Canada’s delisting of Mujahedeen dangerous: Iran

Iranian exiles blame Iraqis for camp death

TEHRAN, Dec 24, (Agencies): Iran on Monday slammed Canada for removing an exiled Iranian opposition group from its blacklist of terror groups, accusing it of violating its global commitments and adopting a “dangerous” move.

By delisting the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq ( MEK) group, Canada is “using the issue of terrorism as a tool (and) violating its international commitments,” the Iranian foreign ministry said on the website of state broadcaster IRIB.

“It is a dangerous move that can weaken international peace and security.”

Canada on Dec 21 announced the removal of the group from its blacklist after a similar move by the United States in September.

Canada also added Iran’s Quds Force, a special forces unit within the Revolutionary Guards tasked with missions abroad, to its terror list.

The Iranian foreign ministry issued a “serious warning” about the consequences of the decision to delist MEK, saying it was turning Canada into a “haven for terrorists.”

It said Iran will hold Canada responsible for preserving the security of Iranian expatriates and properties “in case of any violent and terrorist acts” by the MEK.

The ministry did not comment on the Quds Force addition to Canada’s blacklist. The leftwing group was founded in the 1960s to oppose the shah of Iran. After the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the shah it took up arms against Iran’s clerical rulers.

Meanwhile, an Iranian exile group representing residents of a refugee camp outside Baghdad is alleg- ing that one of its members has died after Iraqi authorities prevented him from being hospitalized.

The Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran said on Monday that Behrooz Rahimian died the previous day of cardiac arrest.