Speech to the Conference, “Iran Uprising, Role of Women and Youths, and Prospects of A Democratic Republic”
Maryam Rajavi: All Indications Point to the End of the Mullahs’ Regime
Fellow compatriots,
Elected Representatives of European nations and honorable dignitaries,
Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the start of the great uprising of the Iranian people. An uprising that highlighted the potential for the downfall of the regime and has put the Iranian people on the cusp of a new era in their history, backed by four decades of organized resistance.
The uprising ignited with the tragic death of the innocent Zhina Amini (Mahsa) as a result of the blows from Khamenei’s brutal forces during a patrol to suppress women. I called for public mourning on the same night.
Khamenei had put a lid on the powder keg of people’s anger after the November 2019 uprising with the Coronavirus. He explicitly and formally banned the import of vaccines from Europe and America to create a human shield against uprisings with the lives of 550,000 of our compatriots. Meanwhile, fatalities in neighboring countries were much lower compared to Iran.
However, in the meantime, popular uprisings had erupted in regions like Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Lorestan, and Isfahan. These were the uprisings of the thirsty and hungry for bread, water, and freedom, reaching a climax in Isfahan.
The collapse of the Metropol Tower in Abadan due to corruption and theft in the construction of this building in collusion with the Revolutionary Guards and the trapping of innocent people under the rubble brought people’s anger to a climax. Finally, the spark ignited, and the pent-up resentment flared up across Iran.
Brave Iranian women and girls at the forefront
I vividly remember that when the Iranian Resistance announced on the 52nd day of the uprising, on November 7, 2022, that the regime had arrested more than 30,000 people, nobody outside Iran believed it and considered it an exaggeration.
Two months later, however, the regime itself announced that Khamenei had, so to speak, pardoned 100,000 prisoners, 30,000 of whom were related to ‘the riots,’ which is a euphemism for the uprising. An uprising in which the aware and rebellious force loudly declared that they did not want dictatorship in any form, neither the Shah nor the mullahs.
In this uprising, the world clearly saw a regime that covered its instability with warmongering and terrorism, and by making noise about its missile and nuclear programs. In reality, it is sitting on a powder keg and has no future.
Everyone saw that these claims—either that the era of revolution in Iran has passed, or the younger generation has turned its back on the struggle, or that the resistance movement lacks popular support—are all false narratives propagated by the regime and appeasing circles.
And when brave women and girls—the main force of change—stood up on the front lines, it became clear that the transformation taking place in Iran has such intensity and depth that it will inevitably lead to the downfall of the religious dictatorship and bring about a free Iran.
At this moment, we pay tribute to the pioneering women and men who have kept the torch of struggle against religious dictatorship burning brightly over the past four decades.
An increasingly volatile society
Today, the clerics have embarked on extensive propaganda to secure a policy of appeasement, claiming that there is no uprising in the works. This propaganda is welcomed by those who are deluded into reviving the failed policy of appeasement. However, the factors that led to the eruption of the uprising have not only not diminished, but have even become more intense, concentrated, and severe. They include:
First, the society’s adversarial approach towards the regime of executioners, which became evident during the uprising, has clearly increased. Regime authorities say that every month a significant number of agents from official suppressive agencies are killed or wounded by the people and youth are increasingly fed up with the status quo.
Every week, without exception, various segments of the population such as retirees, workers, nurses, teachers, and especially residents of deprived areas are protesting.
Second, the organized resistance and the Resistance Units within the country, along with the PMOI social networks, have focused their activities on breaking the wall of repression, initiating uprisings, and expanding them.
Third, while the regime’s oil revenues have increased, the policy of plundering public assets and impoverishing the masses has heightened the explosive potential and increased social readiness for uprisings. In such a situation, the regime inevitably resorts to more control, suppression, and contraction.
