The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK / PMOI) hosted the third day of the annual Free Iran conference at Ashraf 3, the MEK’s headquarters in Albania on Saturday. This is the first year the annual event has been held at Ashraf 3, which was built in just over a year on farmland outside of Tirana.

#MEK Annual gathering in #Albania to day July,13,2019 for #FreeIran #IranRegimeChange #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK .@USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/O01hbDYcHL

— Kasra Nejat (@kasraNejat1) July 13, 2019

Saturday’s event attracted hundreds of prominent dignitaries, politicians, and human rights activists from around the world and included dozens of speeches in support of the Iranian Resistance, as well as video of supporters from inside Iran and stories of the MEK’s fight for freedom. Thousands of MEK residents of Ashraf 3 greeted the conference attendees, holding Persian flags and cheering their arrival.

 

The following are some highlights from the first portion of the day’s speeches.

Fahimeh Arvani

Former MEK Secretary-General, Ms. Arvani delivered the opening remarks on Saturday to the packed convention hall.

“Iranian opposition President Maryam Rajavi has led this movement and today we are witnessing the regime in Iran on the brink of the overthrow,” she said.

Mrs. Arvani also saluted courageous members of resistance units inside Iran who are the avant garde of struggle for free Iran. #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/AjslTUiMcv

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) July 13, 2019

“The [MEK’s] Resistance Units have spread across Iran and have accomplished their role in the best of forms. They are directing protests and demonstrations. We are now in an extraordinary period, especially today, in Ashraf 3. This gathering with your presence has a very strong message for the Iranian people. On behalf of PMOI/MEK members I am honored to thank every single one of you, and I send my salutations to the Resistance Units,” Ms. Arvani added.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi

President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Maryam Rajavi, started her speech by saying:

“Twenty months ago, this (Ashraf 3, MEK’s compound in Albania) was an empty piece of land with nothing on it. At the hands of the Mojahedin, through their enormous efforts and hard work, Ashraf 3 was built and now stands tall. But our final destination is Tehran, freed from the occupation of the mullahs,”

 

Mrs. Rajavi listed the regime’s escalating terrorist activities and meddling in the Middle East since 2018. She specifically discussed the bombing plot against MEK members at Ashraf 3 last year. “Clearly, the regime is fueling tensions in a bid to push back against the international community. They foment turmoil and chaos to hide their fear of being overthrown. They want firmness to be replaced with a policy of appeasement, and they want to allay fears and anxiety of their Basij Forces and Revolutionary Guards and to preserve their internal balance and equilibrium,” she said. “However, the reality is that schism and instability are among the signs that the regime is in its final chapter. The clerical regime is not going to find a way out of its inevitable downfall.”

The Iranian people and Resistance have paid the necessary and full price.#FreeIran#Iranhttps://t.co/g4IQG7YuCE pic.twitter.com/klALbqohV5

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 13, 2019

Mrs. Rajavi warned those who claim to hope to avoid war in the region that their sentiments are misguided. “Anyone who seeks freedom for Iran, anyone who wants to save Iran from destruction and chaos, anyone who wants global and regional peace and stability, must rise up to demand the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime,” she said.

 

Mrs. Rajavi said that the policy of appeasement now carries heavy consequences. The MEK exposed the Iranian regime’s nuclear program, forced a cease-fire in the Iran-Iraq War, called attention to the regime’s human rights situation, and repeatedly blew the whistle on the mullahs’ malign activities. If they had not done so, “today, the situation would have been radically different, and the mullahs, equipped with nuclear weapons, would have created and solidified the empire and Caliphate they had long intended to establish,” she said.

In line with the policy of appeasing the religious fascism over the past 3 decades, regime apologists turned a blind eye to its crimes committed both within #Iran and abroad. They baptized the central banker and the greatest sponsor and godfather of international terrorism. pic.twitter.com/V2GIVcZwOp

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 13, 2019

“But the MEK has paid the price to break the atmosphere of fear and intimidation created by the velayat-e faqih and their criminal Revolutionary Guard Corps throughout its history by exposing the regime’s evil nature and its illicit activities, including the disclosure of the mullahs’ nuclear program, and by standing against this regime even at the price of their lives,” she continued.

“[MEK] thus has left no future for the mullahs’ evil caliphate,” she added.

Mrs. Rajavi praised the MEK’s Resistance Units: “This Resistance has been able to expand and organize its network inside Iran despite the pervasive repression. This is how Ashraf has been replicated in society and among the people of Iran,” she said.

Maryam Rajavi restated her plan to establish a free and democratic Iran and said that the NCRI would succeed in this goal.

But can they stop the wheels of history from turning? Can they reverse the progress of history? Never!#Iran#FreeIranhttps://t.co/g4IQG7YuCE pic.twitter.com/AqRH5xZpzn

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 13, 2019

“We will take back Iran and we will build a new homeland,” she concluded.

Rudolph Giuliani

Former New York Mayor

“Massoud Rajavi began the Resistance movement in a very brave act by not swearing allegiance to [regime founder Ruhollah] Khomeini. Aren’t we now at a point in history where we all can stand up and say no more oppression and murder? You have to go,” said Mayor Giuliani.

“I accuse [Khamenei] and [Iranian regime President Hassan] Rouhani and all their followers, I accuse them of murder. Not just murder but mass murder. How can we tolerate this? Four decades of mass murder and crimes against humanity,” he exclaimed.

Giuliani said that the international community needed to do three things to secure peace and stability in Iran. First on his list was “getting the governments of Europe to stand up and reclaim their dignity and honor.”

Giuliani encouraged the leaders of Europe to “stand up.”

“I’m proud of my government for tearing up that nuclear deal. We don’t put nuclear weapons in the hands of murderers. When you put money in the hands of murderers, you are supporting murderers,” he added.

Giuliani said that the second thing the international community must do is to recognize that “there is an alternative to this horrible regime of terror.

“This isn’t one of those situations when we have to dispose of a regime and we know that a more horrible regime will come. That was the case in Libya. But here we don’t have that problem. We have the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world and then we have the NCRI, led by the President-elect Maryam Rajavi,” he said.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani words about #MEK members & debunking the claims raised by the #Iran regime and its chorus of apologists/lobbyists in the West:
We know there is a group of people who are dedicated to freedom & the cause of it#IStandWithMaryamRajavi #FreeIran #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/TBwuRNGYZt

— mostafa.m (@MostafaMe4) July 15, 2019

“We have a government in exile that has written down its principles. Free elections in six months. Gender equality. System of law. Fair trial. And they oppose capital punishment. This is a good organization. And if you have built this place in three months, you can do that in six months,” Giuliani added.

“This is a group we can support and a group that makes us comfortable to have a regime change,” he said.

Giuliani said that the final action the world could take to support a free Iran is to “be a witness in the Biblical sense.”

Giuliani explained, “You can be a part of it. You can write, you can speak out. We don’t walk away when we see someone is oppressed.”

Joseph Lieberman

Former Senator and U.S. Vice Presidential candidate

Senator Lieberman spoke about the MEK’s treatment in Camp Liberty in Iraq and their subsequent relocation to Albania. “We were hurt and heartbroken and angry when you were terrorized and murdered in Camp Liberty by the Iranian regime’s mercenaries. Iran is ready for a new dawn and day, you are ready, we are ready,” he said.

WOW @JoeLieberman today: "I say this as a Democrat. President @realDonaldTrump has been heroic and historic in taking the actions he has to break the Iran nuclear agreement, to impose sanctions on the Iranian government."

cc: @StateDept @VP @SecPompeo #FreeIran #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/pcF8vNnPD7

— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) July 13, 2019

“Now that you are here [in safety in Albania], the NCRI and MEK can focus its efforts on the fight inside Iran,” he added.

“History is on your side. Freedom and justice will always prevail. And that is what the MEK and NCRI represent,” said Lieberman.

“I thank you for being an example to the whole world that those who are willing to sacrifice for the cause of freedom will always prevail,” said the former Senator. “Let me quote the late Senator John McCain: ‘The battle to liberate Iran is not a battle that has great significance for the people to Iran but for the great cause of freedom around the world.’”

