Massoud Rajavi

Massoud Rajavi joined the Mojahedin-e Khalq in 1967 and worked directly with founder Mohammad Hanifnejad. Arrested and sentenced to death by the Shah's regime, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment thanks to international pressure led by his brother Kazem Rajavi. Released in January 1979 during the revolution, he became the MEK's undisputed leader. After the June 1981 crackdown he fled to Paris with Abolhassan Banisadr, where he co-founded the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Expelled from France in 1986, he relocated to Iraq and established Camp Ashraf under Saddam Hussein's patronage. He launched the disastrous Operation Forough-e Javidan in July 1988. He disappeared in March 2003 during the US invasion of Iraq and has not been publicly seen since.