Lobbying 2016: Iranians in America battle over US rapprochement with Tehran - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Julian Pecquet

Julian Pecquet

Aug 1, 2016

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal, in Vienna January 16, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX22P9I — US Secretary of State John Kerry talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal, in Vienna, Jan. 16, 2016. — REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Congress and the White House don’t see eye to eye on burying the hatchet with Iran.

Neither does the million-strong Iranian diaspora in the United States.

Supporters of residents of the Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MEK) camp, which houses Iranian dissidents in western Baghdad, rally on Pennsylvania Avenue as U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi at the White House in Washington April 14, 2015. The dissidents, who call for the overthrow of Iran's clerical leaders and fought on Iraq's side during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, occupy "Camp Liberty", located in a former U.S. military compound in Baghdad, but is no longer welcome in

MEK uses congressional spotlight to push regime change in Iran

Julian Pecquet

Julian Pecquet

Maryam Rajavi (2nd R), president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, attends an international meeting in Rome December 19, 2013. The meeting organised by the Italian committee of parliamentarians and pro-democracy Iranian activists was held to discuss the nuclear talks in Geneva, organisers said. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (ITALY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16ORH

Congressional invite to MEK sparks furious backlash

Julian Pecquet

Julian Pecquet

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, delivers his speech as he attends the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), meeting in Villepinte, near Paris, France, June 30, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau - RC1B635374A0

US government no longer excludes MEK as leadership option for Iran

Barbara Slavin

Barbara Slavin

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, speaks at an event in Ashraf-3 camp, which is a base for the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) in Manza, Albania, July 13, 2019.REUTERS/Florion Goga - RC1B40AAA200

Iran opposition lobbied Giuliani, CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran

Julian Pecquet

Julian Pecquet