Sen. Joe Lieberman at the #FreeIran conference in Ashraf 3
"It's not only an honor but exciting to be here in Ashraf 3. We gathered in many meetings in Paris & the crowd was enormous. Yet, there's nowhere I'd rather be today than in Ashraf 3.#WeSupportMEK#IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/ci75lkoQjt

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 13, 2019

“Maryam Rajavi is a principled, visionary, selfless leader and cares for every one of you,” Lieberman said, praising Mrs. Rajavi and the MEK. “Ashraf 3 is the best proof that this movement is a viable alternative to the ruling mullahs in Iran,” he added.

“To those who advocate appeasement, it’s time to stand for the people’s freedom. It’s time to bring a government to Iran that is accountable to the Iranians. A government of the people, by the people, for the people,” he concluded.

Robert Torricelli

Former U.S. Senator

“For thousands of years, when people met at street corners they said: ‘I’m a citizen of Rome.’ But today, wherever men stand tall, they will say that I was a resident of Ashraf. I never gave up, I never gave in, I’m a proud Iranian,” Senator Torricelli said.

“What began with a single woman is a chorus around the world…To those of you that are risking your lives in Iran, I say, It is your time. To the students, if you haven’t joined the brigades of resistance, join today, join tomorrow. Take your lives in your hands,” encouraged the former Senator.

“To the workers who hear my voice, break down your chains and rise up to your freedom and the right to feed your families,” urged Torricelli.

Senator Robert Torricelli – Former #US Senator speach in Ashraf city in #Albania #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/pXblIZRT5l

— Iran Freedom Watch (@IranFredomWatch) July 13, 2019

“To the Iranian community in foreign countries, the past is forgiven, the future is now, we have a common cause to restore the dignity of the Iranian people. There is only one organization that promises to overthrow the dictatorship in Iran and restore the nation and that organization is the PMOI and their leader is Maryam Rajavi,” he said.

 

“Gathered here today is what the regime could not buy: the respect of other nations. Democrats and Republicans, are committed to one common cause: the destruction of this regime now,” concluded Torricelli.

 

Staff writer

On June 29, the Iranian Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) delivered a speech to visiting lawmakers from throughout the world, at the Albanian headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). It was the most significant international gathering at the compound (Ashraf3) since it was established following the evacuation of the group’s former community in Iraq, which had been under fire for years from forces aligned with Iran’s theocratic regime.

The successful relocation of all of the camp’s 3,000 residents was regarded as a triumph by the MEK, insofar as it provided a new, more stable base of operations for the global effort to remove the existing regime and establish a democratic system in its place. Last month’s speech was an opportunity for Mrs. Rajavi to emphasize the practical outlook for that project and to encourage the international community to continue pursuing the type of assertive foreign policy that was on display when the United States and the United Nations stood up to Iran over the issue of the MEK and its members residing in camp Ashraf in Iraq.

The effort to relocate those people to what is now known as “Ashraf 3” was a modest beginning to more confrontational dealings with the Islamic Republic. But as Mrs. Rajavi explained in her remarks, the world had a long way to go to reverse a decades-long strategy of conciliation and “appeasement.” It still does, although the Trump White House has done a great deal to help demonstrate the potential effect of putting pressure on the regime instead of negotiating with it in the vain hope that its behavior will someday change.

“Imagine for a moment, what would have happened if such a disastrous policy would not have been adopted from the outset,” she said to a crowd of MEK members and visiting supporters before outlining a wide variety of malign activities that were enabled in large part by Western powers’ preoccupation with reaching out to so-called moderates within the regime. The prime target of this effort, in recent years, was President Hassan Rouhani, but his progressive-sounding campaign promises were belied by his previous dealings with the West and his proven disregard for human rights issues.

The time has come for the international community to end 3 decades of impunity for the leaders of the regime in #Iran, holding Khamenei and his accomplice accountable for their crimes against humanity and the genocide committed in the #1988Massacre at an international tribunal pic.twitter.com/XM7LF0iYdY

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 15, 2019

Like many of those who played a major role in Iran’s government in the years following the 1979 revolution, Rouhani was aware of many of the killings and other crimes that were carried out in the interest of silencing dissent against the fledgling theocracy. As a Member of Parliament and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Rouhani was in a position to press for an end to these crimes or at least speak out against them. Yet he consistently demonstrated complicity, even when “death commissions” began the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988.

That dark stain on Iran’s history, with its estimated death toll of 30,000 over just a few months, was the first thing mentioned by Mrs. Rajavi when she listed all that could have been prevented by more assertive Western policies. Sadly, not only did lawmakers and Western media largely ignore warnings about what was happening in 1988, they learned hardly anything about the regime in the aftermath. The world should have recognized the futility of appealing to “moderates” when it became clear that the few who objected to mass killing were driven out of the system, while those who participated were rewarded for the rest of their political careers.

 

In 1988, Hossein Ali Montazeri was next in line to be Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. But after he warned his fellow officials that they would be remembered as criminals for facilitating thousands of politically motivated executions, he not only was shunned by the regime but went on to spend the last years of his life under house arrest.

By contrast, one of the main architects of the killings, Ebrahim Raisi, was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei earlier this year to head the entire nation’s judiciary. Two other members of the “death commissions” were appointed by Rouhani to head the Ministry of Justice during each of his successive terms. This should tell lawmakers throughout the world all they need to know about Tehran’s view of human rights, about Rouhani’s moderate credentials, and about the future the Iranian people will face if the international community continues trying to elevate such figures while promoting a slow pathway to reform.

There are only two realistic outcomes for the Islamic Republic: maintenance of the status quo as advocated by the authors of “appeasement,” or sudden, transformative change of the sort championed by the MEK and its allies in the NCRI.

The fact is that constructive dialogue with the mullahs does not work. Even the 2015 nuclear agreement demonstrated this, as the regime’s acceptance of modest, easily reversible restrictions on its nuclear program produced a financial windfall that has since been used to accelerate missile development, violent intervention into the affairs of surrounding nations, and ultimately, the nuclear program itself. In recent days, the supposedly moderate Rouhani has personally expressed about his intention to oversee uranium enrichment in “any amount” desired. This only underscores the lack of restrictions put in place by negotiators for whom conciliation has long since become the norm.

But there were clear warning signs about Rouhani’s duplicity in this, as well. When he served as Tehran’s chief nuclear negotiator between 2003 and 2005, he publicly bragged about creating a “calm environment” in which the regime could accelerate its nuclear development while giving the impression that it was preparing to wind down.

The regime is giving no such impression now, and its open hostility can only be explained by its well-learned confidence that the world will not do anything to stop it. Notwithstanding the Ashrafis’ relocation and the effective economic pressure being exerted by the US, the world community as a whole has shown little interest in severing ties with Iran or adopting the strategy of “maximum pressure,” even in the wake of direct attacks on oil tankers and a US drone, and proxy attacks on pipelines, airports, and more.

The most serious action that the European Union has taken over the past year is to sanction Iran’s secret service and some of its known operatives. All it took was for France, Albania, and other nations to be directly threatened by bomb and assassination plots targeting Iranian opposition activists. Considering what those plots say about the political climate inside the Islamic Republic and the potential for more killings on the scale of 1988, it is shocking that the international community is so hesitant to go at least as far as the White House has done, by sanctioning the office of the supreme leader and designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

If they were to do so, the Europeans would go a long way toward promoting the sudden, transformative change that represents Iran’s only hope for a free and democratic future. Last year, a nationwide mass uprising led by the MEK demonstrated that the people of that country are ready to take it upon themselves to bring this about. All they need is the international support that has been almost always withheld throughout the past four decades.

Staff writer

The fourth day of the Free Iran Conference at Ashraf 3 on Sunday concluded with a seminar entitled “Women in the Iranian Resistance: Defying the Misogynist Regime, Paying the Price of Freedom.” Women’s rights activists and prominent female voices from around the world gathered at Ashraf 3 to discuss the struggle of Iranian women under the mullahs and to express their solidarity with Maryam Rajavi and the Iranian Resistance.

