In a conference at the French National Assembly on 29 October, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), stressed that since Rouhani took office, four thousand death penalties were issued. She said that she hoped Europe and France would stand with the Iranian people and their legitimate demands and aspirations.

In her speech, Mrs. Rajavi first thanked the members of the National Assembly for their invaluable efforts against the mullahs’ religious rule in Iran in support of the Iranian people and their resistance, stressing that these efforts will never be forgotten.

The President-elect of the NCRI first reviewed the human rights’ record in the past four decades in Iran and said:

” The people of Iran have been struggling for more than 40 years against a regime which is the world’s record holder of executions per capita. Since 2013, when Hassan Rouhani became president, some 4,000 people have been executed. And 120,000 political executions have been carried out under the mullahs’ regime since 1981, including the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988.”

#MaryamRajavi : #France must take the initiative to open the path to #democracy in #Iranhttps://t.co/NclubJe94c#MEK #NoImpunity4Mullahs @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/4DRijE0tQs

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) October 30, 2019

She then pointed to a new book containing part of the names of massacred MEK members. This book has recently been published by the Call-for-Justice movement.

Mentioning that the 1988 massacre in Iran was the worst state-sponsored massacre since World War II, Mrs. Rajavi said:

” Some of the key perpetrators of this massacre are presently holding positions such as the Head of the Judiciary and the Minister of Justice in Rouhani’s government.

Can you imagine? What kind of justice this is?

This regime has institutionalized discrimination against women in its laws. The highest number of executions of women in the world and their most vicious tortures have been carried out by this regime. Presently, a large number of women are incarcerated in Iran for their peaceful activities or their faith.”

Mrs. Rajavi then discussed the destructive role of the Iranian regime outside Iran and said:

” Outside Iran, the clerical regime is the main cause of instability and wars in the Middle East.

Over the past years, the world has heard a lot about the crimes of ISIS, or Daesh. Their crimes are similar to those committed by the clerical regime in Iran and in the region in the past four decades. They have the same anti-human ideology: dictatorship and savagery under the banner of religion, terrorism, and expansionism, and misogyny. When this ideology dominates a big country like Iran, it becomes a hundred times more dangerous than Daesh, which emerged as a result of the clerical regime’s crimes in Iraq and Syria coupled with international silence.”

Mrs. Rajavi stressed that if inaction vis-à-vis the regime’s crimes in Iran and abroad persists, the clerics and their actions will reproduce groups like Daesh (ISIS). The regime is quite concerned over the latest setback to Daesh.

Regime and Daesh have the same anti-human ideology: in dictatorship and savagery under the banner of religion, in terrorism and expansionism, and in misogyny. #NoImpunity4Mullahs

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) October 29, 2019

The regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and their militias slaughter people in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.

Discussing the mullahs’ terrorism and warmongering in Iran, the President-elect of the NCRI said:

” This medieval regime belongs to the past. Terrorism and warmongering are the strategic means of survival. For this reason, they undermined European efforts, including those by the French President to reduce tensions. They continued attacking tankers in international waters and oil installations in neighboring countries.

Why did the regime step up its terrorism and domestic suppression, and refuse the initiatives put forth by France? Because it cannot moderate itself, because the president carries out the whims of the Supreme Leader because the regime’s leaders want to ensure their own survival instead of caring for the interests of the people, and, finally, because the regime lacks the minimum stability.

They are playing a duplicitous game by using these initiatives to buy time and continue their aggression in the region and expand their ballistic missile program. All the while, in their domestic propaganda, they insult France and Europe.

This is what we have experienced in the past 40 years. If this regime had the slightest capacity for reform, we would have not paid such a heavy price in this long and arduous struggle against it.

The Mojahedin quickly learned that the only means for the survival of this theocratic regime are domestic suppression, foreign wars, and crises-making.

The regime understands only the language of firmness. The ruling mullahs consider silence, leniency, and calls for negotiation as signs of weakness.

While they try to make it appear as though Europe needs mediation, they are the ones in need of it. They have been emboldened because of inaction towards their regime’s outlaw behavior and belligerence.”

An exhibition in this regard was on display all day close to the National Assembly.

On the 39^th anniversary of 27 September 1981, rebellious youths in Iran torched poster of mullahs’ regime’s founder and current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as well as Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Bassij forces’ bases across the county over the weekend.

