On Tuesday, March 12, the US House Representative’s Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee heard comments as part of its hearing on Financial Services and General Government. In the hearing, the US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Sigal Mandelker, broached the subject of the Iranian regime’s state-sponsored terrorism.

"We have made clear that those who engage in activities that run afoul of U.S. sanctions risk severe consequences, including losing access to the U.S. financial system and the ability to do business with the United States.”#Iranhttps://t.co/u24jOwIO9j

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 15, 2019

She told the committee, “Iran is the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism,” adding, “we are continuing to maximize economic pressure on the regime to combat its weapons proliferation, terrorism, and regionally destabilizing activities.”

She cited her department’s efforts to establish Strategic Impact Units (SIUs) dedicated to fighting the greatest threats to US stability as a central strategy of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI). The six impact units pertain to human rights and corruption, virtual currency, Iran, ISIS, Russia, and the North Korean threat.

These units work with experts to manage and tackle the individual threats in line with broader strategic and national interests.

Mandelker also outlined another TFI mechanism to combat the Iran threat. She said the TFI had established a fusion cell that would operate across all the other agencies to explore “new ways to take action against Iran and Iranian-backed illicit actors.”

The TFI has also made strides in its counterterrorism efforts. Its Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) is working with other players in the Gulf, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to combat the financing of terror.

A Coordinated US Response to the Iranian Threat

Mandelker’s remarks are part of a wider crackdown on the Iranian threat since Donald Trump entered the White House. Last November, economic sanctions were reintroduced against the Iranian regime, including regime-linked financial institutions and firms.

Its subsequent investigations have proven that the Iranian Central Bank has helped finance Assad’s regime in Syria, and the Hizballah and other terror groups. A US investigation also found that the Iranian regime has facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars to Russia in exchange for oil deliveries to Syria.

Mandelker offered some insight into where US sanctions would go next. “We are also targeting Iran’s use of its commercial aviation sector for illicit purposes,” she said. She singled out Mahan Air as one such provider.

Mahan Air has been accused of transporting Iranian IRGC and Quds forces weapons across the Middle East. “We are urging countries to deny landing rights to the airline,” Mandelker added.

Her comments come at an important time. The People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) and its international allies have been calling on the European heads of state to sever economic ties with the Iranian regime. Mandelker echoed  What MEK has been warning about and described the risk associated with sustained business ties with the Iranian dictatorship.

“we have engaged extensively with European countries on the significant risks of launching a special purpose vehicle for a country that has repeatedly failed to adopt international AML/CFT safeguards,” she said.

She concluded, “We have made clear that those who engage in activities that run afoul of U.S. sanctions risk severe consequences, including losing access to the U.S. financial system and the ability to do business with the United States.” Europe would be well-placed to take note.

Read related stories about the Iranian regime’s terrorist activities in Europe:

Berlin Conference: New Information Revealed on Assadi’s Role Within the Iranian Regime’s Network of Terror in Europe

The plight of Iran’s economy under the rule of the mullahs is not a new issue. The Iranian people have been struggling with this problem for many years. The Iranian regime has plundered property and resources from Iranian institutions, funneled money to terrorist parties across the Middle East, and spent astronomical sums on missile development. Under this regime, poverty, addiction and corruption have been institutionalized in all aspects of society as the Iranian people struggle under the weight of economic collapse.

 A Population Struggling to Make Ends Meet

For many years, millions of Iranian men and women have been living under the poverty line. More than a third of Iran’s 80 million citizens live below the international poverty line. Selling kidneys to survive has become common. Walls in Tehran bear advertisements for body parts for sale as the underground organ market preys on Iranian’s desperation.

The video showing walls of #Tehran’s streets filled with hand written graffiti ads for body parts sales south of the Firouzgar General Hospital.
The person taking the video says that the ads include the sale of kidneys and liver.#40YearsOfFailure https://t.co/AD6BWauwt8

— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) February 27, 2019

Iran’s children are dying from curable diseases because of a lack of medical facilities. Every year, 10,000 Iranian infants die from conditions related to poverty. The adults in families do not far much better. Men and women commit suicide as the stress of the inability to provide for their children with basics essentials become too much.

In the male-dominated society created by the anti-female ideology of the mullahs, unemployment and financial insecurity drives women to prostitution rings in an attempt to earn a living. With unemployment topping, 25% among young people,  even educated Iranians are turning to drugs and narcotics at an unprecedented rate as addiction levels soar across all strata of Iranian society.

Gross Economic Mismanagement

Despite the population drowning in poverty, the criminal leaders of the regime are wasting all the country’s financial, human and natural resources.

The mullahs' unbridled corruption continues to drive the Iranian people's lives into poverty:

Due to major flour shortages & rising bread prices, more bakeries are closing in numerous cities across #Iran. pic.twitter.com/QLG5p80oZK

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) February 21, 2019

Every year, the regime squanders US$15-20 billion on financing militias propping up the Assad regime in Syria. A further US$25-30 billion is spent on the regime’s missile development programs and the pursuit of its nuclear ambitions. It also sends around US$900 million to terror groups abroad each year, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad groups.