#Women in the #Iranian Resistance – Defying the Misogynist Regime, Paying the Price of Freedom-Conference at #Ashraf3,#MEK's residence in Albania. Watch live: https://t.co/taBbbUGRZU #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #FreeIran #WeSupportMEK

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) July 14, 2019

Highlights from the conference, including Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s keynote address, are below:

Maryam Rajavi

President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

Mrs. Rajavi described the current status of Iranian women under the mullahs’ regime during the first portion of her speech. “Women have no role in the ruling regime and in its decision-making at any level of its hierarchy,” she said. “Another issue is depriving women of their personal and social freedoms and their right to free choice,” Mrs. Rajavi added, noting that women in Iran were not free to travel without restrictions or dress as they would like.

I would like to briefly review the status of Iranian women in a few realms:#Iran#FreeIran pic.twitter.com/J52Nt6WdsK

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 14, 2019

“Another issue is the hideous inequalities of discrimination against women under the clerical regime: drastic inequalities in job opportunities, in wages, in education, in testimony before a court, in having access to medical services and insurance, in their share of inheritance, access to sports fields and stadiums, and denials in every realm.” she continued.

 

“Such discrimination in any society in any juncture in history would mean subjugation of the people, suppression, and plundering of political rights,” Mrs. Rajavi stressed.

 

“You might have heard claims that if the mullahs were to be overthrown, Iran would experience chaos, disasters and destitution. But aren’t Iranian women living in conditions even worse than war-torn countries? Aren’t they suffering from poverty, unemployment and homelessness?” she asked.

 

“Another issue is promoting violence against women. Women in Iran do not feel safe anywhere: not at work, not in the streets, and not at home,” Mrs. Rajavi went on.

 

“Inhumane treatment of women in prison is also common practice,” she added.

Mrs. Rajavi explained the reason for the appalling treatment of women in Iran, saying, “Misogyny is the driving force and the essence of the regime’s suppression of the society in general.”

If our movement was not deeply against exploitation and all of its political, social, theoretical, and cultural conducts, women could not hold such positions for a long time. #Iran #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/7TaW0riFUF

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 14, 2019

“The common answer to all these problems, ranging from poverty and discrimination to lack of free choice, lies in freedom and equality. Not just equality and not just freedom. But both freedom and equality,” she stressed.

 

“I have always emphasized that women not only free themselves but free their societies at large,” she added.

Inspired by the 1,000 women of Ashraf, this is a tradition that Iran’s enlightened women and rebellious girls are following, which is an emancipating struggle. #Iran #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/Jp97NlkcPJ

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 14, 2019

Mrs. Rajavi saluted all of the Iranian political prisoners who are currently sitting in the mullahs’ jails. “In addition to political opposition, they have committed the unforgivable crime: to be a rebellious woman. To be a woman and not surrender, to be a woman and persevere in the struggle, to be a woman and instead of thinking about yourself think about the liberation of people in chains, this is something that has driven the mullahs insane,” she said.

Sarvenaz Chitsaz

Chair of the NCRI Women’s Committee

Speaking to the activists who helped relocate MEK members from Camp Liberty, Chitsaz said, “You are members of the large family of resistance. You fought for freedom alongside the Ashrafis. You extended support to them through their endeavors.”

Sarvnaz Chitsaz, Chair @womenncri: "The mullahs’ incessant savagery toward women is the rgm's driving force in suppressing Iranian society. Women are at the forefront of the battle against the regime & are leading protests in Iran."#FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/4N488nMQ9B

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 14, 2019

“Every woman in the resistance has made her own choice. They have played a key role in creating this resistance with their perseverance in the regime’s dungeons enduring medieval torture by the misogynistic mullahs and also with their 14 years of resistance at Camp Ashraf amd Liberty,” said Chitsaz.

 

“This is an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of women’s struggle. This explains why Iranian women inside Iran have been able to resist against the misogynistic regime and its harsh oppression and why they are at the forefront of the battle against the regime and leading protests in Iran. They see the history of the women in Ashraf and they are inspired by their resistance. This is why the regime targets Iranian women to such an extent,” she explained.

 

“The mullahs’ incessant savagery toward women is the driving force of the regime in its suppression of the Iranian society,” Ms. Chitsaz concluded.

Senator Ingrid Betancourt

Former Senator and Colombian Presidential candidate

“When you will be in Tehran, and it will happen soon, you will face a tremendous challenge. You are the only real organization where women are consistently at the top. You will be confronted by the fact that taking power in a country like Iran, with 80 million inhabitants, one of the big countries in the Middle East, both by population and by geopolitical importance: it’s not a small challenge. Whatever you do will reflect on the whole world,” Ms. Betancourt emphasized.

“The impact you will have because you have a woman leader because it’s in a country that has been ruled by a misogynist regime, the impact will be like an atomic bomb. So whatever is done in those first few months will define what the next generation of women will be able to do in the world. This is a very serious responsibility,” she continued.

“Another challenge is religion…When religion is involved, it becomes very personal to women. One of the things that we have to be aware of is that this system of patriarchy, it’s a mind frame that we all have in ourselves, man and woman. We have to be conscious about it and we have to fight it in ourselves and others. When you transition to a secular government, you will have to deal not only with the clergy but also with women and men who are not ready for this change,” Betancourt stressed.

.@ranjanakumari: "Women's rights are human rights. I’m very happy to see the NCRI's leadership has underlined there will be no compromise on gender equality in a future Iran … When women take leadership, they can move mountains."#FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/OhXswN0egX

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 14, 2019

Dr. Ranjana Kumari

Director of the Centre for Social Research in India

“Whenever we’ve seen these struggles, one thing that is important to keep in mind is that women are in the line of fire. So many struggles where women have fought in the front lines. However, when the power came, women were made to go back to the kitchen…I’m so happy this is a unique organization where women are in top positions. You’re already involved in different levels of governance, you know how to exercise power,” said Dr. Kumari.

“Women’s rights are human rights. I’m very happy to see your leadership has underlined there will be no compromise on gender equality… When women take leadership, they can move mountains,” Dr. Kumari concluded.

Maria Candida Almeida

Deputy Attorney General of Portugal

“The ones who must defend the people’s rights against killings, massacres, and suppression. Horrible things are happening in Iran today, such as the killing of pregnant women. The international community must not accept this. This is why your cause is my cause. I am with you,” said Ms. Almeida.

“Your movement is an example to all of us. Your leader is courageous and strong. She is an example for all people and for me. In the past few days, I was encouraged to work harder for you when I return home. I hope you accept me as your messenger,” Ms. Almeida concluded.

Dr Maria Ryan, Cottage Hospital CEO: "I’ve never seen misogyny as a culture as it is in Iran. It is systematic. In 50yrs, books will speak about your Resistance & @Maryam_Rajavi. I put Mrs Rajavi up w/ the forefathers of my country"#FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/6YxoVkeYRY

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 14, 2019

Dr. Maria Ryan

CEO of Cottage Hospital

“As we move the regime out from Iran, it’s going to take a lot of work. This is where your strength becomes significant. I learned from you and your optimism. It’s impressive that you can overcome adversity and look to the future and what needs to happen,” she added.

Giuseppina Occhionero

Italian MP

“Your struggle for civil rights is an honor for all the world because you are an example of women who put fear behind them, and you, Mrs. Rajavi, your deep views for human rights: we will take home the same responsibilities,” said Ms. Occhionero.

 

“Today, we see that we can unite and we can struggle against inequality. You women are the force of change in Iran,” Ms. Occhionero continued. “You are the answer. To all the women who have paid the price of freedom, I thank you for this. The change will come through the fulfillment of women’s rights,” she concluded.

Zinat Mirhashemi

NCRI member and Editor in Chief of Nabard-e-Khalq Review

“In the 120 years of struggle for freedom in Iran, women have had an important role. In previous generations before the Revolution, the face of the struggle for freedom and equality was not just the face of men. They showed to the world that women have a significant role in this fight,” said Ms. Mirhashemi.