The youths also posted pictures of the Iranian Resistance’s Leadership on walls and overpasses of different cities and signs with anti-government slogans such as Down with  Khamenei, Long live freedom and Democracy and Freedom with Maryam Rajavi.  These activities were carried out in cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, Shahr-e-Rey, Mashhad, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Orumiyeh, Ilam, Zahedan, Khoy, Ramsar, Omidiyeh, Chaboksar.

On September 27, 1981, the youths, supporters of the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) demonstrated chanting “Down with Khomeini” for the first time in central Tehran since 1979. Members of the IRGC opened fire to the crowd killing hundreds and arresting many more. The detainees were executed on the same day or the days that followed. The MEK has published names of 1142 fallen martyrs of the September 27^th.

After that fateful day, a new chapter opened in Iran’s history. One that was marked by a people standing to a back warded regime that was trying to impose its will on a proud nation. The Iranian Resistance leader Masoud Rajavi tried very hard to stop violence and bloodshed from happing in Iran in two years prior to June 20^th, 1981. A day that the IRGC opened fire indiscriminately on 500000 unarmed demonstrators which turned up on MEK’s call filling the streets of downtown Tehran in the afternoon.

Khomeini’s mind was set on ruling with the idea of Velayat-e Faqih (absolute rule of clerics). Such thinking left no room for democracy and freedom. Rajavi highlighted the importance of individual freedoms and presented the Iranian people with an alternative to an obsolete doctrine represented by the mullahs. Therefore, September 27 marked the first attempt by the MEK to show the people that Khomeini’s regime has no tolerance for dialog and must go. Khomeini, Khamenei and their likes responded with an iron fist and filled the prisons with freedom fighters. Thousands were executed and they showed no mercy even to underage children or pregnant women.

MEK had no chose but to resist and stand up for its people, and they did. It took the rest of the world some four decades to realize the true nature of the mullahs’ regime. A wake-up call came in 2016 when Mrs. Maryam Rajavi President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) started the Justice Movement campaign for fallen heroes of the 1988 massacre of a political prisoner in Iran. Later that year Grant Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri’s son released an audiotape of his late father speaking to a four-member “Death Commission” tasked by Khomeini to cleans 30000 political prisoners. Then many human rights organizations reacted. Amnesty International as the most prominent human rights organization took the lead in publishing a number of eye-opening reports on the gruesome 1988 massacre. Finally, the curtains were dropped on curtly of the mullahs’ regime. It is by no means the end of the road. According to Amnesty, 1988 events, amount to a crime against humanity and therefore does not expire and all perpetrators must stand trial before an international criminal court. Khamenei and his cronies have no escape from justice. It is only a matter of time.

Staff Writer

 

Over the past two years, tensions have risen significantly between Iran and the international community, given the Iranian regime’s malign behavior and spread of terrorism in the region, the advancement of its ICBM, and the gross violations of human rights inside Iran.

Now, many are recommending that the US and the EU start to recognize the Iranian people’s democratic resistance, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK), as the true representatives of the Iranian people.

The US has taken major steps against the Regime, including pulling out of the malign nuclear deal, but Europe has continued to try and preserve the deal in order to keep trading with Iran, but this shelters the Regime. The US has also decided to designate the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and its commanders as terrorists while levying massive sanctions against Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and minister of foreign affairs Javad Zarif. However, neither the US or the EU have officially recognized the MEK as they should do, because the MEK will overthrow the Regime and bring peace to the world.

U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Regime Foreign Minister Javad Zarif

Not only would supporting the MEK be good for the world, but also for the Iranian people, who are in favor of the MEK. After all, the nationwide uprising in 2017 and 2018 was led by the MEK. How could the MEK have led protests if they weren’t popular? Not to mention that MEK-inspired youths have been torching pro-regime symbols.

These protests, between September 22 and 27, also occurred on the anniversary of the 1981 protests, when MEK members burned large posters of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

The Regime knows this, of course, which is why they spend so much time trying to eradicate the MEK. In 2018 alone, the Regime attempted to carry out two terror plots against the MEK; one in Paris, where the MEK held their annual gathering, and one in Albania, at the MEK headquarters.

