Iran Condemns Eu for Taking Exiled Group Off Terrorist List

The European Union has removed an exiled Iranian opposition group from its list of terrorist organizations, in a ruling which provoked a furious reaction from Tehran.

The decision to take the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, or PMOI, off the list and unfreeze its assets was the first of its kind and followed a protracted legal row.

But Iran's foreign ministry said the move underlined Europe's "double standards" in dealing with terrorism. "The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the EU's unacceptable move and deeply deplores that the EU, in order to attain illegitimate and short-term political objectives, has distanced itself from the path of the international community in fighting terror and has chosen friendship and cooperation with terrorists," said a statement from the ministry.

There are fears the decision will further damage relations already badly strained by Iran's nuclear ambitions and Tehran's support for Middle Eastern groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian movement Hamas.

The 27-state EU is also sharply aware of the pledge by the US president, Barack Obama, to consider closer American engagement with Iran.

The PMOI had been blacklisted by the EU since 2002 alongside Hamas and Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers, but waged a long legal battle to reverse that decision.

The organization, which is still considered a terrorist group by the US, was formed in the 1960s to resist the Shah and took part in the 1979 revolution. It turned against the Islamic regime that replaced him and went on to support Saddam Hussein during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.

The PMOI is the military wing of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCR), which is based in Paris and claims to have renounced violence in 2001. Maryam Rajavi, the NCR leader, called the EU decision "a crushing defeat to Europe's policy of appeasement" with Iran. But Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, sought to play down any political significance: "What we are doing today is abiding by the decision of the court," he said. "There is nothing we can do about the decision."

Several EU court rulings went in favour of the PMOI, concluding that the EU had failed to properly explain why it froze the group's assets. A spokesman said $9m was frozen in France alone, with "tens of millions of dollars" worth of assets locked away in other member states.

Rajavi told Reuters: "The funds will be used to increase our political activities ... including to further disclose the mullah regime's secret nuclear weapons sites."

Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, has appealed to Iran to return to talks with EU countries and the US over its nuclear program. "During 2009 there will and should be significant focus on this issue," he said.