 

“And now we have reached a time when we see women’s roles in the highest ranks in such a struggle. This is the assurance of this organization’s future and that women’s equality will be fulfilled because these women are leaders,” she continued.

 

“In this movement, men and women are fighting together for a common cause. Where women have a significant role, victory is assured. The future is ours… The women who are in prison are our pride. Our movement for justice in Iran has a wealth of women from across Iran,” Ms. Mirhashemi concluded.

Khadija Ziyani

Moroccan MP

“The world will remember you for what you have shown as women who strive for freedom. What you’ve accomplished in 18 months in building Ashraf 3 from scratch is something that we are proud of,” said Ziyani.

“I’m very optimistic that you will reach freedom, not for power and with power, but with hearts that don’t give up and are determined. You have high human values,” she added.

Former Romanian MP Maria Grecea: "Iran's regime is at a political & social dead-end. We the supporters of the NCRI & MEK must help Iranian ppl. History has proven that things will change and the fascist dictators of Iran will fall"#FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/asqF50gt9z

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 14, 2019

“I believe you will reach what you are fighting for because you have high determination. I’ve never seen such determination as I’ve seen in Mrs. Rajavi,” Ziyani concluded.

Maria Grecea

Former Romanian MP

“We are at a critical and sensitive moment in Iran’s history because the mullahs’ regime is at a political and social dead-end and we the supporters of the Iranian Resistance must help the people. History has proven to us that some things will change and the fascist dictators of Iran must fall,” said Grecea.

 

“This is important not only for the people of Iran but for the world because an exporter of terrorism will be eliminated. Your persistence was seen when the PMOI [MEK] built international support for Iranians, especially for the popular uprising of 2017/2018. The international pressure and the ongoing protests have put the regime in a difficult situation,” she continued.

Edit Bauer

Former MEP from Slovakia

“As a woman, what makes your resistance special to me is the key role played by women in the struggle for freedom in Iran. Mrs. Rajavi has educated and trained a generation of women who are capable of leading Ashraf residents through ups and downs, but also a generation of men who can cooperate with women in building their nation,” said Bauer.

“You have confronted fundamentalism in a way that no other movement has. You have proven the failure of the mullahs’ ideology in practice. I’m seeing the strengthening of the support for your movement around the world,” she added.

Somaya Al Jowder, former Bahraini MP: "From you, the MEK & NCRI, I learned about being patient and sacrificing. I learned from you that endurance is the answer to everything, and how we can add to our belief and our faith" #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/RBuPqPq2E5

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 14, 2019

Dr. Somaya Al JowderFormer Bahraini MP

“From you, I learned about being patient and giving to others. I learned from you that endurance is the answer to everything, and how we can add to our belief and our faith,” Dr. Al Jowder said to the women of the MEK.

“I have seen the perseverance of your men. They don’t fight to be first. We hope that our men in our country will do the same,” she added.

“Iran’s uprising and rebuilding of Iran will be done by you, the PMOI [MEK] women. I’m sure that next year, all of us will be celebrating democracy in Iran,” she concluded.

Flore Ram

Iranian human rights activist

“When I was young, I couldn’t leave my country without the permission of my husband. If a father died, the mother didn’t have the right to raise the children. When the mullahs came to our country, they ruled like ISIS. They imprisoned and raped women. There was nothing for the people of Iran. But standing against that is the Iranian Resistance and the women of the MEK,” said Ms. Ram.

“Mrs. Rajavi has been digging this cancerous tumor out of Iran. I’m very proud of you. I wish everyone could get to know you like we know you. This is the reality,” she added.

Concetta Giallombardo

President of the Association of Female Jurists from Italy

“Struggling for the equality of men and women is something that we must pay the price for. In your struggle and resistance; this has been reviewed. There’s a mindset that is different about the relationship between men and women. The relationship is about knowledge and understanding,” Ms. Giallombardo said.

Concetta Giallombardo, President of Association of Female Jurists from Italy: "I'd like to congratulate the NCRI for your mindset & how you view the relationship between men & women. I hope that under your viewpoint, we will see a #FreeIran." #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/CkVqkYXLDa

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 14, 2019

“I would like to congratulate you for your mindset and how you view the relationship between men and women. I hope that under your viewpoint, we will see a new society,” she concluded.

Staff writer

The summer of 1988, after months of deprivation from visiting their loved ones, thousands of families of MEK supporters and activists, gathered at the prison’s entrance across Iran, received the remaining cloths of their family members, a reference to a grave or in most cases no news about their whereabouts.

In Tehran, families could manage to find a mass graveyard in Khavaran, were, apparently, thousands of bodies of MEK supporters were dumped and buried in a night. These hopeless families go every year to Khavaran, to commemorate their loved ones. Yet within the past few years, so many of these families were arrested, even executed. People such as Ali Saremi, Jafar Kazemi, Mohammad-Ali Haj-Aghaie, supporters of the MEK, lost their lives.

Solidarity with the Iranian Resistance & Iran Uprising #FreeIran https://t.co/f5nX6kbA7U

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 13, 2019

According to survivors and the regime defectors and other sources, more than 30,000 members and supporters of the MEK were executed in a matter of months in the summer of 1988.

Tragic but heroic, they were executed for how they called the MEK and its historical leader Massoud Rajavi.

 

Although MEK informed the International Community about this massacre, Western governments chose to close their eyes and rather follow commerce with the so-called reformist Mullah Hashemi Rafsanjani, then Iran’s president.

 

After 30 years, a tape was exposed, with the voice of the late Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Khomeini’s heir at that time, speaking to members of the death committee telling them they had committed a crime for which History would curse the regime. Those positions cost Montazeri his seat as heir apparent to Khomeini.

 

The crimes of the Iranian regime is known to everyone, anyone with the least dignity condemns these atrocities such as the massacre of 30000 MEK members in 1988. Amnesty International recently published a vast report based on a thorough study which shows that this massacre is no less than a crime against humanity. Among others, it was based on tens of testimonies by MEK members now settled in Albania in Ashraf3 compound, where the opposition has regrouped after quitting their former settlement in Iraq under Iran regime’s pressures.

I call on all Iranians in #Iran and abroad to help advance and expand the Call-for-Justice movement for the victims of the #1988Massacre. This is the movement of the oppressed, the suppressed and the bereaved. #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/z2yBw1Jq69

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 15, 2019

Nonetheless, the regime keeps those involved in this massacre in power positions as high as head of the Judiciary.

At the same time, a vast and costly demonization campaign is followed by the mullahs to tarnish the image of their victims. Their motto is: if you have to kill, demonize your victims so you are justified in your crime.

An array of websites and well implanted “journalists” are in the mullahs’ inventory to achieve this goal. So-called journalists, who blame the MEK and ultimately the victims of this regime, for the latter’s crimes! This demonization campaign against the Iranian resistance pursues nothing but one goal: Washing the hands of the mullahs so the Western company managers can shake hands with them! History has proven that no one sides with dictators for God’s sake and “the democratic cultish issues” of a resistance movement such as the MEK with more than 120,000 fallen for the cause of freedom and the vast network inside, which the Iranian regime fears most and repeatedly warns its troops of those units’ activities.

Khomeini’s intention in ordering the #1988Massacre was to totally uproot and obliterate the Mojahedin. To this end, he deployed his killing machine in several areas. The most intense killings began in Evin and Gohardasht prisons, aimed specifically at members of the PMOI/MEK. pic.twitter.com/y8CaGHOtNw

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) July 15, 2019

History is the best judge, time will move on, Iranian people and their resistance MEK will topple this regime, the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre will be held accountable in international courts, but the remaining question is would those who white-washed those crimes also be held accountable?

As it comes to those longing to do business with Iran at any cost, it should be said that such business is called “bad business,” since they invested in the blood of the Iranian people.

Staff writer

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) held its annual Free Iran Rally at Ashraf 3, the MEK’s headquarters in Albania, for the first time this year.

Ashraf 3 was constructed in just one year and built from the ground up as a home for the displaced members of the MEK who suffered repeated attacks at their previous homes at Camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq. The choice to host the Free Iran Rally at Ashraf 3 this year is significant.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi delivered the keynote address to the tens of thousands of MEK members and international dignitaries gathered for the rally.

