Pictures: Secretive Iranian 'government-in-waiting' in Albania

Group of celibate Iranian dissidents have built vast and tightly guarded barracks

Published: February 16, 2020 12:57 Omar Shariff, International Editor

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Members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq group, work out at a gym in the camp, near Manez, Albania on January 23. Depending on whom you ask, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq are either Iran’s replacement government-in-waiting or a duplicitous terrorist cult and journalists are rarely allowed inside the camp to judge for themselves, and are sometimes rebuffed by force. Image Credit: NYT

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Somayeh Mohammedi, a member of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq group, in Manez, Albania on January 23. Her family has said she is being held against her will but she denied that. Image Credit: NYT

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A cafe in Tirana, where Iranian defectors of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq group often gather, in Albania. The group's loudest allies include Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, and John Bolton, his former national security adviser. Both have received tens of thousands of dollars for speaking at the group's conferences, where these influential Americans describe the group as Iran's most legitimate opposition. Image Credit: NYT

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Foruzan Saidpoor, left, standing at the museum with mannequins depicting torture of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq members in Manez, Albania. Image Credit: d

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Members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq group, play chess at the camp, near Manez, Albania. The group claims to want a democratic, secular Iran. Image Credit: NYT

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The group was based in Iraq, under Saddam Hussain's protection. But after he was toppled, the new, pro-Iran government in Iraq took a dim view of its activities. US began searching for a safer country to house the group, settling for Albania in the end. Image Credit: NYT

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The entrance to the camp housing members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq near Manez, Albania. The Albanian government hoped its hospitality would curry favor with Washington, according to the foreign minister between 2013 and 2019, Ditmir Bushati. Image Credit: NYT

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