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An agreement has been reached between the United States and Iran on transferring control of an Iranian opposition group known as the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MeK) to Iraqi authorities, Saudi daily al Riyadh reported Sept. 3, citing Iranian sources. The issue of the MeK has long been a sticking point in Iran’s negotiations with the United States. That the United States now appears to be moving forward in getting the MeK out of Iran’s hair for good spells tangible progress for the U.S.-Iranian negotiating track.
The MeK is a Marxist-based Islamist group that began waging an armed campaign against the Iranian government in 1965. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution swept through Iran, the main objective of the group was to replace Iran’s current Islamist theocracy with a secular regime. As a result, the MeK had no shortage of foreign patrons ready and willing to support its cause, particularly former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who used the group not only to destabilize his rivals in Tehran but also to support his own efforts in suppressing Kurdish and Shiite uprisings in Iraq.
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