A global summit in Albania dedicated to advocating regime change in Iran has been postponed due to security threats, an exiled Iranian opposition group said Friday.
The Free Iran World Summit was set to take place this weekend outside the Albanian capital Tirana, at the headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK).
The event was called off “upon recommendations by the Albanian government, for security reasons, and due to terrorist threats and conspiracies”, the MEK said in a statement.
The Albanian authorities have not commented on the issue.
The US embassy in Tirana on Thursday evening tweeted about a “potential threat” targeting the summit and warned its citizens in Albania to avoid the event and keep a low profile.
“The U.S government is aware of a potential threat targeting the Free Iran World Summit”, the embassy said.
According to the local media, prosecutors have opened investigations into a possible spy ring, ordered check-ups of the venue and questioned some of the former members of the group who had left the camp.
The event was supposed to be attended or joined online by various high-profile political delegations, including hundreds of lawmakers from six continents, organizers said.
The annual summit has been hosted in Albania after the Balkan country agreed to take in some 3,000 members of the exiled Iranian opposition group at the request of Washington and the United Nations in 2013.
In 2018, Belgian police thwarted a terrorist attack that was supposed to target an Iranian opposition rally outside Paris, after which an Iranian diplomat was convicted for supplying explosives for the plot.