Rajavi joined the MEK when he was 20 and a law student at the University of Tehran.
He graduated with a degree in political law.
Rajavi and the MEK actively opposed the Shah of Iran and participated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

During the Pahlavi dynasty, Rajavi was arrested by SAVAK and sentenced to death.
Due to efforts by his brother, Kazem Rajavi, and various Swiss lawyers and professors, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.
He was released from prison during the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Upon his release, Rajavi assumed leadership of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.

When Iran’s first presidential election took place in 1980, Rajavi nominated himself and his own People's Mujahedin of Iran.
He was endorsed by the People's Fedai, the National Democratic Front, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, Komala and the League of Iranian Socialists.
He was disqualified in the elections by Ayatollah Khomeini on the grounds that 'those who did not endorse the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran could not be trusted to abide by that constitution'.

In 1981, when Ayatollah Khomeini dismissed President Bani Sadr and a new wave of arrests and executions started in the country, Rajavi and Bani Sadr fled to Paris from Tehran's airbase.
Massoud Rajavi and Bani Sadr formed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) “with the intent to replace the Khomeini regime with the ‘Democratic Islamic Republic.’”
As a form of agreement with the Islamic republic, in 1986 France's Prime Minister Jacques Chirac evicted the MEK out of France.
Rajavi and approximately five to ten thousand MEK members were received by the Iraqi government.
Rajavi moved to Iraq and set up a base on the Iranian border.
Rajavi joined the MEK when he was 20 and a law student at the University of Tehran. He graduated with a degree in political law. Rajavi and the MEK actively opposed the Shah of Iran and participated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
During the Pahlavi dynasty, Rajavi was arrested by SAVAK and sentenced to death. Due to efforts by his brother, Kazem Rajavi, and various Swiss lawyers and professors, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. He was released from prison during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Upon his release, Rajavi assumed leadership of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.
When Iran’s first presidential election took place in 1980, Rajavi nominated himself and his own People's Mujahedin of Iran. He was endorsed by the People's Fedai, the National Democratic Front, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, Komala and the League of Iranian Socialists. He was disqualified in the elections by Ayatollah Khomeini on the grounds that 'those who did not endorse the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran could not be trusted to abide by that constitution'.
In 1981, when Ayatollah Khomeini dismissed President Bani Sadr and a new wave of arrests and executions started in the country, Rajavi and Bani Sadr fled to Paris from Tehran's airbase. Massoud Rajavi and Bani Sadr formed the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) “with the intent to replace the Khomeini regime with the ‘Democratic Islamic Republic.’” As a form of agreement with the Islamic republic, in 1986 France's Prime Minister Jacques Chirac evicted the MEK out of France. Rajavi and approximately five to ten thousand MEK members were received by the Iraqi government. Rajavi moved to Iraq and set up a base on the Iranian border.
Massoud Rajavi