People's Mujahedeen say US accord keeps them armed and fighting Iran

People's Mujahedeen say US accord keeps them armed and fighting Iran
Agence France Presse
April 23, 2003

ASHRAF, Iraq (AFP) - A ceasefire agreement reached with US forces allows the Iraq)-based People's Mujahedeen guerrillas to keep their arms while maintaining their war against the Iranian government, a spokesman for the group said.

The US military on Tuesday said it had reached a ceasefire agreement with the Iranian armed opposition group, which was given protection under Saddam Hussein ('s ousted regime.

"As far as the future is concerned, the forces of the mujahedeen will stay with their arms and that was the substance of the agreement," said Mohsen Nadi, the spokesman for the People's Mujahedeen.

US officials were not immediately available to comment on Nadi's remarks, which would suggest the People's Mujahedeen, branded a terrorist group by Washington, was now an ally in the fight against Iran.

The United States considers Iran a part of the "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea.

Nadi told AFP at the group's camp 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of Baghdad that the agreement consisted of three essential points:

-- The People's Mujahedeen could remained armed.

-- No timeline was set for how long they could stay on their base.

-- They would continue their efforts to overthrow the government in Tehran.

"Our combat and our war is only aimed at toppling the mullahs' regime in Iran in order to establish democracy and for peace and stability in the whole region," Nadi said.

"The mutual understanding and agreement that was reached between us and the United States forces was based on this," said Nadi, also a member of the Iranian opposition umbrella organisation, the National Council of Resistance.

The People's Mujahedeen has been labelled a terrorist organisation by Iran, the United States and the European Union, although it says it aims at only military targets and other elements of the Tehran regime.

Nadi said that US officials gave no indication whether the terrorist label would be dropped, and he saw no contradiction with the agreement allowing the mujahedeen to remain armed.

"This is not a contradiction if we have a force that has its principle emphasis on independence and democracy," he said.