The Iranian exile group that played Washington for this moment

No one in Washington has prepared for this day as long as the Mojahedin-e-Khalq, an organization of Iranian exiles who have been fighting for decades to turn their homeland into a democracy.

While supporters of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah who hopes to return to Iran as its next leader, have assembled a broad network of enthusiastic exiles, the MEK has focused on an inside game in western capitals. It recruited some of the most prominent figures in American politics, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean, initially with the goal of getting the State Department to shed the MEK’s longstanding designation as a terrorist group.

Now the MEK, which has been accused by critics of operating like a cult, sees an opening it has never had before. After this weekend’s killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, France-based MEK leader Maryam Rajavi announced the formation of a secular provisional government.

Rajavi’s announcement was celebrated by a ready-made echo chamber of American political figures, including several with close ties to the Trump administration. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that “Iran’s democratic opposition is ready to step up and lead.” Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani spent the weekend attacking Pahlavi, a longtime MEK rival, as “destabilizing” and “a formula for disaster.”

“The only way to see an end to the threat of the Iran regime is to end the role of the dictatorship in Iran, and that’s, of course, the responsibility of the people of Iran,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the U.S. branch of MEK’s political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

Since winning removal of the terrorist designation in 2012, the council has paid more than $2.7 million to a lobbying firm run by former Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.), according to records filed with the Justice Department. Rosemont Associates worked to set up meetings with U.S. diplomats and lawmakers about various issues affecting Iranian refugees abroad, as well as promoting media appearances and signing onto letters or penning op-eds defending MEK and its leadership.

MEK shows its political muscle during its annual “Free Iran” conferences in Washington and other global summits it has put on in locations across Europe. Pompeo addressed the group’s most recent summit in November alongside former Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands, conservative commentator Guy Benson and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.). John Bercow, the former Speaker of the British House of Commons, also participated.

Many of the speakers are paid lavishly for their participation. Vice President Mike Pence received more than $400,000 in speaking fees from NCRI and affiliate groups after leaving office in 2021, according to financial disclosures filed during a subsequent presidential campaign. Bolton netted $40,000 from a 2017 speech at an NCRI rally in Paris, according to financial disclosures.

The events attract hordes of sitting elected officials, too. Of the more than 30 U.S. lawmakers who spoke to the group at its 2021 gathering were then-Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), future House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and future House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, according to a recap posted by the group.

In the wake of this weekend’s military action, NCRI maintains that its requests of U.S. policymakers haven’t changed. “We’re not asking for boots on the ground. We’re not asking for appropriation of money. We’re not asking for arms, none of that,” Jafarzadeh told POLITICO.

“Don’t give concessions to the Iranian regime, hold them accountable for their crimes and terrorism and recognize the right of the people of Iran to overthrow this regime,” he said. “Recognize the right of the resistance units, those forces on the ground who have been fighting the regime, recognize the right to confront the Revolutionary Guards, to fight them and to end the regime. That’s all that is really needed and asked for.”

Few American politicians have attached themselves to the MEK cause as assiduously as Giuliani. He has hosted Jafarzadeh on his online talk show numerous times throughout the years, including eight appearances in 2025, DOJ filings show. His media presence has only increased in recent days, including Fox News and Newsmax appearances to ensure “that those who are decision makers, they have all the facts.”

Giuliani acknowledged having been paid for speeches by MEK in the past, but said he is not currently being paid by the group.

“No, I do not represent them as a foreign agent,” Giuliani told POLITICO. “I represent them publicly exercising my First Amendment rights.” He characterized MEK’s goals as “a cause” he supports due to his belief that the group has the best plan to establish an interim Iranian government following Khamenei’s death.

The biggest obstacle that the MEK may now face in getting the attention of American policymakers is Pahlavi, a longtime Washington-area resident who presents a return to pre-revolutionary monarchy as Iran’s only potentially unifying political force. Since the conflict began, Pahlavi has appeared on multiple Fox News shows, was featured on CBS’ “60 Minutes” over the weekend, and penned an op-ed in The Washington Post thanking Trump for bringing about the death of Khamenei.

“I don’t think this is about money,” said Giuliani. “I think even the people on the other side, I think this, everybody considers this issue bigger than them on both sides. I mean, the thing, the thing that the Pahlavi people and the MEK people and the few other people that are involved in this all agree on is [Khamenei] should have been done away with 47 years ago, and he is a mad murderer.”