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Iran Accuses Mir-Hossein Mousavi of ‘Collaborating’ with People's Mojahedin

The opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi (Reuters)
The opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi (Reuters)
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Iran Accuses Mir-Hossein Mousavi of ‘Collaborating’ with People's Mojahedin

The opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi (Reuters)
The opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi (Reuters)

The Iranian authorities said on Friday that the reformist opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who called for bypassing Iran by drafting a new constitution, is affiliated with the opposition People's Mojahedin Organization, according to Mizan agency.

The news agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, quoted an informed security official who described Mousavi's latest statement as a "direct copy" of the Organization's rhetoric.

He noted "reliable information" that Ardeshir Amir Arjomand has gradually instructed Mousavi to overcome the approach of the late Supreme Leader Khomeini, the system, and the constitution.

Amir Arjomand is a Paris-based political activist who runs the Kalima website and is Mousavi's adviser.

The source noted that the transition could be seen gradually in Mousavi's statements.

Mizan agency accused Mousavi's advisor of direct association with People's Mojahedin through one of his brothers, Bassem, who heads the Organization's representative office in Strasbourg.

Mousavi was prime minister in Iran during the 1980s before the post was abolished. During that time, the country witnessed a campaign of arrests and executions against opposition politicians.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei implicitly criticized those trying to raise issues such as generational differences in Iran, calling on Iranian officials to unite.

Khamenei's reference to generational difference was after the speech of former reformist President Mohammad Khatami last Monday, in which he touched on the difference between the current generation and the generation of the revolution and reform (1997-2005).

Khatami's speech included an implicit response to his ally, Mousavi, who described the structure and unsustainable basic system as a "major crisis" in a country facing many crises.

He urged Mousavi to draft a new constitution that respects all orientations and society segments.

Khatami saw reforms as possible by returning to the current constitution, rejecting calls for the regime's overthrow.

Kayhan newspaper, affiliated with the office of the Supreme Leader, and Javan daily, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), attacked Khatami and Mousavi because of their statements.

Javan accused the two leaders of pursuing the "carrot and stick" strategy with the regime, while Kayhan doubted the relations of the two men with the revolution and the government.

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Iran Threats in UK 'Significantly Increased', Says Intel Watchdog

The parliamentary committee blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap inside the UK since 2022 - AFP
The parliamentary committee blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap inside the UK since 2022 - AFP
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Iran Threats in UK 'Significantly Increased', Says Intel Watchdog

The parliamentary committee blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap inside the UK since 2022 - AFP
The parliamentary committee blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap inside the UK since 2022 - AFP

A UK parliamentary committee on Thursday blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts to kill or kidnap British-based individuals since 2022, saying the threat from Iran had "significantly increased".

London's response has been too focused on "crisis management", said parliament's intelligence and security committee, with concerns over Iran's nuclear program dominating their attention too much.

Tehran swiftly issued a "categorical rejection of the unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations".

The committee's claims were "baseless, irresponsible, and reflective of a broader pattern of distortion intended to malign Iran's legitimate regional and national interests", said its London embassy, AFP reported.

The report comes after growing alarm in Britain at alleged Iranian targeting of dissidents, media organizations and journalists in the UK, including accusations of physical attacks.

Iran in March became the first country to be placed on an enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which aims to boost Britain's national security against covert foreign influences.

It requires all persons working inside the country for Iran, its intelligence services or the Revolutionary Guard to register on a new list or face jail.

"Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the UK, UK nationals, and UK interests," Kevan Jones, chairman of the watchdog committee, said in the report's conclusions.

"Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity and its intelligence services are ferociously well-resourced with significant areas of asymmetric strength."

Jones said it bolstered this through proxy groups, "including criminal networks, militant and terrorist organisations, and private cyber actors" to allow for deniability.

His committee's report said that while Iran's UK activity "appears to be less strategic and on a smaller scale than Russia and China", it "should not be underestimated".

The physical threat posed had "significantly increased" in pace and volume, and was "focused acutely on dissidents and other opponents of the regime" as well as Jewish and Israeli interests in the UK, it said.

"The Iranian Intelligence Services have shown that they are willing and able -- often through third-party agents -- to attempt assassination within the UK, and kidnap from the UK," the report said.

"There have been at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap against British nationals or UK-based individuals since the beginning of 2022."

Similarly, security minister Dan Jarvis said in March Britain's MI5 domestic intelligence service had tallied 20 Iran-backed plots "presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents".

The watchdog committee took evidence for two years from August 2021 for its report, a period which saw Tehran implicated in a plot to kill two London-based Iran International television anchors.

In March last year one of the Persian-language outlet's journalists was stabbed outside his London home.

Two Romanian men have been charged in relation to the attack and face extradition to the UK to stand trial.

The counter-terrorism unit of London's Metropolitan Police led the investigation. Iran's charge d'affaires in the UK has said that the Tehran authorities "deny any link" to the incident.