Exposed: How Israel-MKO gangs colluded to harass Iranians abroad on election day

By Ivan Kesic

Iran recently held a snap presidential election following the passing of President Ebrahim Raeisi in a helicopter crash, which saw millions heading to the polls both inside and outside the country to cast their ballots.

A total of 344 designated polling stations were set up by the foreign ministry in various countries to facilitate the voting of around 10 million Iranians living or working overseas.

Except for Canada, where authorities created hurdles in setting up polling stations for Iranian nationals, other countries cooperated in facilitating the process.

However, in some countries, groups of monarchists and terror cult sympathizers backed by the Israeli genocidal regime pulled out all the stops to disrupt the process by harssing Iranian nationals heading to the polls.

On July 5, when the second round of the Iranian presidential elections was held, many incidents were reported outside the Iranian diplomatic missions in many Western countries.

In London, a group of people were seen holding the flags of the MKO terror cult and the Israeli regime outside the Iranian consulate to disrupt voting in Iran’s presidential runoff election on July 5.

They had previously gathered outside the Iranian embassy in London on June 28, during the first round of elections, with many videos showing Iranian nationals being bullied and harassed.

Despite these provocative measures, Iranians enthusiastically participated in the election.

Iran’s democracy and disinformation

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, discussions about the thriving Iranian democracy have been accompanied by media disinformation and misinterpretation in the West to discredit the system.

Western media outlets have consistently misconstrued poll numbers as “low turnout,” promoting the narrative of opposition to the political system while ignoring or downplaying much lesser voter turnouts in many Western countries.

The Canadian government went to the extreme, preventing elections from taking place on Canadian soil and leaving tens of thousands of Iranians without the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

Iran's Interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said Canada was the only country to do so, exposing their hollow claims on democracy and adding that they showed their true face to the world.

With the coordination of the Office for the Protection of Iran's Interests in Washington, polling stations were set up in the border region of the US and Canada to allow Iranians in Canada to vote.

Foreign attempts to interrupt the election were also seen inside Iran, as foreign-backed terrorists attacked a vehicle transporting ballot boxes in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, killing two soldiers and injuring several others.

Iranian intelligence forces successfully arrested a group of terrorists responsible for the attack, revealing that they were receiving instructions from handlers in a neighboring country.

A series of incidents abroad

Iranian voters reported incidents of harassment and intimidation by anti-Iran groups outside polling stations in at least seven Western countries, including Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Reports and video evidence indicate that Iranian voters heading to designated polling stations in these countries encountered verbal, physical, and sexual abuse in various forms.

Iranian voters understandably expressed shock over the inaction and indifference of authorities in those countries, holding them responsible for purposefully allowing anti-Iran groups to harass them.

Some of these attackers have deep links to terrorist organizations such as the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), while others are associated with monarchist or separatist groups, all of them backed by the Israeli regime.

Iran’s Ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeqi announced that five anti-Islamic Revolution individuals had been arrested across the country after trying to disrupt voting in the Iranian runoff election.

Iran’s Ambassador to New Zealand Reza Nazar-Ahari said the interruption from anti-Islamic Revolution groups dropped in the runoff as police in that country offered better cooperation.

In New Zealand, a separatist filmed himself sexually harassing a female voter by labeling her with derogatory terms and then posted about how he disturbed voters "the entire day" on his social media.

In the United States, an attacker identifying himself as a Pahlavi monarchist on the X platform (formerly Twitter) said he managed to prevent an Iranian national from voting.

"I said I would crush his brains if he dared to vote. He left scared like a dog," the apologist of the overthrown dictatorship boasted on X, while other monarchists applauded, encouraging him to find the man and "teach him a lesson."

A middle-aged Iranian in France reported the experience of the first round of voting in these words:

"The people attacking us were literal thugs. They were feral as they watched voters enter polling stations. They screamed profanities at the top of their lungs and even followed some female voters, threatening to find their locations and rape them."

He went on to criticize the French police for just standing by and listening without reacting.

"These people want Iran in shambles and they would do anything to discourage Iranians from loving their country,” he wrote on X.

Journalist Najah Mohammad Ali took to X to report that the British police had “arrested a number of anti-Iranian elements who tried to disrupt the voting process by attacking voters in the polling station in Birmingham."