“Twenty months ago, this was an empty piece of land with nothing on it. At the hands of the Mojahedin, through their enormous efforts and hard work, Ashraf 3 was built and now stands tall. But our final destination is Tehran, freed from the occupation of the mullahs.”

The Goal of an Uprising

Mrs Rajavi quoted Massoud Rajavi’s words on the importance of regime change coming from within Iran: “For a nation to appreciate her own freedom, she must ultimately free herself on her own. “Everyone can only free himself on his own from the yoke of coercion and oppression, and it is precisely for this reason that we are responsible to advance the goal of a general uprising for the freedom of our people and our country,” she quoted.

Fueling Tensions

In reference to her opposition to the easing of sanctions against the Iranian regime in 2013, Mrs. Rajavi said, “The time has come for major powers to stop appeasing and giving concessions to the murderous religious tyranny, the Central Banker of terrorism, and the world’s record holder of executions, and to recognize the right of the people of Iran for resistance and freedom.”

Mrs. Rajavi listed the regime’s escalating terrorist activities and meddling in the Middle East since 2018. She specifically discussed the bombing plot against MEK members at Ashraf 3 last year. “Clearly, the regime is fueling tensions in a bid to push back against the international community. They foment turmoil and chaos to hide their fear of being overthrown. They want firmness to be replaced with a policy of appeasement, and they want to allay fears and anxiety of their Basij Forces and Revolutionary Guards and to preserve their internal balance and equilibrium,” she said. “However, the reality is that schism and instability are among the signs that the regime is in its final chapter. The clerical regime is not going to find a way out of its inevitable downfall.”

Mrs. Rajavi warned those who claim to hope to avoid war in the region that their sentiments are misguided. “Anyone who seeks freedom for Iran, anyone who wants to save Iran from destruction and chaos, anyone who wants global and regional peace and stability, must rise up to demand the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime,” she said.

The MEK Has Paid the Price

Mrs. Rajavi said that the policy of appeasement now carries heavy consequences. The MEK exposed the Iranian regime’s nuclear program, forced a cease fire in the Iran-Iraq War, called attention to the regime’s human rights situation, and repeatedly blew the whistle on the mullahs’ malign activities. If they had not done so, “today, the situation would have been radically different, and the mullahs, equipped with nuclear weapons, would have created and solidified the empire and Caliphate they had long intended to establish,” she said.

“But the MEK has paid the price to break the atmosphere of fear and intimidation created by the velayat-e faqih and their criminal Revolutionary Guard Corps throughout its history by exposing the regime’s evil nature and its illicit activities, including the disclosure of the mullahs’ nuclear program, and by standing against this regime even at the price of their lives,” she continued.

“[MEK] thus has left no future for the mullahs’ evil caliphate,” she added.

Rise of the MEK

Mrs. Rajavi praised the MEK’s Resistance Units: “This Resistance has been able to expand and organize its network inside Iran despite the pervasive repression. This is how Ashraf has been replicated in society and among the people of Iran,” she said.

Despite the regime’s claims that the MEK has no influence within the country, Iranian authorities have arrested large numbers of MEK members and have created new patrols to round up Resistance Units and to suppress Resistance activities. “But the enemy can neither succeed in breaking the morale of Resistance forces in prisons nor is it able to thwart the resistance movement and the units of rebellion in cities. Yes, every young man or woman yearning for freedom and justice is a potential or de facto rebel,” she said.

Maryam Rajavi restated her plan to establish a free and democratic Iran and said that the NCRI would succeed in this goal.

“We will take back Iran and we will build a new homeland,” she concluded.

The MEK hosted the second day of an international conference on Friday at Ashraf-3, the home of the Iranian Resistance’s headquarters in Albania. The conference, entitled “120 years of struggle of the Iranian people for freedom,” was attended by thousands of MEK members and prominent politicians and dignitaries from around the world.

The conference’s focus was to condemn the Iranian regime for its suppressive and inhuman actions at home and its terrorist activities abroad and to call on the international community to end the policy of appeasement that allowed the regime to act without consequences.

Speakers at the conference also emphasized that the international community must recognize the MEK and NCRI as the democratic alternative to the mullahs’ regime in order to bring peace and stability to the region.

The following are some of the highlights from the speeches at Friday’s event:

Maryam Rajavi

President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

From Mrs. Rajavi’s keynote address:

“One of the missing links in previous movements of the Iranian people was a coherent organization and an organized struggle, coupled with a determined and battle-hardened force prepared to make any sacrifice necessary. As a result, the people’s previous struggles did not succeed despite all their sacrifices,” she said in reference to the failure of past uprisings.

Mrs. Rajavi also spoke about the many crimes perpetrated against the MEK by the mullahs’ regime.

“Despite all the crimes and massacres he committed, Khomeini failed to extinguish the flames of freedom. Over the past 40 years, 120,000 persons have given their lives for the cause of freedom. That includes the 30,000 people who were massacred in 1988 for insisting on their political identity as a member of the Mojahedin. Another half-a-million people were arrested and viciously tortured,” she said.

“The mullahs continued their crimes against Ashraf and Liberty by setting 22 deadlines in 10 years, through a medical blockade, through psychological torture using over 300 loudspeakers blaring into Ashraf for two years, and through 29 ground and aerial attacks, using armored vehicles and missile launchers, including the commission of seven bloodbaths and massacres,” she continued.

Mrs. Rajavi concluded on a hopeful note, saying, “But today, we have reached a historic turning point. An Ashraf which has once again risen up, proud and powerful, shining bright at the zenith of this Resistance. This Ashraf has been replicated 1000 times in the form of resistance units all over Iran. And a volatile society which is no longer willing to put up with the mullahs, yearning to overthrow them.”

Suda

MEK member and resident at Ashraf-3

“I grew up in Sweden and was about to travel to France to study, but a video that I’d seen couldn’t leave my mind; a video of someone being stoned to death in Iran. I saw myself at a crossroads. I could live my own life and fulfil my dreams or I could put everything aside and fulfil my people’s dreams. That’s why I joined the MEK, to live for others. I thank all of you for being with us,” she said.

French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt tells Iran's democratic opposition: “I’m proud of what you've achieved in Ashraf 3. As a woman I feel very proud of standing w/ you since there's no other org like the MEK that gives women this power” #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/99C823z9w7

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 12, 2019

Ingrid Betancourt

Former Colombian Senator and Presidential candidate

“It’s just amazing what the MEK has done to transform this place since the last time I visited. I am proud to be your friend,” said Ms. Betancourt. “Your decision to confront the tyranny and pay the highest price. This sacrifice today is bearing its fruit. I see that here in Ashraf 3. It’s a miracle. I have been with you for a couple of years and I am amazed by your support and your political savviness. As a woman, I feel very proud and that in the world there is no organization like the MEK that gives women this power.”

“We are making history today,” she added. “Your victory is our victory and we will be very soon with you in Tehran!” Ms. Betancourt proclaimed.

Rudy Giuliani

"We could have prevented the Holocaust. We can't now. We can just learn from it. But we can prevent the murder and slaughter going on in Iran. An alternative exists to the theocracy in Iran. It's our responsibility to support it" – @RudyGiuliani #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/MNvv2h5xQP

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 12, 2019

Former New York City Mayor

“There is an alternative to the theocracy and dictatorship in Iran. It is a government-in-exile, and it gives us the confidence that if we help overthrow the Iranian regime, there will be prosperity and democracy in Iran,” said the former mayor.

Giuliani referred to the numerous terrorist plots against the MEK by the Iranian regime in 2018, saying, “They tried to bomb us in the US. They tried to bomb us here in Tirana a year and a half ago. They tried to bomb us in Paris a year ago. They’re the biggest state sponsor of terrorism and we let them sit in the UN and talk to them like they’re decent people.”

“I thank Madam Maryam Rajavi for letting me be part of this, and this is something that I am proud of and probably my children will be proud of…I wish to have this meeting in Tehran before I die,” Giuliani said.

