PMOI denies hand in Iranian violence

PARIS, June 22 (UPI) -- Claims by the Iranian regime that the exiled People's Mujahedin of Iran is behind political violence in Iran are "bogus," the exiled opposition claims.

Election protests in Iran have turned violent in recent days as demonstrators ignore warnings from top clerics and government officials to stay home.

Iranian Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned during his sermon for Friday prayers there would be "bloodshed" if the protests continued.

During the weekend, Iranian officials claimed to uncover evidence that the PMOI had sent its members to Iran to carry out attacks during the uprising in the wake of the elections.

The PMOI is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and several other countries for its violent opposition to the clerical regime in Iran. It surrendered to U.S. military forces in 2003, however, and has since won several delisting campaigns, most recently in Europe.

A statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a Paris-based umbrella organization representing the Iranian opposition, denied the claims by Iranian authorities.

"This totally bogus claim was meant to justify the suppression and killings in Iran and put added pressure on the PMOI members residing in Camp Ashraf in Iraq," the statement read.

The PMOI and NCRI have complained in the past that Iranian authorities were influencing the Baghdad government to remove the group from Iraq.

Meanwhile, NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi in a letter to the U.N. Security Council called for new elections in Iran and new, sweeping sanctions on Tehran.