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Salman Rushdie has voiced his support for the women of Iran in their struggle against the oppression of the Islamic Republic.

The celebrated author told Iran International: "I have sympathy with the women of Iran, they have fought so hard. I wish them luck.

Rushdie was speaking while attending a gala event of artistic freedom campaigners PEN America on Thursday, when Iranian writer and human rights advocate Narges Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.

Rushdie was left with serious injuries including the loss of an eye when he was stabbed last August. The attempted murder is believed to have been inspired by the fatwa issued by the Islamic Republics founder Ruhollah Khomeini against Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses.

Earlier this year, the Islamic Republic said it will grant 1,000 square meters of farmland to the man who stabbed Rushdie on stage at a lecture in New York State, 24-year-old Hadi Matar.

Freedom To Write award recipient Mohammadi has been in and out of prison over the past decade. She is currently in Evin Prison in Tehran on charges of spreading propaganda and has been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement and intense psychological torture, PEN America said.

Mohammadis husband, journalist and activist Taghi Rahmani, who lives in Paris and has also been jailed in Iran, accepted the award on her behalf.

In a written message, which was read out from the stage during the event, Mohammadi called for an end to the Islamic Republics misogynist, oppressive and theocratic regime.

Founded in 1922 and headquartered in New York City, PEN America is a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights.

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Salman Rushdie Backs Iran's Women In Their Struggle -

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Irans president warned Afghanistans Taliban rulers on Thursday not to violate water rights of the Iranian people over their shared Helmand River, the state-run IRNA news agency reported..

President Ebrahim Raisi said his government is determined to defend Irans water rights.

We will not allow the rights of our people to be violated, he said and warned the Taliban to take his words seriously, emphasizing the importance of Helmand River, which flows from Afghanistan into Iran .

Raisi spoke in a Pakistani border town on Thursday, during his first official visit to the neighboring country in 10 years, to inaugurate the first of six markets along the Iran-Pakistan border.

He also urged the Afghan Taliban to allow Iranian hydrologists to check the water levels of the river, which originates in the Afghan Hindu Kush mountain range.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the United Sates and NATO pulled out of the country following two decades of war.

Iranian officials have always stressed the importance of the implementation of the 1973 Helmand River treaty between Iran and Afghanistan, which envisions shared water resources.

Drought has been a problem in Iran for some 30 years, but has worsened over the past decade, according to the U.N.s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97% of the country now faces some level of drought.

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Iran warns Afghanistan's Taliban rulers not to violate its water rights ... - The Associated Press

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Leaked confidential information from Irans Ministry of Foreign Affairs reveals that a so-called former member of the MEK, who was interviewed by Lusia Hommerich for the German magazine, Spiegel, was actually an agent of the Iranian regime. Gholamreza Shekari was hired by the Iranian Embassy in Tirana and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence to pose as an opponent of the regime and spread disinformation to demonize the Iranian resistance.

One leaked document contains a letter from Shekaris mother, who refers to him as a collaborator of the Ministry of Intelligence. She requests that the Foreign Ministry facilitate her sons return to Iran, citing that he has been doing all kinds of cooperation with the Embassy of the Islamic Republic, the Ministry of Intelligence, the Army Protection, and the Nejat Group. She also mentions that he has taken risks to separate other members and expose the terrorist nature of the MEK publicly.

In February 2019, Spiegel magazine published an article titled Prisoners of the Rebellion, in which they interviewed Shekari under the guise of a former member of the MEK. He claimed that he was tortured by the MEK and made several accusations against the organization and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The NCRIs office in Germany filed a complaint with the Hamburg court regarding the lies contained in the article.

After an urgent hearing, the Hamburg court ruled in favor of the NCRI office and ordered Spiegel magazine to remove the contested allegations from its February 16 issue against the MEK and its members in Albania and not to repeat those claims.

Shekari has made similar false allegations to other Western media outlets. In one example, in an interview with UK Channel 4 to dramatize the case, his face was not shown. Reporters and the editorials of both Spiegel and Channel 4 were warned about agents of the Iranian regime making such false claims. In the case of Spiegel, specific information was provided to its editorial before the publication of the article about Shekai and his connection with Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).

Shekari is one of the employed agents of the MOIS based in Albania and was arrested twice in 2022 due to suspected connections with the regimes intelligence and terrorist network. The Albanian police have interrogated him and 19 other suspects, and he is currently being held in a closed camp since his second arrest on November 10, 2022.

Excerpts of a letter from Shekaris mother from a leaked document:

I, Zumoroad Amini, the wife of martyr Mir Ali Shekari (mother of Gholamreza Shekari), who for four years did hard work herself and other family members with all the hardships in order to destroy the organization of the hypocrites, and thank God that we were able to play a role with other families. We did play a very important role in this matter, which has finally caused the escape and relocation of the members of the hypocrites from Iraq to Albania.

Considering that my son Gholamreza has announced his separation for a year and a half and has been doing all types of cooperation with the Embassy of the Islamic Republic (Ministry of Intelligence, Army Protection, Nejat Group) and has been trying to free and separate other members and expose the terrorist nature of the mentioned organization publicly and doing so have taken the risk of his life and safety.

