Iran's intelligence minister on Wednesday denounced the Iraq-based opposition Mujahideen Khalq as a wing of the Iraqi security forces and said his ministry had their activities under control, reported Reuters Wednesday.
“They have become mercenaries of the Iraqi government, suppressing the Shiite Muslims and Kurds as an integral part of the Iraqi military and security apparatus,” Ali Yunesi was quoted as telling reporters on Wednesday.
The Mujahideen Khalq set up bases in Iraq towards the end of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war, and have stepped up cross-border raids and attacks inside Iran in recent weeks.
“Many informants supply us with intelligence from abroad, and we have their activities under full surveillance. We have complete lists of their names and capabilities,” Yunesi said.
“They know that they are under our watchful eyes wherever on earth they may be.”
Other security officials have also pledged to retaliate against the latest wave of Mujahideen hit-and-run raids, which have increasingly included mortar attacks aimed at military targets in Tehran.
On Sunday, the Mujahideen killed three soldiers near the border with Iraq and a policeman in northwestern Tehran and on Monday five Mujahideen mortar rounds struck an army base in eastern Tehran.
The Tehran Times said in a following report that the attacks came after a meeting between members of the members of Khalq and CIA agents.
Iran regularly criticizes the Iraqi government for supporting the Mujahideen, while Iraq accuses Iran of providing refuge for the Higher Shiite Council, the Tehran-based Iraqi opposition group, led by Mohammad Baqer Hakim.
Baghdad customarily accuses the Iran-harbored group of launching attacks on civilian targets – (Several Sources)
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