Ali Matinfar, Iran's chargé d'affaires in London, said the Iranian embassy had sent a message of protest to the UK Foreign Office after hostile elements harassed participants in the first round of the vote.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani strongly denounced the incidents of harassment and intimidation faced by Iranian voters abroad, describing the threats and vulgar language used by anti-Iranian rabble-rousers as "ugly behavior."

"These self-proclaimed defenders of citizenship rights, human rights, and democracy will be judged by the Iranian nation," Kan'ani asserted at a weekly presser.

Kazem Gharibabadi, secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights and deputy judiciary chief for international affairs, announced the judiciary's intention to take legal action against individuals who harassed Iranian citizens attempting to vote.

He said criminal charges will be pursued against anyone, whether Iranian or non-Iranian, who insulted, threatened, or assaulted Iranian nationals to prevent them from participating in the election process.

Incidents in London

A special case pertained to London, where an organized mob filmed in front of the Iranian embassy and openly boasted on social networks about their harassment of voters in both rounds of voting.

This group, with declared monarchist and Zionist affinities, stood for hours in front of the building and harassed just about anyone who entered or left the polling station, protected by policemen.

Ali Alizadeh, a London-based independent journalist, described on X their threats of rape and physical violence, adding that "most of the voters were women and middle-aged.”

“Without exception, they were the targets of sexual harassment and were shocked,” he stated.

He also described them as a pressure group that is close to British racist groups like IDL and people like Tommy Robinson, arguing that it is probably fed by the Israeli embassy in London.

"And of course, their biggest achievement is the verbal harassment of middle-aged Iranian women and their threats of sexual assault," Alizadeh asserted.

In the videos posted by this group, there were inarticulate rants, vulgar insults, threats, and provocations, yelling "thank you Israel," threats of boycott to business owners, tracking of voters and harassment with suggestive questions about "terrorism," and even outright physical attacks.

Iran protests to UK after hostile elements harass Iranian voters

Iran has protested to Britain over attempts by anti-Islamic Revolution elements outside polling stations in the European country aimed at disrupting the Islamic Republic’s 14th presidential election.

In two particularly notorious cases, a female monarchist was seen stalking, insulting, and threatening two elderly couples after they voted.

After they ignored the rabble-rouser, she pounced on the old woman, ripping off her Hijab (Islamic headscarf) from behind while shouting "I am Reza Shah's child."

Both victims and their spouses, including an old man with a cane, were visibly shocked by the actions and did not engage in further physical or verbal confrontation with her.

The assaulter, later identified as Bahar Mahroo, posted the video on X with the comment:

"Just as you take democracy away from us in Iran and force us to wear headscarves since we have democracy in this country, we'll pull off those very headscarves from you."

Her twisted interpretation ignored the historical facts that the alleged "democracy" was actually a dictatorship without elections and that this regime tried to impose a Western dress code on the Iranian people with the "kashf-e hijab" campaign, with coercion, violence, and dozens of deaths.

Videos of physical attacks against elderly Hijab-clad women led to a strong backlash and calls for her to be held accountable for her actions, shortly after which British police said they were investigating it.

Since then, Mahroo has deleted all evidence on her social networks, including her Instagram and TikTok accounts, and claimed that she actually found those videos on the internet and posted them.

However, the news outlets did a reverse image search and found no older or other source other than her social network profiles and her responsibility is evident from her voice and the red dress and white trainers she wore in other videos.

Realizing that she would not be able to avoid responsibility in the UK, Mahroo fled to the Zionist entity on July 2, posting a video on X showing herself boarding a flight to Tel Aviv.

From the second round of voting in the Iranian embassy in London, a video emerged of another pro-Israel monarchist aggressively insulting and threatening voters and embassy staff.

The perpetrator, identified as Niyak Ghorbani, was sternly and repeatedly warned by the policemen in the video to stop insulting them or face arrest, but he continued to resist, accusing them of "racism" and "supporting terrorism."

He also falsely claimed to be a "journalist," without any relevant accreditation, and due to continued aggressive behavior, he was handcuffed, placed in a police van, and taken away from the location.

Iranian counter-revolutionaries in the UK back Zionists

Iranian counterrevolutionaries are supporting Zionists in the United Kingdom to oppose the overwhelming surge in support for the Palestinian fight for freedom.

