TEHRAN- Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York has rejected claims that the Islamic Republic is plotting to assassinate its critics abroad, labeling these allegations as “fabricated” and attributing their origin to Israel and the anti-Iran Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO) terrorist group.

On Thursday, the mission stated, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention or strategy to conduct assassination or abduction operations, either in the West or elsewhere.” 

Furthermore, it asserted, “These falsehoods are the result of the Zionist regime, the Albania-based Mujahedin-e Khalq terrorist organization, and certain Western intelligence agencies, including those of the United States, aimed at distracting from the atrocities perpetrated by the Israeli regime.” 

The statement comes as the US Justice Department and prosecutors said Wednesday that a Pakistani man has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a U.S. official in retaliation for the targeted killing of Iran’s top anti-terror commander, General Qassem Soleimani outside Baghdad International Airport in January 2020.

Western media have suggested that Iran is intensifying efforts to silence its critics on a global scale.

The Mujahedin Khalq Organization, commonly referred to as the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), is an Iranian opposition entity established in 1965 to topple the Iranian political system and operate under a Marxist framework. 

The MKO has a well-documented history of conducting violent and terrorist activities aimed at the Iranian government and its officials during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.