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.



Former Israeli Hostage Dies at 78

A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
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Former Israeli Hostage Dies at 78

A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)

Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78.

She was among the 250 hostages the Palestinian group Hamas took back into Gaza following the surprise attack that left about 1,200 people dead.

Israel’s subsequent bombardment and ground invasion have killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.

The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed Katzir’s death Tuesday but did not disclose the cause.

Her daughter, Carmit Palty Katzir said in a statement that her mother’s “heart could not withstand the terrible suffering since Oct. 7.”

Katzir’s husband, Rami, was killed during the attack by fighters who raided their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Her son Elad was also kidnapped and his body was recovered in April by the Israeli military, who said he had been killed in captivity.

She spent 49 days in captivity and was freed in late November 2023. Shortly after Katzir was freed, her daughter told Israeli media that she had been hospitalized with heart issues attributed to “difficult conditions and starvation” while she was held captive.