The MEK is the main alternative for regime change in Iran and has a strong network of resistance units inside the country. The MEK has been recognized by Ilir Meta, the President of Albania, and has long been a great source of vital intelligence on the Regime for the West.

Meeting with the President of Albanian, Ilir Meta at Ashraf 3 #Iran #FreeIranhttps://t.co/eXtXRRpYYz pic.twitter.com/D6hyM5M6J6

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 16, 2019

The EU and the US must recognize the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as the viable alternative to the ruling dictatorship if they want to side with the Iranian people and in order to preserve peace in the region.

Staff Writer

 

 

Dr. Firouz Daneshgari, the founder of MDAID, delivered a speech in a conference in NY discussing the future of Iran. Below is an excerpt of his speech:

20)
Dr. Daneshgari:
-Maximum pressure is working. We don’t see protests against sanctions. I have first hand information that the regime is the cause of the people’s misery.
-I have no doubt the Iranian people & MEK units will bring down this regime. pic.twitter.com/KJPnCO8v0G

— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) September 24, 2019

We are bounded by Iranian heritage and we have a shared responsibility toward the people of Iran to help free Iran, move the country toward a republic form of government and keeping the entire country united and ensure its territory reserved as it is today.

I’m a surgeon-scientist and a professor, but I’m also a former political prisoner. My eyes and my mind and my body are witnessed how this regime treats political prisoners. I have the scars of torture on my body that I have carried over thirty years. Especially those political prisoners who are affiliated with the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), I know because as a physician I risked my life to treat them, and to defend them; and some of their members died on my laps. While I treated their gunshot wounds inflected by IRGC, I have seen many many occasions of who this regime is that I cannot describe in simple words.

Today I represent an International Medical Foundation named MDAID which focuses on supporting victims of torture and political prisoners who are forced to flee their homeland as refugees and settled in North American and Europe.

As the founder and chairman of this foundation, I’ve brought my own experience as a political prisoner to this foundation and partner with many former political prisoners who are now empowered medical professionals and paying it forward to other refugees in Europe and elsewhere. I share all those experiences with my colleagues to demonstrate an envision how Iran can recover positively after the fall of this regime to the point of helping other nations as well. For years the world community believes this regime can change from within; the deceitful promise of so-called moderates and reformists has cost thousands of innocent lives in Iran and the entire region in the Middle East. The economic corruption and embezzlement by the regime officials have led to a health crisis for the people of Iran.

Recently research came across my desk that a person who had interviewed over three thousand people who had sold their kidneys to survive and he titled his research as the cost of kidney in Iran is less than three ounces of pistachios in some of the cities.

The other incompetence and incapable mullahs blame the medical crises on the sanctions and that is not farther than truth than this. And this is yet part of ongoing deception and propaganda by this regime. Let us be very clear that the shortage of medicine has nothing to do with the sanctions. It has all to do with this criminal mafia regime of mullahs and IRGC that has brought such crises on people of Iran.

They ship the medication, the medical supplies, and the resources that belong to Iranian people to Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. As we watched the protests in Iran, people are shouting one less embezzlement, our problem can be solved. This regime is riddle with its scandals, fraud, and embezzlement from the top of the house, starting with Khamenei himself and his office to the bottom feeders of IRGC and Basijis. They reaping off Iranian people from their resources. Iran’s health sector is hurting because of this regime, not because of the sanctions. I have firsthand information from my colleagues in Iran. The nation of Iran is under attack by this regime and has been over the past forty years every single day. We cannot and should not allow this crazy regime to stop us from resolve in chaining and working together. The maximum pressure is working. We don’t see any protest about the sanctions from Iranian people, but we see is more protests by all the sectors of society including nurses, medical professionals against the regime, because the regime belongs to the dust bin of history. I have no doubt the brave men and women of Iran will bring this regime down along with the organized resistance movement and units of MEK.

