Iranian security forces have destroyed all bases of the outlawed group Mujahedeen Khalq in next-door Iraq, said Iran's Interior Minister Ali Younessi.
Tehran's April 18 offensive on Khalq bases and nearby border towns killed at least seven people, six of them Iraqis and the other was a Mujahedeen militia man.
"Those who survived the (recent missile) attacks fled their bases," Younessi said, cited by the official Iranian news agency (IRNA).
He said that the attacks were aimed to punish Khalq for their terrorist operations.
"The attacks were carrying an important message to the hypocrites that Iran will not let Khalq impede normalization of relations between her and its neighbors, especially Iraq," he noted.
"Khalq is rotting in the core and their terrorist and sabotage operations aim to cover up the issue," Younessi said.
Last Tuesday, Iraq blasted the United Nations for keeping silent on the missile strikes on Iraqi territory.
In a message to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Deputy Prime Minister and interim Foreign Minister Tareq Aziz accused the Security Council of "failing in its commitments to Iraq's sovereignty."
"The council has prevented Iraq from rebuilding its defensive capabilities at a time when the region is engaged in a wild arms race," Aziz said. "This policy has encouraged regional forces and other parties to continue their attacks on Iraq."
Tehran and Baghdad have yet to sign a formal peace treaty after their bloody 1980-1988 war, and the presence of armed opposition groups on each other's territory is a key obstacle to a normalization of ties – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