The recent wave of purging university professors serves as an example, recalling Khomeini’s ‘cultural revolution’ coup in the 1980s. At that time, universities were closed for nearly three years, and afterward, more than half of the spots were allocated to the Revolutionary Guard, the Basij, and agents involved in the war machinery during the Iran-Iraq war.
Another example is the situation of political prisoners, whose mistreatment by Khamenei’s henchmen has intensified, particularly in the case of resistant prisoners and members and supporters of the PMOI. Yet another example is the relentless suppression in Baluchistan, as well as threatening to cripple Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The regime’s fear and impotence in the face of the uprising
The approach that the regime has taken both inside and outside Iran against the PMOI and the NCRI is another clear sign of fear and impotence in the face of the uprising. For our resistance, lies, schemes, demonization, and terrorism from the regime are nothing new. However, since the beginning of 2023, the scale of deception, scheming, and maneuvering has significantly increased, both inside and outside Iran.
The regime says it has issued indictments for the PMOI and 106 of its officials and resistance members, and plans to try them in absentia. This may seem absurd, but it is true. The regime’s theorists say this is because the organization has a “special role on the ground” and has been responsible for “leading operatives on the ground and in the virtual field” in the uprisings.
Note: Just in the last three months, the two main IRGC news agencies have published lies, fabrications, and slanders against the PMOI/MEK more than 230 times. Each of these news items has, in turn, been published by 50 other nationwide media outlets of the regime. In the past three months, about 12,000 fake news items have been published against the Mojahedin just by these two news agencies.
The regime’s relentless, wide-ranging, and multi-facetted attacks, which, according to its spokespersons, are carried out using “all capacities” of the regime, have only one meaning:
The mullahs see the prospect of the victory of the democratic alternative and revolution in Iran before their eyes, and they are afraid of it. And as explicitly stated by Mousavi Ardebili, Khomeini’s Chief Justice, “They tremble in fear.”
Yes, we say, ‘You should tremble!’
The path of the democratic revolution
Indeed, why does the regime resort to these desperate efforts? The answer must be sought in the outcomes and achievements of the uprising. Namely: The boundary of “neither Shah nor mullah” has become prominent and robust, raising the flag of a “Democratic Republic” at the pinnacle of the uprisings.
The barriers of the popular front against any form of dictatorship and dependency have solidified, and the ranks of duplicitous individuals and currents in the front of tyranny and dependency have been exposed.
In summary, everything about the regime suggests fragility and instability and indicates its end. As for the Resistance, the path of the democratic revolution, which started 42 years ago, is solidifying and ascending. In fact, the future is sealed in the name of a democratic revolution, a democratic alternative, and a democratic republic. This is the same fundamental and genuine direction that the National Council of Resistance of Iran has had since 42 years ago when founded by Massoud Rajavi. As he said, “It can be confidently stated that, unlike the Constitutional Revolution and the anti-monarchy revolution, this time the revolution is enduring, and its theft is not possible.” [1]
Appeasement threatens world peace
The ruling clerics in Iran have never been more in need of appeasement than they are today. Under the immense impact of uprisings, they need diplomatic maneuvering more than ever before. They are trying to win the support of both the West and the East against the people of Iran and their democratic revolution. Their methods for coercing Western governments are well-known:
Hostage-taking, terrorism, warmongering, and playing the nuclear card are their tactics. Their central demand from Western governments is to limit the PMOI and the NCRI, and to close the path to uprising and freedom in Iran.
One of the Friday Prayer leaders and senior representatives of Khamenei revealed that in indirect negotiations, regime officials have convinced America that demands regarding the nuclear program are dependent on their approach towards the PMOI.[2] He said, ‘We have clarified to both America and Europe that the PMOI is an obstacle to understanding between the regime and them.’ This report was published by the regime’s official media on June 23, 2023.
Earlier, Kazem Gharibabadi, the Judiciary’s deputy for international relations, had declared, “There is no meeting (with foreign officials) where we do not raise the issue of the PMOI.”[3]
On the other hand, the people of Iran watch the Western governments’ policies carefully. Including:
– Remaining silent regarding the catastrophic violation of human rights in Iran and being content with verbal statements of condemnation.