We need one day of voting in Iran to show this regime who the Iranian people love. We can and must come together united in support regime change in Iran by the Iranian people. We can and we must raise above the propaganda and fake news that this regime unleashes on us. Iran is the previous land and is one of the most unique countries in the Middle East that has such rich ethnical and religious diversity. For all the major social movement starting with the constitutional movement back about 110 years ago from my land from Azarbayjan, I’m one of descendant of Sattar Khan, to uprising of 1979 revolution to the protest of the 1980s and 1999 and 2009 and kind movement since 2017, we have shown the world that we can come together in rejection of this clerical regime just as people rejected dictatorship of Shah. We have come together at Azaries, Kurds, Arabs, Baluchis, Persians, and other ethnic groups and we are here to be united against the regime. No separation is between us; the only enemy is the regime. So, let’s unit together in exile to bring our motherland, giving her a helping hand and come together under the ten-point plan proposed by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi for a free Iran. It is truly the bases for most modern Iran. Let’s come together and rebuild our homeland with the best and brightest. But first, we must focus on making regime change in Iran a reality Starting today.

In a conference discussing the future of Iran, the representative of the Organization of Iranian-American Communities (OIAC) outlined the organization’s vision for the future of Iran.

Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad, from OIAC, delivered a speech that was warmly receipted by the audience. Below please find an excerpt of her speech:

Dr.Sepehrrad-OIAC rep:1979 revolution is #Iran’s historic rejection of Monarchy.The 2009&2018 uprising was the defiance of the regime in its entirety. We're not seeking a return 2the past. Demarcation W/Shah’s dictatorship &religious despotism is our red line #IranConferenceNYC pic.twitter.com/jDywBGn926

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 24, 2019

“It is my privilege and honor to speak to you on behalf of the Organization of Iranian- American Community who for more than twenty-five years has been primarily focusing on echoing the voice of the Iranian people as their struggle for human rights and democracy in our native land Iran.

Over the last century Iran has seen two brutal dictatorships, under the Pahlavi’s monarchy which in collaboration with the mullahs worked against the democratic and nationalistic government of Dr. Mosaddeq and now dealing with the misogynist regime since 1979, the religious fascist of mullahs who are incapable of reform or even engaging in a meaningful way with the Iranian people or for the rest of the world for that matter.

When it comes to this regime because this regime believes in the system of Velayat-e Faqih, this regime is committed and remains committed to the system of Velayat-e Faqih, and that means an absolute power that is only for non-elected male clerics, according to the regime’s constitution.

What has to be very clear is that the Iranian people’s rejection of both monarchy and mullahcracy is based on historic lessons from their struggle for freedom and democracy over the last several decades. This is not a partisan preference; it is simply the reality of Iran’s recent history. The 1979 revolution is Iran’s historic rejection of monarchy. While the mullahs have high jacked the revolution, the waves of the popular uprising in rejection of the mullahs during the 1980s, 1990s and most notably the 2009 and 2018 are the ongoing rejection of this regime in its entirety.

People of Iran, are not making any distinction between so-called reformers and hardliners, so why should we? This red line has been drawn by the blood and sacrifices of more than 120,000 martyrs for freedom in order to move Iran away from despotism of the past and religious tyranny of present. Therefore, it is our red-line too and crossing of this red-line under whatever pretext, is unacceptable, because it is undermining the true democracy movement in Iran.

The international community has not yet recognized the depth and extent of the ongoing crimes against the people of Iran, especially, the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. In our view, just as the Mayor (Giuliani) said Khamenei, Rouhani, Zarif, Qasem Soleimani, Ebrahim Raisi after four decades of execution and oppression, war, terrorism, subversion, mayhem by the terrorist IRGC and Ministry of Intelligence are all international criminals and must stand trial in the international tribunals and courts.

All of us gathered here agree that the Iranian regime is the enemy of not just the Iranian people but also the rest of the world. We agree that this regime must go. We also agree that it is up to Iranian people and their organized opposition movement, who shall and will bring this regime down in its entirety. We have also gathered here to emphasize the path forward for free Iran. OIAC stands for a non-nuclear, democratic, secular, Republic of Iran based on the following key principals:

• In a free Iran, only the ballot box determines the legitimacy of the future government.
• Freedom of speech, expression, association, and religion for all Iranians, and equal rights for all ethnic groups in the framework of Iran’s territorial integrity is a must in a free Iran. As my Baluchi sister said: we won’t let this regime colonize us any longer, we won’t let them divide us based on ethnic lines, we are all standing for the territorial integrity of Iran. We are Iranians first and we want this regime down together and if anyone has any doubt that we cannot do this, I will invite them to look to the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), where the Baluchis, the Kurds, the Turks, and the Fars, all of them, all the Iranian ethnic groups, have come together under one banner, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), fighting against this regime. We have done it before and Iran will do it again. Iran will do it again because the National Council of Resistance of Iran and the platform that it has, represents the diversity of Iran. This is our strengths. We will not let them colonize our ethnic groups.
• In a free Iran, complete gender equality in all political, social, cultural, and economic spheres women of our native land are on the forefront to overthrow this misogynist regime; and we stand with them wholeheartedly.

