Yasmin Ansari’s Warning: Support for Iran, Not Legitimization of a Sect

“Yasmin Ansari,” an Iranian-American representative in the U.S. Congress, warned about supporting Iran and the danger of legitimizing the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

With the resurgence of protests in Iran and the U.S. Congress’s efforts to show solidarity with protesters, disagreements over “how to support” the Iranian people have surfaced once again. Yasmin Ansari, an Iranian-American representative in the U.S. Congress, is among those who have warned about the path chosen by some of her colleagues and has considered it to have dangerous political consequences.

Ansari, who entered Congress following the November 2024 elections, referred in a message on social network X to a resolution drafted with support from both American parties in defense of human rights and Iranian protests. While emphasizing the importance of this action, she clearly stated her reason for not signing it, writing that direct support for Maryam Rajavi in the text of the resolution was a red line that could not be crossed. She also noted that she encouraged her Democratic colleagues to refrain from signing this resolution.

This congressional representative clarified her position, stating: “Supporting the Iranian people should never mean elevating a marginal and authoritarian group that lacks legitimacy among the decisive majority of Iranians both inside and outside Iran.

Yes, the Iranian people have risen again, not with weapons, but with courage. This is the same courageous spirit that brought down the Berlin Wall and led to the dismantling of discrimination during America’s civil rights movement and ended apartheid in South Africa. With deep respect, I am thrilled by the Iranian people’s efforts to achieve freedom. Now is the time for leaders of both American parties to speak clearly in support of the Iranian people and allow the voice of Iranians to be heard. We must also immediately take action to expand internet access throughout Iran and support the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom and democracy.”

Ansari’s remarks come in response to recent activities by MEK supporters in America; including a meeting on December 16 in which a number of congressional representatives from both parties were present and “Maryam Rajavi,” the leader of this organization, spoke via videoconference and outlined her so-called “ten-point” plan for Iran’s future.

Ansari continued her message with a harsher tone about the history of this organization, writing: “After nearly five decades of oppression under the rule of the bloody Islamic Republic regime, the Iranian people deserve freedom. But lasting freedom must arise from the hearts of the Iranian people themselves. The Mujahedin-e Khalq is a cult, not a legitimate opposition awaiting power. They openly stood beside Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War. A betrayal that cost countless Iranian lives.”

This stance comes at a time when the history of the Mujahedin-e Khalq remains one of the controversial points in U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. government placed this group on the “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” list in 1997 and removed its name from the list in 2012; a decision that continues to be criticized by many observers and Iranian activists.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere of Iranian protests and its reflection on social networks has also become a scene of narrative competition. Simultaneously with the widespread distribution of videos showing supportive slogans from protesters in favor of Prince Reza Pahlavi, the Mujahedin-e Khalq organization called these images “fake” and “dubbed”; a claim that has itself intensified the rift between opposition groups against the Islamic Republic.

Yasmin Ansari’s remarks can be seen as an attempt to draw a clear distinction between “supporting the Iranian people” and “granting political legitimacy to groups lacking social backing”; a distinction that, particularly for Western policymakers, understanding it can be decisive in determining the credibility of their positions in the eyes of Iranian public opinion.