Empowered by International Indifference

Despite the regime’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East and blatant disregard for the economic crisis at home, the international community adopted a policy of appeasement towards the mullahs. Instead of becoming an international pariah, successive European and US governments made deals with the regime, like the Iran nuclear deal, which unlocked vast sums of financial aid. This provided the mullahs with a steady flow of international cash to continue financing terror and civil war across the Middle East.

Thanks to the relentless efforts of the National Council of Resistance (NCRI), led by Ms. Maryam Rajavi‘s leadership and a new era of Western consciousness, this policy of appeasement is coming to an end. Current US President Donald Trump has re-imposed economic sanctions against the regime ad is pressuring his European counterparts to follow suit.

The Iranian regime attempts to blame the domestic economic crisis on these sanctions. It claims that the misfortune Iranians face is a direct result of US aggression and economic manipulation. But this is nothing but a bunch of lies. Iranians know that Iran’s capital is spent on terrorism and the regime’s warmongering across the region.

But the question is: Is there a clear future for Iran and the people of Iran?

Iranian Determination for a Brighter Future

The answer is yes.  The Iranian resistance, the MEK has been instrumental in showing the world that Iranians have had enough of the mullahs’ repression and economic irresponsibility. Insurgent combat cells have sprung up inside and non-cooperation and civil disobedience movements are gaining traction.

#Iran’s crumbling economy cannot be saved unless by toppling the regime.
Expanding the protests to bring down the corrupt regime of theft and destruction is the only solution.#IranSanctions #IranRegimeChange #FreeIran2018 pic.twitter.com/oAQLa2Fj8V

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) November 7, 2018

Daily protests and strikes across Iran’s cities are indicative of huge changes taking place in Iran’s political and social spectrum. These changes pose a very real threat to the future existence of the Iranian regime and will eventually destroy the foundation of this medieval regime and bring it crashing down. The people of Iran will soon celebrate their freedom from clandestine tyranny in the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities. Blessed are those who are on the path to democracy and freedom of Iran, along with the people of Iran, and its Resistance.

Staff Writer

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a Spanish professor of atomic and nuclear physics and a former vice-president of the European Parliament, published an op-ed for the Eurasia Review. His op-ed highlights the Iranian regime’s obsession with the democratic opposition and the extraordinary lengths it will go to discredit and vilify them in the international media.

New Propaganda Reflects Iran’s Old Obsession With Democratic Opposition – OpEd https://t.co/bIq3k1hR6y

— Eurasia Review (@EurasiaReview) February 28, 2019

His op-ed comes just weeks after German magazine, Der Spiegel, published a hit piece against the largest democratic opposition group, the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK). Vidal-Quadras described how the magazine “repeated a laundry list of lies and baseless accusations against the group’s “war footing” and its treatment of more than 2,000 members now living in Albania.”

A Demonization Campaign Across International Media

Vidal-Quadras expressed concern that those reading Der Spiegel’s article who are not familiar with the Iranian regime and its blatant attempts to discredit pro-democracy groups in Iran and abroad would fall victim to believing the regime’s lies. “They do not realize that every item on the list can be traced back to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and other purveyors of Iranian propaganda,” he said. Since the regime’s inception, the mullahs have devoted time and resources to spreading falsehoods and lies about the MEK and its members.

The regime has systematically rounded up and killed members of the MEK. In 1988 alone, the regime killed around 30,000 MEK members, burying them in unmarked mass graves. But according to Vidal-Quadras, events like the 1988 massacre “only scratch the surface of the Iranian regime’s violence against political dissenters.” In total, more than 100,000 members of the Iranian opposition have met their end at the hands of the regime. Many were tortured in custody, then hanged. In many cases, they were assassinated by agents while living in exile abroad.

The regime has also coordinated terrorist attacks against the MEK. Last year, a Belgian-Iranian couple was arrested while traveling to the MEK’s Grand Gathering event in Paris with homemade explosives. The regime also coordinated terror plots against the MEK in Albania and the US.

The MEK: A Threat to the Regime’s Future in Power

Vidal-Quadras explains the regime’s obsession with the democratic opposition as the result of a deep concern over the capabilities of the MEK. The group has drawn a great deal of international support. At its annual Grand Gathering event, it draws crowds of more than 100,000 supporters and high-profile political figures from across the globe, including Trump’s personal lawyer and former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani.

Within Iran, the MEK has a vast network of resistance cells across Iran’s towns and cities. The group was responsible for coordinating many of the protests that quickly spread across Iran in 2018. Its groups counter the regime’s lies, oppression, violence, and human rights abuses wherever they occur and enjoy widespread popularity across the Iranian population, especially among young Iranians.

Vidal-Quadras concludes, “in contrast to the picture that Tehran has tried to paint of the Iranian democratic opposition, the NCRI (and MEK) President Maryam Rajavi has outlined a 10-point plan for the country’s future.” In her plan, Maryam Rajavi provides a detailed roadmap for the country’s transition to democracy, including the holding of free elections, respect for human rights, the separation of religion and state, and a commitment to gender and ethnic equality.

Finally, Vidal-Quadras calls on governments across the world to lend their support. “It is time for our governments to recognize the NCRI as the democratic alternative to the ruling religious dictatorship in Iran.”

Staff Writer

On Monday night Iranian regime Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced his resignation in an Instagram post, which read, in part: “I apologize for my inability to continue serving and all the shortcomings during my tenure.”

