April 15, 2017

Iran Focus – Senator John McCain, Chair of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, met with the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi in Tirana, Albania, on Friday, April 14, 2017.

Senator McCain and Rajavi discussed latest developments in Iran, the Iranian regime’s interference in the Middle East region, as well as the future prospects, according to a report published.

The President-elect of the Iranian Resistance expressed her appreciations to Senator McCain for his unsparing efforts in support of the MEK from Camp Ashraf and their relocation out of Iraq.

She said, “Today, there is a general consensus in the region on the clerical regime’s destructive role and there is no doubt that the religious fascism ruling Iran is the prime source of war, terrorism and crisis in the region.”

“Regime change is not only the need for ending brutal violations of human rights in Iran but to establish peace and tranquility in the region,” she added. “As long as the clerical regime is in power, it would not give up export of terrorism and fundamentalism.”

Senator McCain said he believed that the Iranian regime, Bashar Assad and Daesh (ISIS) were all interrelated and inseparable entities. He stressed on the need to oust Bashar Assad and to confront the Iranian regime’s destructive role in Syria and Iraq.

Maryam Rajavi noted, “All indications are that the clerical regime is at an impasse socially, politically, and economically and consequently is quite vulnerable. In the meantime, the Iranian people and Resistance are more determined than ever for the overthrow of the regime and establishment of democracy and popular sovereignty.”

Prior to the meeting, Senator McCain visited one of the centers of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Tirana and met with the PMOI members who were relocated to Albania from Camp Liberty, Iraq.

According to a NCRI press release, Senator McCain congratulated their successful transfer from Iraq and praised the perseverance and steadfastness of the members of the resistance and their huge sacrifices. “There is no doubt that people in this room have suffered not only themselves, but in the loss of their loved ones because of the Iranian tyranny. You have stood up, fought, and sacrificed for freedom, for the right to live free, for the right to determine your future, for the right that is God given. …I thank you for being an example; an example to the whole world that those people who are willing to fight and sacrifice for freedom, will achieve it and you are an example to everyone in the world who is struggling for it,” Mr. McCain said. While expressing his condolences to the victims of the mullahs’ tyranny, he thanked the government of Albania for accepting the PMOI members.

Senator McCain praised the leadership of Mrs. Rajavi, while emphasizing, “Someday Iran will be free and someday we will gather in freedom square in Tehran.”

Deputy Chief of the US Mission in Albania and a number of US Embassy staff in Tirana as well as a delegation of Senator McCain’s advisors accompanied him in this visit.