Massoud Rajavi (Persian: مسعود رجوی, born 18 August 1948 – disappeared 13 March 2003)[2] is an Iranian politician and revolutionary who became the leader of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) in 1979.

[4] He went missing shortly before the 2003 invasion of Iraq,[4][5][6] leaving his then wife and co-leader Maryam Rajavi as the public face of the MEK.

Due to efforts by his brother, Kazem Rajavi, and various Swiss lawyers and professors, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.

Massoud Rajavi and Banisadr formed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) "with the intent to replace the Khomeini regime with the 'Democratic Islamic Republic.

According to members of the NCRI, Massoud Rajavi is still alive and in hiding due to being a "prime target" of the Islamic Republic of Iran,[17][18][19] while other sources have said that he is presumed dead.

[22] Back in 2005, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan official asked for arrest and trial of Rajavi based on his organization's documentary evidence of the involvement.

[23] In July 2023, the judiciary of Iran announced a mass trial of 104 MEK members in absentia, including both Maryam and Massoud Rajavi.