Zarif’s resignation made headlines around the world within hours of his Instagram post, and regime state-run media outlets rushed to confirm the story.

While #Zarif seems 2b playing resignation ridicules due to unsolvable crisis&infightings w/in the criminal regime,#Iranian supporters of #MEK, protest his planned speech at #HRC40(@UNHumanRights) in #Geneva. #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/CMPWdySm2x

— Ka Veh (@kaveh20092009) February 26, 2019

The Fars news agency confirmed Zarif’s resignation in an interview with their foreign affairs reporter, who said that “an informed source close to the Foreign Minister confirmed this report.”

Zarif’s departure is the latest in a series of international crises facing the regime. The re-imposition of sanctions following the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal has further weakened the already struggling Iranian economy, the regime recently failed to meet the terms necessary to retain its membership in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the European Union has taken a series of measures to sanction Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) agents and expel regime diplomats over the past year because of their involvement in terrorist activities.

Munich Security Conference

Zarif has recently come under pressure for his role in the regime’s terrorist plots and meddling in the Middle East. Earlier this month, world leaders from sixty countries gathered in Warsaw to discuss Iran’s role in fostering instability in the Middle East. Days later Zarif lost his temper when asked a series of tough questions while attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

 

Zarif, who was clearly rattled by the presence of hundreds of MEK protesters calling for his ejection from the conference, was unable to coherently answer questions about the regime’s terrorist plots on European soil in 2018. Instead, he chose to vilify the MEK: the intended victims of the regime’s plots.

Iranians in #Munich tell #MSC2019, Javad #Zarif doesn't represent the ppl of #Iran; he represents a vile & decaying terrorist regime.
"No to Appeasement, Yes to Regime Change."#IStandWithMaryamRajavi@MunSecConf @ischinger @USADarFarsi @RichardGrenell @eu_eeas @GermanyDiplo @VP pic.twitter.com/MmSKB7jdmt

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 17, 2019

“The United States is listening to the wrong folks… what is clear is that there are people in Europe who have been on Europe’s terrorism list up until 2012,” Zarif said. “What happened all of a sudden that they were withdrawn from the terrorism list?… In 1998, the U.S. put the MEK on the terrorism list and in 2012 they took them off the terrorism list.”

 

Zarif continued his off-topic rant with angry words directed at high-ranking U.S. officials. “[U.S. President Donald Trump’s lawyer] Rudy Giuliani spoke yesterday for the MEK. [U.S. National Security Advisor] John Bolton has spoken for the MEK. John Bolton is angry because he promised the MEK that he would celebrate in 2019 in Iran with them. They are still in Paris,” he added.

MEK Protests

Zarif’s unhinged behavior at the Munich Conference was most likely a contributing factor to his sudden resignation, but his tantrum in Germany was reflective of the regime’s frustration with international relations. When Zarif arrived at the Munich Security Conference, he was greeted by hundreds of MEK supporters holding signs and banners calling him a terrorist and demanding that he be expelled from the conference. They chanted, “Terrorist Zarif, out of Munich!” and “Kick Javad Zarif out!”

MEK Supporters Protest for Zarif’s Expulsion from Munich Security Conference

As a member of the regime’s Supreme National Security Council, Zarif plays a key role in all decisions regarding terrorist attacks and assassinations. The MEK protesters in Munich urged the international community to expel Zarif because of his terrorist actions and to recognize the right of the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their oppressors.

 

The MEK previously held protests this month in Paris and at the Warsaw Conference. All three protests were attended by hundreds of members of the Iranian diaspora and included well-respected speakers who called for the international community to recognize the right of the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs’ regime and establish a free Iran.

 

This series of large and well-organized protests across Europe in such a short period of time has left the regime angry and afraid. The mullahs already see the MEK as an existential threat, so the presence of an organized resistance that can follow international conferences around the world has become a thorn in the side of regime leaders. The Munich protesters appear to have caused Zarif to have a total meltdown. The Iranian Resistance grows stronger by the day; the regime grows weaker. Freedom is close at hand.

Staff Writer

In the wake of the Warsaw conference earlier this month, there have been signs the world is beginning to take note to the Iranian threat. The conference, organized by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saw 65 governments come together from across the globe to explore ways of applying pressure to the Iranian regime in response to its destabilizing activities across the Middle East and rampant human rights abuses.

Alongside the conference, the Iranian resistance held vast rallies condemning the regime and outlining its plan for bringing democracy to Iran. The rallies garnered international attention and brought an increasing number of high-profile political figures into the ranks of its supporters.

One such supporter, Senator Robert Torricelli who spoke at the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran’s (MEK’s) rally in Warsaw, appeared on INTV, the television station run by the Iranian resistance, to discuss the importance of a united international coalition against Iran.

“The dictatorship in Iran is not simply a regional problem,” he said, “the terrorist activities of the regime in Tehran is a global concern.” The Iranian regime intensified its terror activities abroad in 2018. A string of high-profile terror attacks saw the regime plan bombings in Albania, the US, and Paris, as well as a number of assassination attempts in both the Netherlands and Denmark.

Speaking about the Warsaw conference, Torricelli went on, “I think it would have been a mistake to just bring together regional nations. It was important to have a global look… about first containing and eventually eliminating this regime.”

While the Iranian regime’s destabilizing activities are felt most ardently in the Middle East, the threat of Iranian state-sponsored terrorism poses is not limited to Middle Eastern nations.

A Growing International Interest in Regime Change?

Torricelli also seemed to acknowledge a growing appetite for Iranian regime change in embassies across the globe. “I don’t have any doubt that the United States was talking about regime change,” he said. “My guess is a lot of other nations that may have ambassadors in Tehran also support regime change but they’re more careful with their words.

Demonstrating the need for regime change, Torricelli spoke of the widespread suffering the clerical regime has caused among the Iranian population. “We’ve lost a generation of Iranian people,” he said, “generations have been born who’ve never had a free government. Kids going to school and having no jobs. Children without enough food. People can’t speak their minds, really choose their leaders,” he said.

Senator Robert Torricelli at the Free Iran rally in Poland#WarsawSummit#FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/pQvcERTvv5

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

He also acknowledged the growing calls for regime change among Iranians, both within Iran, living under the weight of regime rule, and abroad. “Look at the streets of the cities and towns of Iran. Look at the young people. Look at the universities. Look at those who are standing up,” he said. “Look at the people who put their lives on the line. They’re not thousands, they’re hundreds of thousands of Iranians around the world, who with the right government would come back and rebuild Iran.”

He concluded, “you look at those young people. There’s your leaders. You see the conference we do in Paris every year (the MEK’s annuals Grand Gathering event). Mrs. Rajavi (president-elect of the Iranian opposition) speaks. Look at her and those people around her. There’s your leaders.”

Staff Writer

Struan Stevenson, a former Scottish member of the European Parliament (MEP) and the coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change, penned an op-ed for UPI. The piece, entitled ‘Europe’s Instex is a failed attempt at appeasing Iranian regime’, criticizes Europe’s continued policy of appeasement towards Iran and demands a firmer approach to the Iranian regime.

You can read my new article in @UPI:
Europe's #INSTEX is a failed attempt at appeasing #Iranian regime & now seems destined to meet the same fate as Chamberlain's infamous "peace in our time."#Iran @SecPompeo @AmbJohnBolton @Maryam_Rajavi #MEK https://t.co/Zbnt6p78nS

— STRUAN (@STRUANSTEVENSON) February 15, 2019

He criticized Europeo for pursuing a “sanctions-busting policy” rather than applying pressure to the Iranian leadership. Stevenson writes, “on Jan. 31, the foreign secretaries of France, Germany and the United Kingdom shamefully announced a deal to help companies that wish to continue trading with Iran to avoid American sanctions.”

The three European nations will channel Iranian imports and exports through Instex, a platform designed to bypass US sanctions against Iran.

Tightening the Screws

Following evidence that the mullahs are breaching the terms of the Iran nuclear deal negotiated under Barack Obama in 2015, President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA shortly after his election and re-introduced sanctions. The Iranian regime has cheated “on the terms of the deal, oppressing its own citizens and waging proxy wars throughout the Middle East,” Stevenson writes.

Choosing to ignore the rampant human rights abuses and financing of international militia groups and state-sponsored terrorism, the European Union has prioritized its own lucrative commercial contracts and explored methods of bypassing the US sanctions. “Instex was the result.”

Europe has had its finger burnt with policies of appeasement before. “Neville Chamberlain’s attempts to appease Adolf Hitler can attest,” Stevenson writes. Recent assassinations and foiled terror attacks on European soil have served to demonstrate how dangerous the Iranian regime is. Appeasing the regime and continuing to provide it with willing trading partners is “incomprehensible in such circumstances.”

Invoking US Ire

Europe’s decision did not please the White House. The US government warned that any company that wanted to continue trading with Iran would be excluded from US markets, forcing many companies to cut ties with Iran out of fear they would invoke the wrath of the US government.

Many EU nations declined to provide Instex with premises for its headquarters, fearing a similar fate. “Finally, France stepped into the breach, offering Paris as the Instex base,” Stevenson writes.

There are limits on what trade Instex can facilitate. The platform can only trade in goods that are not covered by US sanctions. It cannot, for example, purchase Iranian oil, which was the regime’s most lucrative export.

The editor in chief of Keyhan Daily, one of the regime’s many mouthpieces, lamented this decision. “The most humiliating aspect of Instex is that in return for our oil income we are only permitted to purchase food and medicine,” he said.

The Iranian opposition, including the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) and the leader of Iran opposition, Maryam Rajavi are calling for an end to Europe’s dangerous policy of appeasement. They held a large rally in Warsaw last week which included high-profile speakers including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. At the rally the MEK and its supporters could be heard chanting, “appeasement no; regime change yes.”

#Iranians will gather in #Warsaw on February 13, to express their outrage over the #HumanRightsViolations in #Iran& to voice support for the #Iranian ppl's quest for Freedom. Join us at Stadion PGE Narodowy, Gate2 starting at 12:30 PM(GMT+1) #WarsawSummit #IStandWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/aGKQk5Kqjv

— Ka Veh (@kaveh20092009) February 11, 2019

Stevenson concludes, “Instex seemed, like Chamberlain’s piece of paper, to be destined for the trash can; another failed attempt at appeasement.