– Failing to implement their limited sanctions against the regime.
– Turning a blind eye to the regime’s use of the European and American markets to procure parts needed for the construction of drones, missiles, and nuclear weapons, as well as suppression equipment, and the most shameful of all is that they gave Khamenei and his Revolutionary Guards 6 billion dollars in cash as a gift, which will be spent only on repression, war, and terrorism.
On the other hand, the people of Iran are closely watching the policies of Western governments. This includes:
- Silence on the catastrophic violation of human rights in Iran and settling for mere verbal condemnation.
- Failure to implement half-hearted sanctions.
- Turning a blind eye to the regime’s use of European and American markets to acquire parts needed for the manufacture of drones, missiles, and nuclear weapons, as well as suppression equipment. Even worse is that they have gifted $6 billion to Khamenei and his Revolutionary Guards, which is used solely for suppression, war, and terrorism
I must emphasize that: Continued appeasement of religious fascism is both helping the murderers who are firing on the people of Iran and endangering global peace and security, including the security of Europe, itself.
I reiterate, Gentlemen!
Don’t give incentives to hostage-taking, construction of drones, and bomb-carrying diplomats. They will become more aggressive against you. The correct policy is to:
- Declare the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
- Recognize the Iranian people’s right to defend themselves against the IRGC and other suppressive forces.
- Reactivate the UN Security Council’s six resolutions against the Iranian regime.
- Refer the dossier of human rights violations in Iran to the UN Security Council.
- Prosecute the regime leaders for four decades of genocide and crimes against humanity, and
- Place the clerical regime under Chapter VII of the UN Charter as a threat to world peace and security.
1,000 well-recognized women worldwide support the struggle of Iran’s vanguard women
Here, I appreciate the support of some 1,000 renowned women from the highest echelons of political, scientific, artistic, and social leadership who have endorsed the struggle of pioneering women in the Iranian Resistance and the courageous role of Iranian women and girls in the uprising. They have expressed this support by publishing a joint statement on the anniversary of the uprising.
Their statement, similar to the initiative of 3,600 parliamentarians from around the world, 124 former presidents and prime ministers, and 75 Nobel laureates, is a shining example of correct international policy. In defense of the Iranian people’s uprising, all of them have emphasized the need for designating the Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity, prosecuting the regime’s leaders, and supporting the Ten-Point Plan of the Iranian resistance.
Remembering Eric David
In this context, I want to pay tribute to a great person who hailed from Belgium; Professor Eric David, a noble and honorable thinker and a voice that the world today desperately needed. He used international law in the service of the freedom of people and dedicated both his scholarly expertise and extraordinary human emotions in support of the rights of the PMOI/MEK in Ashraf against the regime and its allies. The history of the struggle for freedom in Iran will never forget Eric David. Indeed, Eric David is one of Belgium’s enduring honors.
In closing, I want to emphasize a truth that is the common belief among arisen Iranians; no matter how much the clerics suppress, no matter how much they negotiate and make deals with the East and the West, no matter how many lies they weave and conspiracies they hatch, stage show trials and bang their own drums, it is impossible for them to save this faltering regime.
The flames of hope in the hearts of the people of Iran are brighter than ever before.
The resolve of Iran’s rebellious daughters and sons is more fervent than ever, and the united will of our people for freedom is stronger than any power in the world.
This is the magnificent symphony of freedom. This is the sound of freedom; the sound of the footsteps of the uprising and the sound of the footsteps of the great army of the Iranian people’s freedom.
The democratic revolution of the people of Iran will triumph.
[1] March 22, 2023
[2] Hassan Ameli, Friday Prayer Leader of Ardabil, Mehr news agency, June 23, 2023
[3] Kazem Gharibabadi, Iranian Judiciary’s deputy for international relations, June 24, 2022
