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.



At Least 4 Construction Workers Killed in India Avalanche

A Kashmiri woman walks along a snow laden path, on the outskirts of Srinagar on February 28, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)
A Kashmiri woman walks along a snow laden path, on the outskirts of Srinagar on February 28, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)
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At Least 4 Construction Workers Killed in India Avalanche

A Kashmiri woman walks along a snow laden path, on the outskirts of Srinagar on February 28, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)
A Kashmiri woman walks along a snow laden path, on the outskirts of Srinagar on February 28, 2025. (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)

At least four workers have died after an avalanche swept away a large construction crew working on a highway near India’s mountainous border with Tibet, the Indian army said Saturday.

The incident took place near the Mana Pass in northern Uttarakhand state on Friday, and 55 construction workers were initially trapped under snow. Rescuers pulled out 50 workers, of whom four later died, the Indian army said in a statement.

It said the search for the five remaining missing workers was continuing, with multiple teams of rescuers and military helicopters scanning the incident site. The statement did not specify the number of injured but said they were “being prioritized for evacuation.”

Chandrashekhar Vashistha, a senior administrative official, said some of the workers had sustained serious injuries and were hospitalized, The Associated Press reported.

Many of the trapped workers were migrant laborers who were working on a highway widening and blacktopping project along a 50-kilometer (31-mile) stretch from Mana, the last village on Indian side, to the Mana Pass bordering Tibet.

“Rescue operations were slow due to heavy snowfall, and the area remained inaccessible,” said Kamlesh Kamal, a spokesperson for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. He said the rescuers had to work through several feet of snow, snowstorms and poor visibility.