Staff Writer

On Sunday, MEK supporters held a rally outside of the Munich Security Conference in Germany to protest regime Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s presence at the conference. The protesters called for Zarif to be expelled from the conference and for an end to the policy of appeasement toward the mullahs’ regime.

Videos and images posted on social media show protesters marching in the streets of Munich chanting, “Zarif is a terrorist!”, Kick Javad Zarif out!”, “No to appeasement, yes to resistance!”, “Terrorist Zarif out of Munich!”, and “Democracy, freedom with Maryam Rajavi!”

Iranians in #Munich tell #MSC2019, Javad #Zarif doesn't represent the ppl of #Iran; he represents a vile & decaying terrorist regime.
"No to Appeasement, Yes to Regime Change."#IStandWithMaryamRajavi@MunSecConf @ischinger @USADarFarsi @RichardGrenell @eu_eeas @GermanyDiplo @VP pic.twitter.com/MmSKB7jdmt

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 17, 2019

MEK supporters also carried a banner reading, “Munich Security Conference is no Place for Terrorists: Kick Javad Zarif Out! World Peace & Security Requires Regime Change in Iran,” and “Down with Khamenei and Rouhani.” Other protesters held banners proclaiming that Iran as the number one state sponsor of terrorism and the primary cause of instability in the region.

2018 Terrorist Plots against the MEK

In June 2018, an Iranian couple was arrested in Belgium with 500 grams of TATP explosives en route to the annual gathering of the Iranian Resistance in Paris, which was attended by tens of thousands of MEK members, as well as dozens of high-ranking international lawmakers and dignitaries, many of whom later filed lawsuits against the Iranian regime for the attempted attack on their lives. German authorities arrested Iranian regime diplomat Assadollah Assadi later that day for personally delivering the explosives to the couple. Assadi is currently standing trial in Belgium for masterminding the terrorist plot.

An investigation by French intelligence later concluded “without any doubt” that the attack had been orchestrated by the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. In January of this year, the European Union sanctioned the MOIS and two of its agents for their role in some of the regime’s terrorist plots against the MEK on European soil in 2018.

Zarif’s Culpability

The MEK has called on the European Union to close the Iranian regime’s embassies and expel agents of the MOIS and the Quds Force. It has also asked for the United States and the E.U. to add the MOIS and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to their terrorist lists.

The MEK protesters objected to Zarif’s presence at the conference because, as a member of the regime’s Supreme National Security Council, he has played a key role in the regime’s acts of terrorism.

#MEK supporters march on the streets of #Munich to denounce Javad #Zarif's presence at #MSC2019 #IStandWithMaryamRajavi #Iran #FreeIranhttps://t.co/4SMolERcVU pic.twitter.com/BUF4xXZaPQ

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 17, 2019

In November 2018, Zarif told the regime’s Parliament that he takes orders directly from regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei: “We are not a system in which people can act on their own,” he said. “We cannot do anything in this country without having to report it. … It is not true that we acted against the will of the Supreme Leader,” Zarif said in comments carried on State television.

The MEK protesters in Munich asked the participants at the Security Conference to take action against the Iranian regime for its terrorist activities. They also urged the international community to recognize the right of the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs’ theocratic regime and create a free Iran.

Staff Writer

On Wednesday, the MEK supporters held a rally in Warsaw condemning the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses towards its own people and standing in solidarity with the Iranian people by calling for the international community to recognize the people’s right to overthrow the oppressive theocratic regime currently in power.

MEK Holds Rally in Warsaw to Mark Four Decades of Regime Atrocities Prior to Warsaw Summit

The rally was planned to coincide with the beginning of the Warsaw Conference, which is taking place February 13-14. The primary focus of the international gathering of political leaders is to discuss Iran’s role in the future of Middle Eastern policy. The Iranian Resistance would like to make it clear that the old policy of appeasement has not been effective in containing the Iranian regime’s threat and the mullahs’ regime is past reform. The NCRI, led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, offers a 10-point plan for Iran’s future, including separation of religion and State, gender equality, and a non-nuclear Iran.

#MEK supporters march on the streets of Warsaw in solidarity with the regime change protests in #Iran. They urge the #WarsawSummit to recognize right of Iran's ppl to overthrow mullahs & establish a free republic.#FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi@USAdarFarsi @SecPompeo @VP @USAmbPoland pic.twitter.com/u4DHwWJBQD

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 13, 2019

A variety of highly-respected dignitaries, politicians, and representatives of the Iranian community gave speeches at the event, and then a large crowd of demonstrators marched on the streets of Warsaw, chanting, “Appeasement, no; regime change, yes!”

The Speakers

The following are some highlights from Wednesday’s speakers:

Rudy Giuliani, Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump and former New York City Mayor: “Iran is the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world. We should not be doing business with a regime that supports terror. The Warsaw Summit should be focused on how we change Iran. How do we change their behavior against their people. The last two Free Iran conferences I attended, the regime tried to bomb them; the last one was in Paris.

.@RudyGiuliani: We have seen regime change work & fail. In #Iran's case we don’t have to worry. There is a viable alternative. Maryam Rajavi's 10-point plan stands for a #FreeIran w/ a democratically-elected Gov instead of a tyrant/monarch.#FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi #WarsawSummit pic.twitter.com/EFJHIw2WUV

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 13, 2019

“The Iranian people have a right to freedom and democracy. They have a right to be free. We will soon achieve the dream of seeing Maryam Rajavi in a free Iran. We have the answer to who will be the alternative to the regime. Maryam Rajavi has laid out a ten-point program which we should support.”

