The European Union announced Monday the removal of a high-profile Iranian opposition group from its list of terrorist organizations.
The change in the status of the Mujahedeen Khalq Organization, or MKO, which seeks to overthrow the Iranian government, complicates attempts by the international community to reach a diplomatic settlement with the Iranian government over a range of issues.
The decision results from recent legal and diplomatic developments combined with intense lobbying by the group, whose leader, Maryam Rajavi, lives in France.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry decried the ruling as a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373, which requires governments to freeze the funds and halt the activities of those involved in acts of terrorism.
Rajavi described the decision as a “stinging defeat for the European policy of complacency” toward Iran.
The MKO remains on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, a designation it acquired in 1997. Los Angeles Times