Giuliani encouraged the MEK to continue their struggle for freedom. “You keep trying and you fail, you keep trying and you fail, and then the Berlin Wall comes down. It will happen eventually, but let’s make it happen now before another 100,000 deaths,” he said.

"The museum in Ashraf 3 is an echo of the Holocaust" – @JoeLieberman at the conference on the Iranian people's struggle for freedom in Iran, today in Ashraf-3, Albania. #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/02Jh6mr5Cu

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 12, 2019

Senator Joseph Lieberman

Former U.S. Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate

“You in the NCRI have given us the opportunity to be true to our national principles. When I’m here I feel that I’m representing the spirit of my great friend, the late Senator John McCain, who was warned by the establishment to stay away from this organization, but he spent time learning about it. He came to Ashraf 3, believing in this organization and its cause,” said Lieberman.

“Ashraf 3 has become something magnificent. Coming here and seeing this magnificent community that you’ve built is miraculous. It teaches us lessons,” he continued.

Lieberman praised the Ashrafis for their perseverance, saying, “The citizens of Ashraf never gave up despite the atrocities they faced imposed by the Iranian regime.”

He also talked about the exhibition of the history of MEK members who have been killed and persecuted by the Iranian regime that he and other speakers viewed before the conference began: “This exhibition, despite the mourning, is inspiring. And the whole story of the Ashrafis is inspiring,” he said.

“With the kind of leadership that the MEK and Maryam Rajavi are giving and will give in Iran; with the support of people from around the world who are represented here and with the resistance of the Iranian people inside of Iran, we will have a meeting some day in Iran and come together and have a great party,” Lieberman concluded.

Michèle Alliot-Marie

MEP; former French Foreign, Defense, Justice and Interior Minister

Alliot-Marie referenced the MEK memorial, saying, “I have to say that I’m very moved. What a contrast between the dramatic, horrifying images that we saw a few minutes ago. To be in contact with men and women who have given their lives for such a cause. To see what you have been able to achieve. You wish to give so much to the Iranian people.”

“You have people who have been tortured yet you still pave the path for freedom. This visit to Ashraf 3 was very moving for us,” she continued.

“I have the privilege of being able to speak and think freely. Yet I also know that today this liberty is not available everywhere across the globe,” Alliot-Marie said.

“We are also obliged to all people who are being subjugated to dictators around the world, and in Iran. We are here today, Mrs. Rajavi, to tell you that you are not alone,” she said.

“We have to give the Iranian people courage and the help they need so they can get their future back,” Alliot-Marie concluded.

“Maryam Rajavi's 10-point plan for a future #FreeIran is what we want for all Iranians” – former French Foreign Minister @MAlliotMarie at today's Iran conference in Ashraf-3 in Albania with members of Iran’s democratic opposition, the MEK. #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/fSuXflnhyE

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 12, 2019

Matthew Offord

MP (United Kingdom)

“You are the proof of a proud brave nation that will never succumb to the atrocities of the regime,” Offord said, addressing the MEK members at the conference.

“We have always argued that decoupling the regime’s human rights violations from the nuclear deal was a mistake,” he said.

“We have been proven right that there is no moderate faction inside the Iranian regime.” he added.

“There are two issues that we continue to raise in our debates,” Offord said:

1. “We need to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its atrocities in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.”
2. “The U.K. government needs to blacklist the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and all its subsidiary as a terrorist organization.”

“This measure will signal to the Iranian people that they are not forgotten and we stand with them,” he emphasized.

Offord added, “We want to recognize the right of the Iranian people and the resistance led by Madame Maryam Rajavi to establish a democratic and free republic in Iran.”

“Iran’s current regime is not just a threat to the Iranian people but to the peace around the world,” he concluded.

General James Conway

Former Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps

“I participated in a policy panel in Ashraf 3 and we were invited to dinner with the ladies of Ashraf 3. And some of them shared with me their stories of sacrifice and suffering. What I saw last night in terms of the ability to endure loss and yet move on was the sense of unit cohesion and dedication to each other that was the same as you see in the military. The sense of mission and dedication to accomplish it, said General Conway.

“I’m absolutely confident that with those ladies, you will make your country free someday,” he added.

“@RudyGiuliani was correct that the solution to Iran is not appeasement but regime change. Throughout history there are always tyrants & for a while they seem invincible. But they all fall at the end. Always” Mojgan Parsaie, ex PMOI (MEK) Sec Gen #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/WfUdmjosdO

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 12, 2019

Ms. Mojgan Parsaie

Former MEK Secretary General

“The story of the supporters of Ashraf who helped rescue the MEK members is the story of honorable people,” said Ms. Parsaie.

“Time has shown that you stand on the right side of history. The future will show more appreciation,” she added.

“Mayor Giuliani was correct that the solution to Iran is not appeasement but regime change. Throughout history there are always tyrants and for a period they seem invincible. However, they all fall at the end. Always.” Ms. Parsaie concluded.

Ashraf-3, the MEK’s headquarters in Albania, hosted an international conference on Thursday, July 11th entitled “Policy on Iran and a Viable Alternative.” A panel of prominent politicians and dignitaries from the United States and Europe offered their perspectives on the best approach to dealing with the Iranian regime. They also discussed the need for the international community to support the MEK as the democratic alternative to the mullahs’ regime in Iran.

Moderator:

• Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Lincoln Bloomfield

Panelists:

• Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
• Former Commandant of the U.S. Marines Corps James Conway
• University of Baltimore Professor Ivan Sascha Sheehan
• Former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Ambassador Robert Joseph
• Former Foreign Minister of Canada
• Former U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli

The following are some of the most notable moments from the day’s event. (Questions in bold type were asked by panel moderator Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield.)

"The JCPOA [Iran deal] was such a bad deal … I don't know how the British Foreign Secretary today could be wanting to resuscitate the JCPOA after what happened yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz. It just boggles the mind" – @Baird at today's Iran policy conference in Albania pic.twitter.com/hamQiCoAZq

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 11, 2019

What is the Achilles heel of the mullahs’ regime?

Sen. Torricelli “There’s a fundamental belief that things will work out. The future is not as bad as the past. Even a despotic regime will reform itself over time. That’s a handicap for us. The Iranian regime is not going to reform. It’s not going to change.”

“The second handicap is, those who would accommodate the regime take the high ground because they’re speaking out against war. Here’s the problem: first of all, there is a war. There’s no one fighting back. Tens of thousands of Iranians were killed by their own government. There’s been a war waged on the Iranian people since 1979. Those who would argue for patience and time have no moral high ground.”

Where can we have the maximum effect on pushing the regime back?

“Iran's regime will fall. But if we pursue wrong policies that assist the rgm such as giving it a $150B down payment, we'll be perpetuating the threat & hurting the people of Iran” – ex-US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Robert Joseph.#FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/gr96VdUGRR

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 11, 2019

Amb. Joseph: “The right policy is whatever accelerates the end of this regime. The wrong policy is what prolongs the life of this regime. Appeasement has turned out to be not just a failure but also counter to American interests. We should start with maximum pressure, and the administration has been doing a good job. The sanctions are having a deep impact on the Iranian economy.

“If we show weakness, it’s provocative. When we show strength, the regime backs down. It’s important that we always keep in mind that the show of strength is key to success.”

“Land invasion is not what’s necessary. Change has to come from within [Iran]. A more effective policy would include calling out the regime on its gross human rights violations. We don’t do that often enough.”

“We should negotiate on nuclear affairs, but we have to keep in mind what our principles are. We should not be victim of the mindset that negotiations mean compromise and giving the other party concessions. That is what happened in the JCPOA.

“Our focus ought to be calling them out, and combining these tools, whether its sanctions or the military, that will facilitate the end of this regime.”

What’s the right strategy to impair the military of the Iranian regime? Is it something we should be looking at? What else could we be thinking of that would undermine the cohesion of this criminal enterprise?

Prof. Sheehan: “The contest is ultimately over the right to think freely. The regime fears the truth, they fear facts. We must hold panels like this and expand the truth. We must give the Iranian people a sense of what’s going on around them and the idea that there is this viable alternative.

