Iraqi officials restate position on PMOI

TEHRAN, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- There is no other option available for the People's Mujahedin of Iran other than returning to Iran or finding asylum outside Iraq, officials said.

Iranian media report that Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie told officials in Tehran the government in Baghdad was adamant in its stance on the PMOI.

The PMOI is a dissident group based at its Camp Ashraf enclave in Iraq's Diyala province. The group is considered a terrorist organization by much of the international community, though it has won several concessions in its campaign to have that categorization reversed.

"Iraq has made a decision for the Ashraf camp and will implement it firmly," Rubaie said. "We have put forward two solutions for them: They either return to Iran or find a third country for exile. There is no third way for them."

Rubaie said in December the PMOI needed to relocate to another country following the expiration of the U.N. mandate for Iraq.

"Staying in Iraq is not an option for them," an Iraqi government statement said then.

The PMOI calls for regime change in Iran. It has secured pledges from U.S. forces it would remain under military supervision as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention.