From RT Balkan (
machine translation from Serbian):
June 22, 2025 6:10 PM | Updated: June 22, 2025 6:10 p.m
Mina Curcic
Under American patronage, the neighboring country provides a haven for one of Iran's largest opposition groups, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq.
Getty © Siavosh Hosseini/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Maryam Radjavi in Albania
The echoes of the war raging in the Middle East are being heard in Albania. Not because the neighboring country has sent troops or aid to one of the warring parties, but because, under US patronage, it is a
haven for one of the largest Iranian opposition groups, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK).
For example, the Iranian hacker group "Homeland Justice" recently said that Iran has the right to attack the Manez camp near Durres with missiles, where members of the Mujahideen-e-Kalk group are housed. The threats were preceded by a cyberattack on the official website of the Tirana city administration.
Albanian international relations expert Akri Çipa warned that Albanian authorities must take cybersecurity more seriously, and urged them not to ignore threats from Tehran.
He pointed out that, despite Iran's current engagement in the conflict with Israel, cyber threats to Albania remain present and potentially dangerous, Telegrafi reported.
This is not the first time Albania has been the target of an Iranian cyberattack: a few years ago, the "Homeland Justice" group hacked the e-Albania system. Citizen data, including medical data, was "suffered" and, according to Albanian-language media, Iran came into possession of confidential state information.
"They brought the state to its knees," reported "Gazeta.šćip".
Edi Rama's government then severed diplomatic relations with Iran, Albanian police raided the Iranian embassy in Tirana, and Tehran evacuated diplomats within 24 hours.
Albanian authorities also conducted police operations in the Manaz camp in Durres, where Iranian oppositionists and dissidents are held.
Albanian media reported that members of the Iranian mujahedin group resisted and clashed with Albanian special forces. The US State Department at the time supported actions against members of this mujahedin organization.
The "Mujahideen e Khalq" organization has between 5,000 and 10,000 members worldwide, according to the State Department. Their name means "People's Mujahedin of Iran."
The MeK was founded on September 5, 1965, by leftist Iranian students affiliated with the Freedom Movement of Iran, to oppose Shah Reza Pahlavi. According to American reports from the time when the MeK was led by Massoud Rajavi in Iraq, the group resembled more of a cult. Rajavi then disappeared, and his wife took over leadership. After the American invasion of Iraq, there was a change in the West's attitude towards the group, which is to say that they were recognized as a potential weapon in the conflict with the Islamic Republic.
According to media reports,
the group was granted sanctuary in Albania after former Albanian President and then Prime Minister Sali Berisha accepted a proposal from then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2012 to accept the first 200 MEK members from Iraq. Financial assistance was also provided.
The authorities in Tirana initially announced that they would only accept the MeK member temporarily, but the US increased its assistance, and Albania became a host and ally of the MeK.
According to Albanian-language media,
there are currently around 3,000 mujahedeen in Albania. The camp in Manaz, according to Albanian portals, has often been visited by high-ranking American officials.
Five years ago, after the Iranian attack on two American bases in Iraq, Iranian spiritual leader Ali
Khamenei spoke of "a small but evil European place, where Americans are collaborating with Iranian traitors against the Islamic Republic," alluding to Albania, where members of the MeK were located.
The then President Ilir Meta reacted, stating that Albania was not an evil country, but a democratic one, and that human rights were sacred to it.
It remains to be seen whether what he once planted with the USA, albeit for mutual benefit, will backfire on the Albanian neighbor.