“The Iranian opposition does not fear the truth, and they know ultimately that it is on their side. With time these ideas will lead to the revolution that we’d all like to see take place.”

“There are some groups and individuals that you simply can’t negotiate with, and Iran’s terrorist regime is emblematic of that group” – @ProfSheehan at today's Iran policy conference in Ashraf-3, Albania.#FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/Lv93iJFpAq

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 11, 2019

Should we be more specific about the guilt of the Iranian regime?

Baird: “We can exploit the regime’s vulnerability, to support the people of Iran. The regime realizes that when it falls, they will have no place to go. The senior members of this regime know that they will have nowhere to go and they will be held to account for their crimes such as the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and the bombing of the Jewish center in Argentina.”

Sen. Torricelli: “No one can seriously believe this regime will last long. It’s an unsustainable situation. If you’re in the leadership today, there’s going to be a moment in your life when you’re going to be held accountable.”

What messages are the ones that really hurt the regime the most and isolate them among their people?

Amb. Joseph: “We must continue to push forward on exposing the regime’s brutality and its human rights violation. In the information space, we ought to focus on how this regime has failed the people. Just look at their inability to respond to the recent flooding. It is an incompetent regime. That is a vulnerability that would further deteriorate support for this regime in Iran, which is already decreasing day after day, month after month, year after year.”

Do the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) deserve to wear a uniform at all, given their unprofessional behavior?

Gen. James Conway, ex-Commandant of the US Marines: “The objective of authoritarian regimes is the survival of their regime. Iran's regime wants to be the premiere power in the region. How do we counter that? We should ratchet up the sanctions." #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/c2g4hJ6krO

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 11, 2019

General Conway, “Iran’s regime invariably gets greedy. Every one of the leaders of this regime have Swiss bank accounts that are growing while the people of Iran are living in poverty. We should expose that and let the people know who their leadership is.”

What will do the trick [to overthrow the mullahs]?

Prof. Ivan Sascha Sheehan “The regime in Tehran fears internal pressure more than it fears external threats. The people of Iran don’t need the world to rescue them. The regime change will be led by you.”

Are we playing strong offense and defense?

Sen. Torricelli: “Not enough.”

“It happens all the time. In Tehran, they have carefully disseminated false information into the mainstream media. We’re fighting back, and it’s been a long climb. What the mullahs are doing with misinformation in Washington, London and Paris, you can do with the truth. “

Baird: “The fact that the European authorities uncovered a plot by the regime that tried to attack the Free Iran rally in Paris in 2018, the rashness just shows how fearful the regime is of you.”

How do we amass the power of the many outrages about the regime and put it all into a powerful mixture?

Amb. Joseph: “The process that I’ve seen is that reporters tend to go to the same sources over and over again. If you look at who they’re going to in the world of think tanks, most of these people are doing the work of the regime.”

“This is where the MEK and NCRI can make a difference.”

Is the world taking notice of the regime’s terrorism in their countries? When did it become acceptable behavior? What should we do about it?

Prof. Sheehan: “There are some groups and individuals that you simply can’t negotiate with, and the regime is emblematic of that group.”

“In Washington, DC, we found a deeply entrenched pro-regime lobby, and that lobby exists in other places of the world. But the tools and power of ideas that we have at our disposal today are much stronger than the tools we had before.”

“We don’t have to wait for Washington to change its policy. Every citizen around the world can help contribute to this change.”

A lot of people in Washington fear that what happened in Syria and Libya will repeat in Iran.

Baird: “They need to understand who the Iranian people are and what their capacity is. We have to push back against the elite foreign policy view in the West. In the West, regimes start to do crazy stupid things and the type of behavior we’ve seen in this regime. They are not being rational in their final days, and the more we see this, the closer they are to their end.”

The Iranian people have had this aspiration from at least the beginning of the 20th century. How can we convince the West that we can trust them if this regime collapses?

“Those who accommodate Iran's regime take the high ground since they’re speaking out against war. Iran's Gov has waged war on its ppl since 1979 killing tens of thousands. Those who argue for patience/time have no moral highground” @bobtorricelli#FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/bqUuKtouAd

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 11, 2019

Sen. Torricelli: “Tehran is desperately trying to keep the Europeans in a dialogue to keep an economic lifeline. They do not want military confrontation but they are attacking the U.S. drone. These are irrational acts. When the regime becomes this irrational, it means that the sanctions are working. Those irrational actions tell me that we’re reaching a point. If I were Trump or Merkel or Macron, I would press my foot on the pedal because they’re telegraphing that what we are doing is working.”

How do we direct western policy in the right direction? What could we do that we are not doing enough of?

Giuliani: “We had an opportunity a few years ago when the sanctions were working. There are strong indicators that the protests in Iran are becoming political.”

“People have said bad things about you because you support the MEK and Madam Rajavi. What does Washington need to know that this group is entirely misportrayed in Washington?” asked Amb. Bloomfield.

Giuliani: “We need a massive public relations campaign. When people find out what this group really stands for and they get past the allegations, it all starts to make sense. We’ve got the same goal that is a free democratic Iran.”

Is there a potential for Canada, the U.S. and Europe to find common ground on how the regime is gaming the west and escaping accountability?

Baird: “After Iraq, President Obama and other European leaders were so desperate to make diplomacy work rather than military force. What we need is leadership. The weakness in 2009 in not standing up for the Iranian people will go down in history as a lost opportunity. We must do all we can to stand up for what’s right. We need leadership. That is what Madam Rajavi is trying to provide.”

Sen. Torricelli: “The people are realizing that this regime will not moderate. The regime’s behavior is also deteriorating all the time.”

What can we do to show there’s a democratic alternative? How do we find that next gear in Washington?

Giuliani: “In the past year, the regime has become more frightened and irrational. Striking the drone and what they’re doing with the tankers, maybe they want us to attack them and they hope that it would rally the people behind them. We’re so reluctant to take military action, and the world would also react badly, that the mullahs could push us along if they engaged diplomatically. But their poking their finger in our eye.”

“I think the mullahs are going to fall, with these protests going on, the crazy things they are doing. I think they are desperate. What they are doing sounds like a regime that is not thinking in clever ways.”

Let’s assume the Iranians will continue to lash out desperately. What’s your advice in Washington for a legitimate response?

Amb. Joseph: “One of the things we need to do is recognize that revolutions are very messy. What is missing in those revolutions is a viable alternative that would be beneficial not only to the Iranian people but also to the U.S. and the world in general.”

“What we need to do is to think strategically and integrate our tools in an effective strategy. The only solution to the nuclear issue in Iran is regime change and the viable alternative is a key component to that.”

“I spoke to many people in Ashraf. The sacrifices that the members of MEK in Ashraf have endured are many. But they do not have a sense of revenge. That, I think, will deliver the people of Iran their freedom.”

Do we have the ability to select surgical targets as an acceptable response?

Prof. Sheehan: “What unifies us here in this panel and this room is that the mullahs are not irrational when it comes to one thing, which is their fear of the organized resistance. What I wish U.S. officials knew is the democratic aspirations and inclinations of the Iranian people, which run very, very deep. The Iranian people are not the slightest bit irrational. I have come to appreciate how sophisticated and educated they are. I have come to appreciate that the NCRI’s platform and Madam Rajavi’s plan is the future of Iran. That’s the viable alternative that we need Washington to realize.”

People have been in the streets since the late 2017. They are admitting that the MEK and NCRI are organizing the demonstrations. Are we making progress here?

Giuliani: “The fact that the protests continue is a very good sign even though the regime has tried to harm them. The biggest frustration is getting the European governments to do the right thing. Whatever their economic interests and fear, we should all be together in eliminating this regime. We have to keep up the pressure, try to put more sanctions. And the important point is, some of these revolutions have happened without an alternative. Here you do not have to let that happen. We must get Americans to understand that there is an alternative and let them see it.”

On Tuesday, the Washington Times published a special report about last month’s Free Iran Rally in Washington, D.C. where thousands of MEK supporters rallied outside of the State Department to call for the international community to impose sanctions on the Iranian regime and to recognize the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its leader, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, as the democratic alternative to the theocratic dictatorship currently ruling in power.