Organized provocateur gang

A deeper investigation into the incidents and their perpetrators reveals that these are not isolated, spontaneous acts. Instead, they are part of an organized group that conducts pre-planned provocations in close cooperation with the Israeli regime and its media influencers.

Bahar Mahroo and Niyak Ghorbani, both part of the Iranian diaspora, are known associates who have been seen together in anti-Iranian, anti-Palestinian, and pro-Israel protests in London and other cities.

Mahroo obtained asylum in the United Kingdom six years ago, studied at the European Bartender School in London, and worked as a bartender before fleeing to the Israeli-occupied territories.  

She presented herself to the media as a student at Middlesex University and an employee of the London Ambulance Service, though there is no evidence for the former claim, and the latter has already been refuted by the organization.

Mahroo's social media activity is rife with anti-Iranian, anti-Palestinian, and Islamophobic rhetoric, alongside glorification of the Pahlavi dictatorship, the Israeli regime, and the European far-right.

Her X handle shows support for figures like Benjamin Netanyahu, Tommy Robinson, and Geert Wilders, praising Wilders' speech calling for the expulsion of 700,000 Dutch Muslims and the introduction of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in schools.

In her videos, she insults Islam, the founder of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini, Muslim women, and Islamic clothing, often using monarchist and Zionist symbols.

In May, Mahroo, along with Navid Bavi, another member of the provocateur group, participated in a harassment action outside the Dewan Al-Kafeel community center in Wembley, where a memorial service was being held for the late President Ebrahim Raeisi.

Their group brought mobile music systems and played extremely loud music with discriminatory and hateful lyrics, blocked traffic, and harassed visitors to disrupt the event.

After engaging in a physical confrontation with security guards, they were overpowered and expelled by the police, later portraying themselves as victims in Zionist media.

Ghorbani has been arrested six times for his provocative actions, including the latest incident in front of the Iranian embassy. He has disrupted pro-Palestinian protests against the war on Gaza, accusing participants of "terrorism," insulting them, and physically attacking them in the presence of police.

After being arrested, he claimed to Zionist media that he was harassed due to his "political views."

His social media content is similarly filled with Islamophobia, Pahlavism, Zionism, and support for the local far right. He hosts a podcast that regularly reposts propaganda material from Reza Pahlavi, a would-be dictator of Iran.

Iranian Zionist Assets in London

In today’s show, we’ll be exposing how Iranian counterrevolutionaries are supporting Zionists in UK to oppose the overwhelming surge in support for Palestine’s fight for freedom.

Israeli regime link

The connection between these individuals and the Israeli regime is evident not only in their symbolism but also in their close cooperation on social media and private gatherings.

Three months ago, Press TV reported on Iranian-born counter-revolutionaries acting as Zionist assets, working together to undermine growing pro-Palestinian protests in the UK.

David Miller, a political sociologist and researcher of Islamophobia, argued on Press TV’s Palestine Declassified show that their participation in every pro-genocide protest is part of a deliberate, planned operation to provoke reactions and use them for smear campaigns against protesters.

Miller also highlighted that these monarchist provocateurs are linked to Emily Schrader and her fiancé Yoseph Haddad, both Zionist propagandists with long careers in Israeli government organizations.

The bond between Mahroo, Ghorbani, Schrader, and Haddad is evident from photos of their gatherings in London and mutual social media posts.

Another connection is shown in photos and videos of Hananya Naftali, a Likudnik propagandist and close aide to Netanyahu, who was filmed with these monarchists in front of the Iranian embassy in London.

Mahroo, Ghorbani, and their group also maintain close relationships with journalists from The Jewish Chronicle, a London-based pro-Zionist weekly newspaper that regularly reports their actions in a biased manner.

Similar stories about "brave Iranians oppressed by the police" are reported by Israeli media outlets and social media pages suspected of links to the Zionist regime.

Mahroo's physical attacks on Muslim women wearing Hijabs were praised by Salwan Momika, another Islamophobic provocateur and Qur'an desecrator identified by Iran's intelligence ministry as an Israeli agent.

According to a confession to the Jerusalem Chronicle, Ghorbani worked in Germany for years before coming to the UK at the invitation of an unnamed Jewish friend, after which his career as an anti-Iranian propagandist and Zionist provocateur began.

Mahroo's escape to Israel further confirms her affiliations and shows that the regime provides a safe haven for anti-Iranian and Islamophobic elements.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir