahedin-e Khalq remains on it for sixteen consecutive years.

According to Habilian Association (families of Iranian terror victims) database, Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK, MKO, and PMOI) was designated by the United States Department of State as a foreign terrorist organization on October, 8, 1997. This terrorist organization threatens “the security of U.S. nationals or the national security of the United States,” as it did during the 1970s by killing several US military personnel and civilians.

MEK made every effort to get out of the list, but the latest list of foreign terrorist organizations released on January 27, 2012, still contains Mujahedin-e Khalq organization as the 28th group.

The Bureau of Counterterrorism in the U.S. Department of State (S/CT) continually monitors the activities of terrorist groups active around the world to identify potential targets for designation. When reviewing potential targets, S/CT looks not only at the actual terrorist attacks that a group has carried out, but also at whether the group has engaged in planning and preparations for possible future acts of terrorism or retains the capability and intent to carry out such acts.

According to U.S. Department of State, one of the three criteria for a group to be designated in the list is that its “terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.”