US to drop Iranian group from terror list

Source: Ynet

The United States has decided to remove the Iranian dissident group Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) from its list of terrorist organizations, two US officials said on Friday, handing a political victory to a group once sheltered by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein that says it has abandoned its violent past.

The officials said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had made the decision to remove MEK from the list, and that it was expected to be formally announced early next week.
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The group, also known as the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI), calls for the overthrow of Iran's clerical leaders and fought alongside Saddam's forces in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. It also led a guerrilla campaign against the US-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s, including attacks on US targets.

The United States added the MEK to its list of foreign terrorist organizations in 1997. But the group has since said it renounced violence and mounted a vigorous legal and public relations campaign to have the designation dropped.

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