Iranian Nobel laureates Shirin Ebadi and Narges Mohammadi praised the selection of 2025 winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, saying her courage and leadership serve as an inspiration for Iran’s pro-democracy movement.
The two prominent Iranian rights defenders drew parallels between Venezuela’s democratic movement and their own struggle for change in Iran, emphasizing shared aspirations for freedom and resistance to authoritarian rule.
“She is one of the most deserving recipients,” said Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.
She described Machado as the woman “who succeeded in uniting Venezuela’s opposition,” adding that her political leadership “can offer valuable lessons for Iran’s opposition.”
Ebadi said Machado’s model of unity and courage “should be a role model for the Iranian opposition.”
From Tehran, Narges Mohammadi — awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 — said the democratic transitions in Iran and Venezuela are part of a “shared path from tyranny to democracy.”
Calling Machado “one of the most remarkable examples of civil courage in Latin America,” Mohammadi wrote on X, “I stand in solidarity with you and the freedom-loving people of Venezuela. Hand in hand until the day of victory.”
The Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the Peace Prize to Machado, recognizing her role in "promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
