July 4, 2003	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 3,1424

CAMP ASHRAF (Iraq): Disarmed by the Americans in the wake of the Iraq war, and with their offices in France raided by authorities, Iran’s armed opposition People’s Mujahideen defiantly say they are stronger now than before the war.

“Demonstrations in Iran show the mullah’s regime is weakening and international pressure is growing, while we gained international recognition from the affair involving Maryam Rajavi and from our attitude during the war,” Mohsen Nadi, a leader of the Mujahideen’s political wing, said.

On Wednesday, a French court ordered Maryam to be released on bail, while eight other detained members were also due to be freed.

The Mujahideen lent its backing to 10 days of demonstrations by students and reformers that kicked off in Tehran on June 10. The protests spread to other cities in Iran and saw many slogans shouted against Iran’s religious establishment.

Nadi said the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) also played a key part in bringing international pressure to bear on Tehran, notably over its nuclear programme. “We gave the Americans information on the plans of the Iranian government,” he said.

At Camp Ashraf, more than 5,000 Mujahideen fighters could be seen training, as they have been doing for years, but without their weapons.

In May, the group, considered terrorists by the US State Department and European Union, struck a deal with US occupation authorities in Iraq to disarm and relocate its fighters to one camp.

Nadi said the accord with US forces was the result of the neutral position taken by the group during the war. “We did not fire a single shot, even when we were attacked. We left 17 of our bases and fell back to this camp to avoid any incidents, and our attitude has been rewarded.”—AFP