Washington’s Favorite "Opposition" Is Iran’s Most Hated Cult

For decades, a specific brand of political theater has played out in Washington ballrooms: high-ranking American officials standing before rows of cheering, flag-waving supporters to declare that the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) is the "democratic alternative" to the Islamic Republic. Figures like Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, and Rudy Giuliani have spent years cashing massive speaking fees to shill for a group that nearly every credible analyst - and 80 million Iranians - recognize as a treasonous, totalitarian cult. The push to install the MEK as a puppet government isn’t just bad diplomacy; it is a direct assault on the aspirations of the Iranian people. If history repeats itself, the U.S. risks making a blunder even more catastrophic than the perceived "installation" of Khomeini in 1979 - this time by forcing a group upon Iran that the population views with visceral, historical hatred. The primary reason the MEK is despised across the Iranian political spectrum is not their ideology, but their record during the Iran-Iraq War. While Iranian soldiers and civilians were dying by the hundreds of thousands to defend their soil against Saddam Hussein’s invasion, the MEK relocated to Iraq and fought alongside Saddam. In the eyes of Iranians - whether they support the current regime, loathe it, or fall somewhere in between - the MEK are not "freedom fighters." They are "Monafeqin" (Hypocrites) who committed the ultimate sin: siding with the enemy during a war for national survival. Their participation in Operation Mersad, a failed 1988 invasion of Iran backed by Iraqi air power, cemented their status as traitors in the national consciousness. Behind the slick PR and the "National Council of Resistance of Iran" (NCRI) branding lies a structure that human rights organizations and former members describe as a personality cult. Led by Maryam Rajavi (and and early on by her late husband Masoud), the group enforces:

• Mandatory "ideological divorces" for its members.
• Isolation from family and the outside world.
• Public self-criticism sessions are designed to break an individual's will.

Reports from organizations like Human Rights Watch have documented how the group uses psychological manipulation to maintain control over its members, many of whom are now elderly and housed in a fortified compound in Albania. This is not a "government-in-exile"; it is a relic of 1970s Marxist-Islamist radicalism that has mutated into a closed-loop authoritarian sect. Despite this, the MEK enjoys unprecedented access to the upper echelons of the U.S. political establishment. The irony is thick: men like John Bolton, who claim to promote "freedom," are the primary advocates for a group that was on the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list until 2012. The advocacy of Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pompeo, and John Bolton (and many more) is particularly egregious. Pompeo, even after leaving office, has visited the MEK camp in Albania, lending the group a veneer of legitimacy that it lacks at home. By promoting the MEK, these officials signal to the Iranian people that the U.S. is not interested in their actual democratic will, but in installing a compliant, ready-made puppet that will serve Washington’s interests - regardless of how much the local population hates them. "The MEK has no base in Iran, no support in Iran. They are a cult... If you want to make the current regime in Tehran look popular, just start supporting the MEK."  -  Common sentiment among secular Iranian activists. The most dangerous aspect of the MEK obsession is that it sucks the oxygen out of the room for genuine, domestic Iranian movements. The uprisings of 2025 and 2026 have shown a youth-led, decentralized movement that wants a secular, democratic future. These protesters are not shouting for Maryam Rajavi; they are shouting for "Woman, Life, Freedom" or for a referendum to decide their own fate. When Washington hawks push the MEK, they hand the Islamic Republic a propaganda gift. The regime can dismiss all legitimate dissent as being "MEK-led" or "foreign-funded," allowing them to justify brutal crackdowns under the guise of national security. By associating the cause of "regime change" with a hated terrorist cult, Pompeo and Bolton are effectively strengthening the very regime they claim to oppose. Installing the MEK in Iran would be like trying to "liberate" France after WWII by installing a Nazi-collaborator government. It is a fundamental misunderstanding of Iranian history and psychology. The 80 million people living in Iran deserve better than a choice between a clerical autocracy and a cultist autocracy. If the U.S. wants to support democracy in Iran, it must stop auditioning puppets and start listening to the millions of Iranians on the streets who want to write their own future - a future that absolutely does not include the MEK.

The MEK and the Rajavis: Controversies and Allegations Surrounding the Iranian Opposition Group

The deceased Masoud Rajavi, the founder of the MEK, and his wife, Maryam Rajavi, have assumed leadership positions within the organization. Their hold over the MEK and its political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has been a subject of criticism and controversy. Critics argue that the Rajavis maintain tight control over the group, stifling dissent and suppressing internal power struggles.