Iranian opposition strongly criticises Department of Foreign Affairs
An Iranian opposition group has strongly criticised Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for expressing concerns about its activities.
The organisation, called the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), is linked with the People's Mujahideen Of Iran (PMOI) - which wants to overthrow the regime in Iran.
In a statement to RTÉ News last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it did not have any links to the NCRI or PMOI on the basis of what it termed "concerns about some aspects of its organisation and activities".
However, the DFA did not detail the concerns.
In response, the NCRI has since criticised the department for expressing such "vague concerns".
It said: "Although the department did not specify the nature of these concerns, four decades of experience make it palpably clear that such ambiguous reservations typically arise within a broader policy context of engaging with and appeasing the Iranian regime."
Spokesman for the NCRI Hossein Abedini added: "It is no secret that Tehran's ruling mullahs regard any acknowledgment or interaction with the NCRI or PMOI as an absolute red line, particularly when it comes to their foreign counterparts."
He suggested that the Iranian regime view the NCRI resistance as "an existential threat, evidenced by the execution of over 100,000 of its members and supporters since 1979, including the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, predominantly from the PMOI".
He concluded: "It is time to abandon the failed policy of appeasing the mullahs in Tehran, who represent the core of regional conflict and belligerence.
"Instead, the international community should unequivocally side with the Iranian people and their democratic opposition in their quest for a free, democratic republic," he added.
Last May, four Fianna Fáil TDs - Pádraig O'Sullivan, James O'Connor, Peter 'Chap' Cleere, and Tony McCormack - as well as three Fianna Fáil Senators - Erin McGreehan, Mary Fitzpatrick and Teresa Costello - participated in the NCRI conference.
Also attending the event in the French capital was Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell, as well as former Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Oireachtas members.
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