Dr.Sepehrrad-OIAC rep:We will not let this regime colonize us any longer to ruin our national integrity.If anyone has any doubt that we can do this,I invite them 2look into the #MEK,where all ethnics have come together in their struggle against this regime.#IranConferenceNYC

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 24, 2019

In a free Iran, women will have all their rights to choose their clothing, and any exploitation of women on whatever pretext will be rejected.

In a free Iran, we would have a commitment to the universal declaration of human rights and all international covenants.

In a free Iran, the death penalty will be abolished; no more political prisoners, no more prisoners of conscience, and they will be released after the downfall of this regime.

The path to progress and prosperity in a free Iran is based on the followings:

• Justice and equal opportunity for employment and occupation are imperative for all Iranians in a free market economy. Cronyism, nepotism, corruption or the mafia-style of government shall not be acceptable.
• The rights of workers, farmers, nurses, employees, teachers, educators, retired people will be upheld and respected.
• The diaspora, this is all of us, will have a duty of reversing the brain drain and support the rebuilding of Iran based on progressive labor laws and rights. Forced child labor must be abolished.
• The future of Iran’s youth will be in high-quality education so that Iran can develop the next generation of workforce and scholars to thrive and contribute to the modern world. Iranian scientific community shall focus on humane advancement of technology, knowledge, innovation, and infrastructure for improving the lives of Iranian people.
• No more weapons of mass destruction; we stand for a non-nuclear Iran.
• Iranian scientific community shall also focus on reversing the environmental crises, water shortage, unnatural floods, earthquakes, through utilizing best practices in order to reverse the damage done under this criminal regime.
• Iran shall live in peace and coexistence and cooperation and mutual respect with its neighbors and the international community. No more regional meddling and no more support for terrorist or the extremist groups.

So at this point, I’ll ask all delegates to think a moment, and envision an Iran based on these principals, and the path to recovery, an Iran that is worthy of our heritage, our history and the sacrifices made to date. Together, we must refrain from divisiveness. We need to aim all of our energies and efforts to change this regime first.

In 2002 the head of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, Massoud Rajavi announced the NCRI’s plan for promoting the national solidarity front to encompass all Iranians and political entities who reject the monarchy and the system of Velayat-e Faqih and our campaigning for a democratic independent and secular republic to come together. This call was faced with overwhelming misinformation and disinformation campaign by regime cronies and MOIS agents.

For too long, the Iranian regime’s lobbyists and apologists have worked to divide us by propagating falsehood and smear campaigns, lies and propaganda. This must stop. We must put an end to the disinformation campaign and the echo chamber against the MEK and the NCRI. We will end this.

This regime-change movement inside Iran is growing stronger day by day, because of the MEK’s resistance units and their ongoing efforts that are expanding to organize the public. We can do the same in exile, this means we need to be entirely focused on the threat of the Iranian regime and the need to overthrow this regime with all the factions within this regime. We need not be distracted by the regime’s ongoing propaganda as we push for further isolation of the regime, to provide support for regime change by Iranians. We must demonstrate political maturity and commitment to these principals and be fully committed to them, which can guarantee an enduring and effective unity against this regime. I’m hopeful that we will get there in solidarity which did not begin today, it has been going on for the last 40 years because of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.”

Staff Writer

 

 

 

 

 

Thousands of MEK supporters and members of the Iranian American community rallied in New York for the second day on Wednesday to protest regime President Hassan Rouhani’s presence at the United Nations General Assembly and the clerical regime currently ruling Iran as a whole.

No to Rouhani

The demonstrators at the “No to Rouhani” rally demanded that Rouhani and the Iranian regime’s delegation be expelled from the U.N. due to the regime’s warmongering, the exportation of terrorism, and appalling human rights record. The Iranian regime executes more people per capita than any other nation in the world; its overcrowded prisons are notorious for their inhumane conditions and lack of access to medical care; women and ethnic minorities are denied basic human rights; and political dissent is punished with arrest, imprisonment, torture, and often execution. Internationally, the regime funds terrorist groups, stoke regional conflicts, attack oil facilities and vessels and continues to develop nuclear and ballistic weapons. The demonstrators argue that such a regime has no place in the U.N.