Zbigniew Cichoń, Polish Senator from the PIS party: “Thousands of Iranians are in jail for demanding their rights. Even the lawyers who defend them end up in jail. All Poles are in solidarity with you.”

Marcin Święcicki, Member of the Polish Parliament, former Mayor of Warsaw, and a former Minister for Foreign Economic Relations: “The NCRI movement has a ten-point plan which among other things calls for abolishing the death penalty. We want to see the establishment of peace and democracy in Iran.

Mr Marcin Swiecicki, MP, former mayor of Warsaw: We had to fight for a long time for Poland to enjoy independence, democracy and human rights, where as in #Iran the fight is still ongoing.#FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi#IStandWithMaryamRajavi#WarsawSummit @USADarFarsi @SecPompeo pic.twitter.com/uEEzqLfy7Q

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 13, 2019

Ryszard Majer, Polish Senator and Vice President of the Foreign Affairs Committee from the PIS party: “We respect freedom and solidarity. Are those values important to you? Yes, every nation needs freedom and solidarity, freedom to decide for themselves. Also in Iran freedom for Iranian people is necessary for the entire world.

Mr Ryszard Majer: Freedom, solidarity and respect are important for all of us. I have met people who believe respect for life, freedom & solidarity are not merely empty words. #FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi#IStandWithMaryamRajavi#WarsawSummit#FreeIran@USADarFarsi @SecPompeo pic.twitter.com/QpMin1ooyD

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 13, 2019

“As a Pole, I understand this. For many years there was no freedom of assembly, no freedom of speech, for all of those who wished for change. Today I admire all of the efforts of Maryam Rajavi who works for solidarity and well-being in Iran.”

13:00: Robert Torricelli, former United States Senator (D): “We have tried to negotiate with Tehran. There have been negotiations with Tehran for 40 years. But they answered with terrorism. The lives of the thousands of martyrs laying in their graves are a testimony that this regime it not negotiable.”

.@bobtorricelli: Thousands of Iranians who at the risk of their lives have taken to the streets of #Iran, they are your choice, thousands of ppl of the diaspora across Europe and America, they are a choice, the NCRI is a choice, Mrs. Rajavi is a choice. #FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi pic.twitter.com/7xICR8DSMH

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 13, 2019

“A government that murders its opponents, cannot be trusted to respect the nuclear agreement. a murderous regime cannot be a trustable regime.”

“Those nations who believe we have no other choice than to accommodate Iran, we say to them: We are the choice! The democratic alternative. The thousands and thousands of Iranians who have risked their lives in the streets of Iran, they are the choice. The NCRI is the choice, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi is the choice.”

13:05: Zbigniew Cichoń, member of the Polish Senate from the PIS party: “As a nation, you have a right to fight. This is a dream that will soon become true. It will become true because our dream in Poland became true.”

Zbigniew Chichon:
The regime has executed so many people that questions its legitimity
I hope your dream of freedom will come true soon. Long live free and happy Iranians.#FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi#PolandSummit#IStandWithMaryamRajavi#WarsawSummit#FreeIran@USADarFarsi pic.twitter.com/CewURHwP0Q

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 13, 2019

“I believe very soon Iran will become a free state, a state of rule of law, not the rule of a few individuals against the people.”

13:10: Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Prime Minister of Algeria: “The MEK is the only force capable of freeing Iran. If we love peace and stability in this region, we need to eliminate the threat of Iran’s regime. And in order to do that, the only option is to support the Iranian Resistance led by Maryam Rajavi. I hope and pray to God that next year we can hold this meeting in Tehran.”

Sid Ahmed Ghozali – Former Prime Minister of Algeria
It is a privilege for me to be here with you my Iranian friends who are in the resistance & who have sacrificed 10s of thousands in the path 4 freedom.#FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi#WarsawSummit#FreeIranRally @USADarFarsi pic.twitter.com/kMBMleiU9y

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 13, 2019

Javad Dabiran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI): “Forty years after the downfall of the Shah’s dictatorship, it is time for the overthrow of the mullahs. This regime has brought nothing but misery and corruption and death and killings. So, it is time they go. They have only faced one strong opposition, that of the MEK (PMOI).”

@JavadDabiran: 40 years ago, Iranian people’s uprising resulted in fall of Shah’s regime. At that time people wanted freedom and democracy. Today, these are still the aspirations of the people#FreeIranWithMaryamRajavi#PolandSummit#IStandWithMaryamRajavi#FreeIran@USADarFarsi pic.twitter.com/T4UWFBckPW

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 13, 2019

Malieh Malek Mohammadi, a representative of the Iranian communities in Europe: “It’s the era of uprisings and of the overthrow of the mullahs. This opposition, the MEK, has more than forty years of experience. Time has come for payback for the dictators in Iran. Democracy and freedom will come to Iran.”

Matin Doustmohammadi, a representative of the Iranian youth associations in Europe: “We had 40 years of repression. But I am proud that in these 40 years, the MEK and their supporters continued their Resistance. I salute the MEK’s “Resistance Units” inside Iran that are leading all the protests.
“The regime is not paying any price for its crimes. If the Western government want to respect their own laws, they should arrest the regime’s agents and put the IRGC on the blacklist and expel the diplomat-terrorists of this regime.”

