MKO promoting hatred of Iran: California professor

TEHRAN, Feb.5 (MNA) – Paul Sheldon Foote, a professor of California State University, said the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization promotes a “hatred of Iran” in the West. The MKO is a useful tool for the Israelis “by promoting hatred of Iran, by telling lies about Iran, and by conducting terrorist operations in Iran,” Sheldon Foote told the Habilian Association database. The Habilian Association is an NGO which includes members of the families of Iranian terror victims. “Israel can always deny any knowledge of or support for these activities,” the professor said. On support for the MKO by the West, especially by the United States, Sheldon Foote said, “Most Americans do not even have passports. They have not visited Iran. It is easy for the MKO to lie about supporting democracy.” He also said some Congress members “receive thousands of dollars” from the group and “some political leaders have made trips to Paris paid by the MKO.” The university professor went on to say that the group receives some of its funding “from the American and Saudi Arabian governments even though the MKO is on the American State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.” The professor said the MKO continues to exist as "most Iranians living outside of Iran are afraid to criticize the MKO."