#WashingtonTimes Special Report on #FreeIran 2019 March by #MEK Supporters
The #Washington Times has published a several page special report about the June 21, 2019 'Free Iran' march at the State Department and the #WhiteHouse in Washington DC. https://t.co/1JysxmK5tj pic.twitter.com/RTmOcpKj6l

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 10, 2019

The report from the Washington Times included excerpts from some of the speeches given and messages sent by American politicians and dignitaries. The following are some of the highlights from their remarks:

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)

“This regime may be on its last legs. It is acting with desperation — desperate to distract people from its own corruption.”

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)

“Your fortitude and courage are inspiring the admiration and support of people around the world. And even through the difficulty and danger of the present, you are already writing the next chapter of human civilization.”

Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.)

“So, keep up your fight. Keep up your resistance. Keep up your hope. Keep up your courage. Your voices for freedom are heard. The American people and America stands behind you and the Iranian people, stronger than ever before.”

Former Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM)

“We need a new regime and that regime is you, the MEK, NCRI, the alternative.”

“What you represent is the future. And you have international support. You’re on the right side of history.”

Former Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ)

“The reality is the mullahs will never change; they will develop nuclear weapons, they will spread terror, they will never let the Iranian people go. We need regime change and we need it now.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

“Thank you for your commitment to support the Iranian people. Your continued perseverance and support of a democratically free Iran is an inspiration to the world.”

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)

“I share your vision for a better future for Iran and all Iranians. A future in which all Iranians live without fear and enjoy a government that represents the will of its citizens, respects human rights, abides by the rule of law and lives in peace and cooperation with its neighbors.”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)

“I am delighted to know that you are standing with my sister Maryam [Rajavi], the president of this great organization who clearly appreciates the need for religious tolerance, separation of Mosque and State, gender equality and, of course, support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and freedom for all Iranians.”

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)

“I full-heartedly support Free Iran’s efforts to peacefully transform Iran into a more just nation that respects the rights of all Iranians. May there one day be free and fair democratic elections in Iran.”

Rep. Van Taylor (R-TX)

“I look forward to a time where we have a regime in Iran that no longer sponsors terror, which no longer oppresses its own citizens and takes away their civil rights.”

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)

“We look forward to the opportunity at some point in the future to make your dreams, your hope for peace more of a reality. When you have leaders who are not all about themselves but are about the people of whom they lead.”

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY)

“As everyday Iranians have expressed outrage over their government’s misplaced priorities, the U.S. should recognize the inherent right of these everyday Iranians and their noble quest for a better future and free, peaceful nation.”

Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX)

“For too long, Iranian citizens have been oppressed by a radical and corrupt government that has prioritized the proliferation of violence and terrorism over the well-being of its own people.”

Staff writer

More than 15,000 MEK supporters gathered at the Brandenburg Gate on Saturday for the Berlin Free Iran Rally. The event included speeches by prominent European and American politicians and human rights activists, Iranian Resistance leaders, and featured a video address from National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) leader Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.

The Associated Press

The rally and subsequent march received widespread attention from media outlets across the world. The Associated Press reported on the rally and Mrs. Rajavi’s speech in support of the ongoing uprising in Iran and the organized resistance movement.

🚨#Berlin🇩🇪
06 July 2019
NO: 3
@AP: Women raise their fists at a rally for the uprising and resistance of Iranian citizens at the Brandenburg Gate. #NCRI#FreeIran#BlacklistRouhani#IStandWithMaryamRajavi @SecPompeo pic.twitter.com/jcqW2D4o2E

— Asef_Bazmandeh (@BazmandehAsef) July 7, 2019

Al Arabiya

The Al Arabiya news network reported that Iranian demonstrators called for regime agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) to be prosecuted and expelled from Germany and the rest of Europe. The thousands of MEK members in attendance also voiced their support for the anti-regime protests currently taking place in Iran.

European Pressphoto Agency

The European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) covered the rally as well, publishing 40 photographs of the event. According to EPA, NCRI supporters from across the world gathered in Berlin to call for regime change and the establishment of democracy in Iran.

Channel One

Germany’s Channel One website wrote that 15,000 Iranians rallied in support of human rights and against executions in Iran. The website added that the Iranian regime has been repeatedly condemned for its high rate of executions.

Die Welt

Germany’s Die Welt website wrote:

“Several thousand people demonstrated in Berlin against the political system in Iran and for human rights. Under the motto: ‘Solidarity with the Citizens’ Protests in Iran – Against the Death Penalty,’ they held a rally at the Brandenburg Gate in the evening. A large banner read: ‘Time for a free Iran’. Many people wore Iranian flags and held large balloons in the national colors green-white-red. The protest march was registered by the exiled Iranian society.

 

“In Iran, the death penalty is imposed for, among other things, murder, rape, armed robbery, and heavier drug trafficking. Iran has been the focus of international criticism for many years due to its numerous executions.”

Elaph

The London-based Elaph news outlet reported on speeches by Mrs. Rajavi and other notable dignitaries. Elaph wrote that Mrs. Rajavi warned Europe against providing incentives to the mullahs’, explaining that doing business with Tehran would only fuel the regime’s malign activities at home and abroad.

Elaph also reported on speeches by other dignitaries, who called on the international community to end Iran’s exportation of terrorism and sectarian violence in the Middle East.

Among the prominent politicians and human rights activists who gave speeches at the Free Iran Rally were former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Columbian-French politician Ingrid Betancourt, and German MP Thomas Nord.

Orient TV

Demonstrators expressed solidarity with the Iranian people’s uprising and the MEK’s Resistance Units at the Free Iran Rally in Berlin, according to a report from the Syrian opposition-affiliated news network Orient TV.

Staff writer

 

Mohammed Mohaddessin, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), gave the closing remarks at Berlin’s Free Iran Rally on Saturday. In his fiery address, he saluted the MEK and Iranian Resistance for their determination, urged the European Union to expel agents of the MOIS, and challenged proponents of the policy of appeasement.

“Your presence in this weather shows your great determination for the downfall of this regime, for the overthrow of this regime. I salute all of you,” Mr. Mohaddessin said to the 15,000 MEK supporters gathered in the rain.

Addressing #Berlin rally: Your strong presence here today, under this shower is a sign of your determination for #IranRegimeChange. It shows that the #Iran-ian regime has no legitimacy because you are the voice of the Iranian people& voice their quest for a #FreeIran. pic.twitter.com/jQdTv0IYEH

— Mohammad Mohaddessin (@Mohaddessin) July 6, 2019

Mohaddessin vowed that the leaders of the Iranian Resistance would not give up or “give a single inch” until Iran was free.

“The world must hear our voice. This regime lacks any legitimacy. You are the true representatives of the Iranian people. The people of Iran cannot come to the streets and show their objections, but you are representing those people of Iran and their will for the downfall of the regime and the establishment of a free and democratic Iran under the leadership of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.”

Expel Agents of the MOIS

Mr. Mohaddessin also stressed that the European Union must take decisive action against the regime’s Ministry of Security and Intelligence (MOIS) agents, warning that not to do so would make them complicit in the regime’s misdeeds.

“The mercenaries of the Iranian regime and the agents of the MOIS must be put on trial and expelled from Europe,” Mohaddessin said. “They are the cause of instability and terror in Europe. They must be expelled,” he added.

Finally, to those who under the guise of opposing the war, are trying to rescue &prolong the lifetime of the ruling theocracy in #Iran, we say, the only solution to end the war, violence, and crisis in the region is #IranRegimeChange

— Mohammad Mohaddessin (@Mohaddessin) July 6, 2019

 

No Justification for Appeasement

Mohaddessin concluded by addressing those who use their fear of war to justify appeasement of the mullahs. “The time of these games has ended,” he said. “The only true way is the overthrow of the regime for the Iranian people and the region.”

.@iran_policy Berlin – Brandenburger Tor – Free Iran Rally, 6 July 2019 #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #BlackListRouhani https://t.co/hstm33de6E

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) July 6, 2019

Staff writer