 Homayoun Sim-Laqaee, a representative of the Iranian communities in Europe: “The fake ‘alternatives’ to the regime that have been formed by the Iranian intelligence ministry only aim to discredit the MEK, but they will not lead anywhere.

“The time has come for the downfall of the mullahs with the leadership of Mr. Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance.”

Staff Writer

 

 

In an op-ed for UPI, Professor Ivan Sascha Sheehan, the Executive Director of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Baltimore, the leading academic assure the United States that it should not fear regime change in Iran.

Professor Sheehan writes, “when the United States hosts a conference on the Middle East in Warsaw, Poland, this month, it will be an opportunity to set Iran on a different path.” The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arranged the upcoming conference to explore strategies aimed at curbing the Iranian regime’s threat.

The conference “will be focused on confronting Iran’s regional influence and its belligerence,” Sheehan writes. Although not explicitly stated by Trump, Sheehan suspects that the president’s goal would be to see regime change in Iran and the arrival of democracy.

There is no call for military intervention

However, one concern for Western heads of state is that regime change would prompt a situation where the US and Europe would become militarily entangled in Iranian affairs. Sheehan argues that these fears “are not warranted.”

The Iranian diaspora in the #US call on the upcoming Ministerial Conference in #Warsaw to support the #Iranian people’s uprising.https://t.co/QjM5TVDlE4 #IranProtests #PolandSummit #FreeIran #MEK pic.twitter.com/ldqhUrOuGi

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) February 7, 2019

“The Iranian opposition’s leader, Mayam Rajavi, has long advocated for the international community’s support for a free Iran, and she has done so while emphasizing that this support ought to consist only of political advocacy, economic sanctions, and diplomatic pressure,” Sheehan explains.

The Iranian opposition and the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), therefore rejects military interference from Western governments. It maintains that the Iranian people are the key to regime change.

The wheels of regime change are in motion

14 months ago, at the end of 2017, Iranians began taking to the streets to call for regime change in what would quickly become vast nationwide protests. The protests, in December 2017 and January 2018, rapidly spread to all 31 of Iran’s provinces and united all segments of Iranian society under the banner of regime change.

“Less than two weeks later, as regime authorities struggled to stifle the movement, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attributed it to the MEK”, Sheehan writes.

MEK-Iran: Our Iran Released Summary of 2018 Protest Movement

The MEK has been instrumental in coordinating anti-regime protests across Iran. Units of MEK members are active in all of Iran’s cities, organizing and advertising protests and opposing the regime’s violence everywhere it is on display.

President Trump has publicly expressed support for the Iranian people. In a speech at the UN, he called them the longest-suffering victims of the regime. The only thing that remains to be seen is in what capacity the US will lend them its support.

Building an anti-regime coalition is the first step

With US sanctions in place, the first step for the US is convincing the EU government to follow suit. Europeans have been reluctant to acknowledge the Iranian threat. Following Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, many European governments continued to try and salvage the deal. Many European companies and nations are also exploring ways to bypass Iranian sanctions.

OPINION:"All signs indicate that the time of the #mullahs is over. The #Warsaw Conference must therefore make a decisive and binding decision against the regime in order to contribute to #peace and security in the #MiddleEast." — @GiulioTerzi writes https://t.co/Rx6h5Bt8ze pic.twitter.com/BHxecYsxjb

— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) February 10, 2019

But “following the revelation of multiple Iranian terror threats directed at Western interests, accompanied by Tehran’s open rejection of a U.N. Security Council resolution concerning ballistic missile tests”, Europe is beginning to come around. It recently announced EU sanctions against a branch of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). However, this should just be the start.

Sheehan writes, “the United States will have to persuade its allies to line up behind a new vision for Iran, specifically the vision of a free, democratic and modern society that rejects dictatorship.”

He concludes, “if this can be accomplished… without requiring direct intervention by the United States or other powers, then the relevant policies should be an easy sell at the Warsaw conference.”

Staff writer

On Monday, February 4th, Alejo Vidal Quadras, the former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Louis Freeh, the former director of the FBI, Farzin Hashemi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Giulio Terzi, the former foreign minister of Italy, Yves Bonnet, the former director of France’s DST, and Claude Moniquet, a counter-terrorism and Middle East specialist, attended the International Conference in Brussels to discuss the Iranian threat.

Vidal Quadras opened the conference with a brief on the Iranian regime’s terrorist activities in Europe and the US, particularly the recent terrorist activities targeting the MEK. He described how those accused of plotting terrorist acts abroad have close ties to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and regularly accompanied the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to meetings.

The Former Vice-President of the European Parliament criticized the EU’s policy of appeasement and asked, “why not sanction the regime’s supreme leader who endorses all of the terrorist operations?”

Intl Conf- @VidalQuadras: Why not sanction the whole Intelligence Ministry #BlackListMOIS ? Why doesn’t the EU #BlackListIRGC?@USAdarFarsi @eu_eeas #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/hlKPyLtgwB

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 4, 2019

Vidal Quadras asserted that Europe, “cannot have normal relations with a regime which jeopardizes the safety of citizens in Europe and the US.”