See my interview with @FoxNews' @EricShawnTV at the @OrgIAC organized rally by thousands of Iranians from 40 states across America, in which they rejected the #Iran regime and voiced support for @Maryam_Rajavi @NCRIUS @Iran_Policy https://t.co/olZzZ8NMYQ

— Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) September 26, 2019

Protesters carried posters advocating for the U.N. seat currently held by the Iranian regime to be given to the Iranian people’s resistance movement led by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the only viable democratic alternative to the mullahs’ dictatorship. Other posters called for the international community to recognize the right of the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs.

Rallygoers proclaimed their full-throated support of the popular anti-regime protests currently taking place inside Iran, as well as the actions being taken by MEK Resistance Units in Iran to overthrow the regime and establish a free and democratic Iran.

Tuesday’s Rally

Another rally was held in New York on Tuesday to protest Rouhani’s inclusion in the U.N. This event was attended by Iranian-Americans, along with Iranians from Europe and Canada. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Senator Joseph Lieberman were both in attendance, and NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi delivered a video message. Protesters stressed that the mullahs’ regime does not represent the Iranian people and should not have a place in the United Nations. That seat belongs to the NCRI and Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.

Hail to my fellow compatriots. With your glorious rally, you showed to the world that the envoy of religious fascism in #Iran has no place at the UN. You proved that the people of Iran will not relent until they achieve freedom. And undoubtedly, they will achieve just that. pic.twitter.com/QRfWV1ZEAB

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 25, 2019

United against Nuclear Iran Conference

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended a conference hosted by the United Against Nuclear Iran organization, where he once again condemned the Iranian regime for its malign activities and announced a new round of sanctions. These sanctions will target Chinese individuals and entities who are involved in transporting Iranian oil.

Pompeo said that the Iranian regime was lying when it denied responsibility for the September 14th attack on the Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. He referred to the incident as an attack on Saudi Arabia and the international economy and added that the Iranian regime has a long history of attacking neighboring countries and continues to fund Houthi and Hezbollah militias. He said that the U.S. will continue to escalate the imposition of sanctions as Iran lashes out in retaliation, adding that the more aggressive Iran becomes, the more pressure the U.S. will apply.

Staff Writer

Iranians refer to the early part of the 20^th century as the “Age of Awaking” from the bondage of the absolute monarchy under the Qajar Kings. The Constitutional Revolution of 1906 marked the culmination of a broad movement of a quarter-century by the people of Iran to break free from monarchic despotism and propelled the nation’s popular movement for a modern democratic state.

Gradually, freedom fighters were suppressed and dictatorship returned and finally a British-backed coup installed an illiterate officer, Reza Pahlavi, to the throne in 1921. The wartime Allies forced Reza Shah to abdicate due to his Nazi sympathies in 1941. His son, Mohammad Reza assumed the reins of power. The Iranian people’s movement for democracy, forced the new Monarch into retreat, enabling Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq to become the Prime Minister in 1951. The popular Prime Minister nationalized Iran’s oil industry, which was until then controlled by the Anglo-Iranian Petroleum Company. The move drew the ire of the British, who along with the United States and the backing of the Royal Court and the reactionary clerics, engineered the August 1953 coup that toppled Mossadeq’s government.

The increasingly brutal dictatorship of the Shah, which had suppressed all forms of peaceful and reformist political opposition, led to the founding in 1965 of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) by three Muslim university graduates,  Mohammad Hanifnejad, a 26-year-old agricultural engineer, Saeed Mohsen, a civil engineer, and Ali-Asghar Badizadegan, an assistant professor in chemical engineering.

The #PMOI/MEK founders offered their lives to entwine the organization’s fate since its inception with sacrifice to the price of freedom. #FreeIran2018#Iranhttps://t.co/VJ8UWTQ7F9 pic.twitter.com/Z3c7hxBH5M

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 5, 2018

The MEK challenged both the Shah’s regime and the fundamentalist interpretation of Islam espoused by the clerical establishment, which by and large supported the status quo.