Now that the organization is on the verge of destruction Please consider my efforts and unhesitating cooperation regarding my childs return (to Iran) and take the necessary measures and show your grace and love to the expectant mother.

Thank you, Zumoroad Amini.

Background:

On May 7, a dissident group from Iran, Ghiam ta Sarnegouni (uprising until regime overthrow), took control of 210 websites, apps, servers, and databases belonging to Irans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, obtaining tens of thousands of classified documents. A collection of documents reveals the extent to which the regime utilizes these so-called former members against the MEK.

For over 40 years, the Iranian regime has attempted to eliminate its primary opposition group, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), by using repressive tactics such as executions, massacres, imprisonment, torture, propaganda, and defamation. One of the regimes primary tactics for discrediting the MEK is to utilize individuals expelled from the organization. By recruiting such individuals and concealing their identities as mercenaries for the Iranian regime, the regime aims to give credence to their lies and utilize them against the MEK in the international community and the media.

Gholamreza Shekari is one such individual who was recruited by the Iranian embassy in Tirana, Albania, and became an agent for Irans Ministry of Intelligence. For years, he disseminated false information about the MEK while posing as a regime opponent. Many respected Western media outlets cited him and used him as a source in various articles against the MEK.

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Leaked Documents Reveal Iranian Regime's Agent as a Source of ... - National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

ISLAMABAD (AP) The top leaders of Pakistan and Iran on Thursday inaugurated the first border market as relations warm between the two countries, officials said.

Located in the remote village of Pashin in Pakistans southwestern Baluchistan province, the marketplace is the first of six to be constructed along the Pakistan-Iran border under a 2012 agreement signed by the two sides.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also inaugurated an electricity transmission line, which will provide some of Pakistans remote regions with Iranian electricity.

In a televised meeting, Sharif, sitting next to Raisi, assured him Pakistan would do its best to improve security along the Iranian border. He added that both sides agreed to enhance trade and economic ties, and extended an invitation to Raisi to visit the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Iran-Pakistani relations have been contentious because of cross-border attacks by Pakistani militants along their shared border.

Small separatist groups have been behind a long-running insurgency calling for Baluchistans independence from the central government in Islamabad. Pakistani anti-Iran militants have also targeted the Iranian border in recent years, increasing the friction between the two countries.

This is the first visit of its kind since 2013, when the two nations signed an agreement allowing Pakistan to import Iranian gas despite American opposition. Tehran at the time said that the West has no right to block the project. The agreement could not be implemented because of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Pakistan has close ties with Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, but has tried to maintain a relationship with the predominantly Shiite Iran. Riyad and Tehran, long-time rivals, restored ties earlier this year in a Chinese-brokered agreement.

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Top leaders of Pakistan, Iran inaugurate border market in their first ... - The Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands18 May 2023The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Fernando Arias, met with the Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Mr Reza Najafi, on the sidelines of the Fifth Review Conference (RC-5) taking place from 15 to 19 May in The Hague.

The Director-General and the Deputy Foreign Minister discussed contemporary issues in disarmament and non-proliferation and their impact on the implementation of the Convention. Ambassador Arias briefed the Deputy Foreign Minister on the Organisations efforts to counter the threat of use of chemical weapons and strengthen international cooperation and capacity building in chemical emergency preparedness in Member States. The Director-General underscored the important role of the OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology (ChemTech Centre) in enhancing the Organisations activities in all areas of work relevant to the implementation of the Convention.

The object and purpose of the Convention will not be realised without its universal membership and total destruction of declared chemical weapons stockpiles. These are imperative to be fulfilled and the role of the OPCW is crucial in this regard, the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

It is a legal and a moral commitment and responsibility upon all of us to ensure that victims of chemical weapons get adequate medical support and assistance. Unfortunately, imposition of unilateral sanctions has exacerbated the health and medication of the victims of chemical weapons in Iran. We commend the OPCW Director-Generals efforts to find a way to meet their urgent medical needs and also request him to continue his good offices in this regard, he emphasised.

The Fifth Review Conference needs to have a consensus-based outcome to draw a road map for next five years of the OPCW, the Deputy Foreign Minister added.

I welcome the discussion with the Iranian Government on areas of collaboration to eliminate the use, threat, and re-emergence of chemical weapons. Joint action by all States Parties is crucial to achieve OPCWs mandate to safeguard and advance the global norm against chemical weapons, the Director-General said.

RC-5 presents an excellent opportunity to Member States to assess the status of the Conventions operation, set priorities for the Organisation for the upcoming years and ensure that it has adequate resources to deliver on all its mandates, the Director-General added.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997. Iran is a member of the Executive Council, the OPCWs executive organ, which is charged with promoting the effective implementation of and compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as supervising the activities of the Organisations Technical Secretariat.

As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Conventions entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

Over 99% of all declared chemical weapon stockpiles have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.

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OPCW Director-General meets Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for ... - Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons