US to Drop Iran Opposition Group From Terror List

MEK members might be able to move abroad now
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 21, 2012 12:45 PM CDT
US to Drop Iran Opposition Group From Terror List
Members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq organization seen inside a refugee camp in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 11, 2012.   (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

The US is about to have one less terror group to officially worry about: The State Department is removing the Iranian opposition group MEK—or Mujahedin-e Khalq—from the government's list of terrorist organizations, reports Reuters. Proponents of the move say the group has renounced its violent past and has even provided information on Tehran's nuclear program.

The move might help the group's members, once sheltered by Saddam Hussein, finally find homes, reports the Washington Post. About 3,000 have been living in a kind of limbo for years, unwelcome in either Iran or Iraq. Now they'll be able to apply for refugee status and possibly move abroad. The Post says the group has a reputation of being cultlike, however, and nations will likely balk at taking large numbers. (More State Department stories.)

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