A State-Financed and Controlled Operation

Next, Louis Freeh, the former director of the FBI addressed those in attendance. He reiterated that the connections between the terrorist assailants and the upper echelons of the regime’s leadership demonstrated that “the terrorist activities of the Iranian regime is not the work of only several rogues.” He said, “it is clearly state-financed and state-controlled.”

Freeh drew parallels between the most recent spate of Iranian-sponsored terror attacks on foreign soil and previous attacks that took place while he was head of the FBI.

In 1996, the Iranian regime carried out an attack on the Khobar Tower in Saudi Arabia. 19 US soldiers were killed and the FBI opened an investigation. Freeh said, “the attack was controlled, organized and carried out by the IRGC (the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp). This was done by the government of Iran at senior levels of power.”

“In those days,” Freeh continued, “the regime wanted to appear strong and disciplined and at the same time they resorted to terrorism.”

Louis Freeh: We have a several-year-old #JCPOA. The #Iran-ian regime cannot be trusted.There cannot be a meaningful relationship possible. It could never be trusted.The mullahs do not have the same respect 4the rule of law as we do. #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/JBr4jDlNrn

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 4, 2019

Freeh concluded, “the Iranian regime cannot be trusted,” adding, “the regime has been doing the same thing for the past 25 years.” “Terrorism is not a pattern of behavior but it is institutionalized. Appeasement of the regime not only conveys a sense of weakness, but it conveys to the adversary to continue to do what it does and the business goes on,” Freeh asserted.

For Freeh, the EU needs to modify its position. Continuing down the road of appeasement will not help combat Iranian terrorism. It will allow it to continue unchecked. “The only way to deal with this regime is clear, firm force and applied sanctions,” he said.

A Regime of Terrorists

To support Freeh’s assessment, the NCRI’s Farzin Hashemi described the findings of an investigation carried out by the NCRI and the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK).

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: #Iran'ian State Terrorism, Growing Threat for Europe, Correct Policy #BlackListIRGC #Blac… https://t.co/unV2Fhfse4

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 4, 2019

Hashemi revealed that Reza Amiri Moghaddam was responsible for the planning and execution of the foiled terror attack in Paris. He coordinated the operation, which involved using a car laden with explosives to attack members of the MEK and their allies at the opposition group’s annual Grand Gathering event, from Vienna with the regime’s diplomat, Assadollah Assadi.

Moghaddam also represented the Iranian regime during the Iranian nuclear deal negotiations. “The EU has been negotiating with individuals who have been personally involved in acts of terrorism and planning in terrorism,” he said.

Additionally, the recently expelled ambassador to Albania, Gholam Hossein Mohammadnia was also a member of the regime’s JCPOA negotiating team.

“Terrorism is institutionalized in the Iranian regime and is approved by Hassan Rouhani and the Supreme Security Council,” Hashemi said, “literally terrorism is in the regime’s DNA.”

“All the regime’s officials are involved in terrorism. They cannot be interlocutors to the European governments. It is time for the EU to impose sanctions on the entire MOIS (Ministry of Intelligence and Security) and IRGC,” Hashemi concluded.

The Cyber Threat

Alejo Vidal Quadras then handed the former Foreign Minister of Italy, Giulio Terzi, the floor. Terzi introduced the regime’s cyber threat and charted its subversive activities online.

Intl Conf: Hon.@GiulioTerzi:
Another issue of concern is the #Iranian regime’s cyber threat, as an element of subversion. The strong existing evidence obliged Twitter &Facebook that #Iran is using social media against west. #FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/CkuFiOHlUU

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 4, 2019

He accused Iran of using social media to subvert Western democracy. “Accounts under false names” are emerging from Iran, he said. “Special attention is needed for counteracting the cyber threat from Iran,” Terzi asserted.

Dealing with the Iranian Threat

All of the speakers at the conference endorsed similar methods for dealing with the regime’s threat. “We must close down the embassies of the Iranian regime that violate the laws of the countries that host them,” Yves Bonnet, the former director of France’s DST, said.

Hon.Yves Bonnet, former director of #France’s DST-Totalitarian regimes intertwine their security activities W/their diplomatic activities. Infact,they use terrorism to physically eliminate their opponents.That is their priority.#FreeIran #ExpelIranDiplomatTerrorists @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/VBxnkavWRO

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 4, 2019

He also endorsed international recognition of the NCRI and the MEK as a viable democratic alternative to regime rule.

Counter-terrorism and Middle East specialist, Claude Moniquet echoed these views and called for tougher sanctions against the MOIS and IRGC. “We have the power to use our authority to obtain and impose verifiable sanctions on the Iranian regime immediately for its terrorist activities on European soil,” he said.

.@ClaudeMoniquet:The Supreme Security Council in #Iran is chaired by Hassan Rouhani &the authorities of all branches are concentrated in this council that makes the decisions which are endorsed by the Supreme Leader.#FreeIran #IStandWithMaryamRajavi @USAdarFarsi #BlackListMOIS pic.twitter.com/RmPTgGpFFs

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 4, 2019

He concluded, “complacency never paid. Today there is plenty of evidence against the Iranian regime and this will help us to put pressure on the EU to punish this terrorist regime and demand the end of these activities against Iranian opponents in Europe.”

 

Staff Writer