Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., met with National Council of Resistance of Iran President Maryam Rajavi and members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. Rajavi thanked the senators for their firm position toward Iran, especially the adoption of new sanctions against the ruling regime and the Revolutionary Guards for their human rights abuses, Iran's ballistic missile program, and the export of terrorism. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The Iranian regime has constantly tried to downplay the role and influence of the opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and its main constituent, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), by portraying them as marginal and insignificant. Yet, its mainstream media and top officials are constantly betraying the regime's real feelings and fear of the group.
The latest episode came after U.S. senators visited the organization's headquarters in Tirana, Albania. Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., met with NCRI President Maryam Rajavi and members of the MEK, and discussed the latest developments in Iran and the Middle East as well as solutions to end the current crisis in that region.
Less than a day later, dozens of mainstream media outlets representing all factions and branches of the Iranian regime expressed concern about the lawmakers' visit, calling it a provocative move meant to cause instability in Iran.
The visit comes as the Trump administration is reviewing its policy toward Iran's nefarious activities, and cabinet officials have hinted at supporting regime change, a goal that the MEK and NCRI have been calling for since 1981.
The Iranian regime and its backers in the West try to portray support for regime change as a path that will lead to another military invasion in the region, and a possible repeat of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. However, the NCRI believes that the Iranian people and their resistance movement are fully capable of achieving regime change without the need for a foreign intervention.
In her meeting with the senators, Rajavi emphasized that contrary to the propaganda by the Iranian regime's apologists, the ruling theocracy is rotten to the core and very fragile. Without foreign support, especially the policy of appeasement pursued in the U.S. and Europe, it would not have survived so long.
She added that regime change in Iran is necessary and within reach because a viable and democratic alternative exists.
The Iranian regime is increasingly extremely worried about the momentum that is building around the NCRI's goal. In April, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., made a similar trip to Albania and met with the MEK and NCRI's leadership. Other U.S. dignitaries and politicians attended the group's annual rally in Paris last month, where they underlined the necessity for regime change in Iran.
The regime is also having trouble containing MEK's increased activism inside Iran. In the run-up to the May's presidential elections, despite the numerous threats issued by regime officials and Iran's security apparatus, the group's supporters carried out widespread campaigns across Iran, denouncing the undemocratic nature of the elections and exposing the criminal history of the candidates.
The trip of U.S. lawmakers to Tirana is one more problem the Iranian regime will have to deal with as it is faced with an opposition that is growing in influence and support, and it no longer has the advantage of a U.S. administration geared toward appeasement and concessions.
Amir Basiri (@amir_bas) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is an Iranian human rights activist.
US senators meeting with the Iranian opposition?
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