The Third Option
Twenty-one years ago, I stood in this very parliament and declared that the solution for Iran lies neither in appeasement nor in war, but in a third option: regime change by the people of Iran and the organized resistance. I warned, “The policy of appeasement encourages the clerical regime to persist in its policies and, ultimately, imposes war upon Western nations.” I said, “Let us not allow the Munich experience to be repeated—with clerics armed with nuclear bombs.”
And today, we see that appeasement has indeed led to the imposition of war. Once again, I emphasize lasting peace and security in this part of the world require regime change in Iran, brought about by the people of Iran and the Iranian Resistance.
From the outset, our Resistance made it clear: a viper does not give birth to a dove — and a religious dictatorship is inherently incapable of reform.
This regime thrives on exporting terrorism and fundamentalism, relentlessly pursues nuclear weapons, and will never relinquish its uranium enrichment program. These truths have been proven.
We said from the outset that negotiation and appeasement with this regime would lead nowhere — that it would serve only to buy time and offer the regime new opportunities to strengthen its grip.
This, too, was a reality — and it has been definitively proven.
It was our Resistance that, for the first time in August 2002, exposed the clerical regime’s secret nuclear facilities.
At the time, the President of the United States, along with the Vice President, the Secretary of State, and the National Security Advisor, repeatedly acknowledged this fact: that the world had been unaware of the regime’s bomb-making project, and it was the Iranian Resistance that alerted the international community. Otherwise, the regime would have built its nuclear bombs in secrecy.
On that day, the question before the world was clear: what must be done?
Since that time, I have consistently emphasized the Third Option: neither appeasement nor war, but regime change at the hands of the Iranian people and their organized, legitimate, and just Resistance.
I offer this reminder to underscore the legitimacy and authenticity of the Third Option.
We have made it clear: we do not seek money, nor do we ask for weapons. What we have always wanted is to resist — just as you Europeans once did — against religious fascism. We only ask that this Resistance be recognized. Nothing more. Yet even this most basic right has been denied to our people and to our Resistance to this day.
Speech at the European Parliament, Strasbourg
June 18, 2025
Why the Third Option?
The theocracy ruling Iran has set new records in violating human rights. This regime poses the greatest challenge to the international community.
Responding to this challenge is of vital importance not only for our people, but for global peace and tranquility…
The Two Failing Options: Appeasement or War
In the face of this challenge, two options have been raised:
- The make-a-deal approach to the clerical regime with the aim of containing it or including gradual change. For the past two decades, Western countries have subscribed to this approach.
- The other option is to overthrow the clerical regime by way of an external war, similar to what occurred in Iraq. No one would want to see this repeated in Iran.
Tehran mullahs and those who have interests in continuing the status quo, argue that any serious change would require an external war to prove that there are no other options but to compromise with the regime.
The Third Option: Change by the Iranian People and Resistance
But we say that there is a third option: Change brought about by the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance.
If foreign obstacles are removed, the Iranian people and Resistance are prepared and capable of bringing about regime change and this is the only way to prevent external war. Giving concessions to the mullahs is not an alternative to external war. No concession is going to dissuade the mullahs from continuing their ominous objectives.
Learning from History: Munich Must Not Be Repeated
Let us recall the day after the 1938 Munich Pact, when Sir Winston Churchill said in the House of Commons, “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war”. Let us not allow a repetition of the Munich experience by nuclear-armed mullahs…
The answer to fundamentalism is democracy
The regime ruling Iran is a medieval theocracy that lacks the capacity to reform. The principle of the velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule) is the pillar of the Iranian regime’s constitution and cannot be changed even through a referendum.
It forms the basis for the regime’s laws and practices.
The Concentration of Power Under the Supreme Leader
This principle places the executive, legislative and judiciary branches as well as the armed forces completely under the reign of the supreme leader.
People’s vote has little value to the supreme leader. Election charades are only the means to solidify the Supreme leader’s control.
Misogyny and Fundamentalism as Tools of Control
Misogyny is inherent to the regime and a means to keep Iranian society in check. The ruling religious dictatorship needs the export of fundamentalism in order to survive….
Let there be no doubt: European policies such as critical dialogue, constructive engagement and human rights dialogue will not change anything as far as the regime is concerned.
Appeasement Fails — Democracy Is the Only Solution
Appeasement is not the way to contain or change the regime, nor is the path to avoid another war. Appeasement only emboldens the mullahs. The answer to fundamentalism is democracy.
We do not have to choose between appeasement and surrender. The equation of “either a military invasion or appeasement” is an exercise in political deception. A third option is within reach. The Iranian people and their organized resistance have the capacity and ability to bring about change.
The Capacity for Change Lies Within Iran
Iran has an ancient civilization and a rich culture. It is the cradle of Islamic civilization. It has been home to three major revolutions in the twentieth century. Another major deception, therefore, is to assume that Iranian society has surrendered to the mullahs’ medieval regime… Despite brutal crackdown, uprisings have continued to erupt across the nation. The presence of protests in society reflects the Iranian people’s yearning for regime change.
The presence of an organized resistance with 120.000 martyrs and more than half-a-million prisoners is indicative of the depth and intensity of society’s rejection of the regime.
By forming a pluralistic alternative, a widespread social network and a liberation army, the Iranian Resistance has sufficient power and potential to bring about change in Iran. It has led the Iranian people’s movement for democracy in the most difficult domestic and regional circumstances.
Politically speaking, such barbaric repression reflects only the mullahs’ fear of being overthrown by the Iranian people and resistance.
Why in all their international interactions, the mullahs demand the exertion of pressure on the resistance movement? Are all of these not indicative of the mullahs’ paranoia over the organized resistance and the third option?
The resistance movement has deeps roots in society.
The Role of the PMOI: An Organized Force for Freedom
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) is the core of this resistance. The PMOI’s extensive network across Iran organizes and gives direction to social protests, provides the movement with financial assistance and intelligence and reveals Tehran’s most clandestine nuclear, missile and terrorist projects.
With its democratic and tolerant interpretation of Islam, the PMOI is the antithesis of fundamentalism. It exposes and isolates the violent and backward interpretation of fundamentalists. The PMOI’s message is this: The mullahs’ ruling Iran do not represent Islam; rather, they are the enemies of Islam.
A Coalition for a Secular and Democratic Republic
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, the resistance’s parliament, is a coalition of democratic forces that seek a republic based on the separation of religion and State. Half its members are women. With the membership of religious and ethnic minorities as well as different political tendencies, the NCRI represents a majority of the Iranian nation and is the guarantee for Iran’s unity after the toppling of the mullahs and the peaceful transfer of power.
A Commitment to Free Elections and Peace
We have called for free elections under the United Nations auspices repeatedly. The mullahs, however, would never accept that. For us, democracy is not merely a political program, but an ideal for which 120.000 members of the resistance, including six members of my family, have sacrificed their lives. The NCRI has committed itself to organize free elections for a constituent assembly within six months of regime change and handover the affairs to the people’s elected representatives so that society’s deep wounds that were caused by eighty years of dictatorship are healed.
By adhering to international covenants, interest in peace and coexistence, we want a peaceful Iran, free from all weapons of mass destruction. We want to rebuild Iran, which the mullahs have ruined, through the people’s participation, the return of our experts and friendship with the rest of the world.
We seek neither the West’s money nor weapons. We want them to remain neutral between the Iranian resistance on one hand and the ruling regime on the other, and do not deny the right to resistance.
Speech at the European Parliament – Strasbourg -December 15, 2004
