Jan 6, 2020

The main group pushing for regime change in Iran lobbied the head of the hawkish United Against Nuclear Iran on the sidelines of his organization’s annual event in New York last fall, new lobbying filings show.

The disclosure raises new questions about ties between United Against Nuclear Iran CEO Mark Wallace and the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a Paris-based umbrella group dominated by the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq. The council also met twice with President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani around the time of the UN General Assembly, drawing renewed attention to Giuliani’s unregistered advocacy on behalf of the group.

The council's US office disclosed meeting Sept. 23 with Wallace to discuss “developments in Iran” — the first time the group has reported meeting with the United Against Nuclear Iran CEO since registering to lobby in May 2013. The next day, Wallace hosted a gathering of Iranian opposition groups dominated by the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, raising criticism from some Iran watchers distrustful of a group that the State Department designated a terrorist organization until 2012.

United Against Nuclear Iran sought to distance itself from the event at the time, saying Wallace had convened it in his personal capacity on the eve of the group’s official annual summit Sept. 25. Al-Monitor, however, reported at the time that the program for the event was listed as United Against Nuclear Iran, something the group said was in error.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran and United Against Nuclear Iran share similar views on Iran. Both applauded last week’s US airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, with United Against Nuclear Iran calling it a “significant blow” to Iran’s military power while the council labeled it a “fatal blow” to the regime in Tehran.