The founders’ advocacy of a tolerant and democratic Islam had tremendous appeal not only among Iranian intellectuals but also among the middle class and the bazaar, the pillar of Iran’s economy. Considering itself as the disciple of Dr. Mossadeq, the MEK founders’ active resistance to the Shah, inspired the Iranian people to join the anti-monarchic movement.

Despite the execution of its founders by the Shah’s secret police, SAVAK in 1972 and the clerical regime’s brutal onslaught on the MEK, resulting in the murder of 120,000 of its members and sympathizers, the organization has emerged as the largest and best-organized opposition movement. On September 6, 2019, it celebrated the start of its 55^th year at an elaborate event at the organization’s new home in Albania, Ashraf 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In her remarks, MEK’s Secretary-General, Ms. Zahra Merrikhi, said,

“In the past half-century, throughout trials and tribulations, you supported your organization and movement. The 54th anniversary of this organization is the result of your toil and is your victory. On behalf the members and supporters of MEK, I would like to salute our great founders Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen and Ali Asghar Badizadegan. By sacrificing their lives, they made a breakthrough and started a new era in the history of Iran. And we salute our (MEK’s historical leader) Massoud Rajavi and (NCRI’s President-elect) Maryam Rajavi who have set an example of sacrifice and honesty in the history of struggles for freedom.”

https://twitter.com/Maryam_Rajavi/status/1169311090590801921

The Turning Point

Now, after so many years and so much hardship and suffering, the struggle of Iranian people has reached a turning point. Freedom and democracy are within reach as never before.

MEK’s Secretary-General underscored that the mortal conditions with which the regime is faced

“has a much deeper root than international sanctions and major loss of revenues. Owing especially to the impact of the protest movement and the organized resistance, the mullahs have reached a point where they lack the capacity to reproduce the source of their survival. Western government’s appeasement policy, fake reformers, and other parties assisting the regime have run out of steam. While facing the prospects of being overthrown, the velayat-e faqih regime, unlike previous periods, has no savior and is rapidly moving towards its demise.”

“At this juncture, the active resistance of the MEK, the Resistance Units and Councils as well as this movement’s unrelenting political campaign internationally aimed at defeating the conspiracies of the mullahs and their advocates and restoring the rights of the Iranian people and Resistance, has brightened the prospects of the regime’s overthrow,” Ms. Merrikhi added.

Staff Writer

 

 

 

A member of the regime’s Assembly of Experts stated the obvious in recent remarks about the Iranian people. Hashem Hashemzadeh Herisi, a former member of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) and a current member of the Assembly of Experts, said, “The people dislike us and are discontent with us… not only our narrative but everything about us must change.”

Herisi, who also serves as the Friday prayers imam in Tabriz, Azerbaijan Province, added, “We talk the talk of Takfir, considering one side the servants of the regime and the other traitors.”

Friday prayers imams are Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s mouthpieces in Iran’s cities and towns. The Assembly of Experts is tasked with choosing the Supreme Leader. It is worth noting that Herisi speaks for the mullahs when he says that the people don’t like them.

In reference to the regime’s founder and first Supreme Leader, Herisi said: “Khomeini was afraid of the people and the people’s discontent, and when the time comes that they will put us all aside. [Khomeini] said you should be afraid of the day when the people understand your nature,” he added.

“In some of the Quran’s verses, it says that the most unfortunate of people are those who do something wrong and think that they’ve done something right,” Herisi concluded.

Economic Crisis

In a recent interview with the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)–affiliated Fars news agency, former Majlis (parliament) member Emad Afroogh discussed the growing despair among the Iranian people over the unbearable economic conditions in the country. “According to a survey, 78 percent of the people believe their most dire problems are economic,” he said.

“Today, the people, when they compare their living conditions with that of officials, they come to the conclusion that nobody is caring for them and they are sort of abandoned,” Emad Afroogh he continued. “People face increasing prices every day and authorities try to pacify them with empty promises.”

#Iran suffers from economic instability, factional infighting, social discontent, and tensions due to meddling in regional countries

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) November 22, 2016

Economic conditions have grown so dire that many Iranians have resorted to digging through public garbage cans for food, according to previous MEK reports. Protests by defrauded investors, unpaid workers and pensioners, and workers demanding better pay and benefits are a daily occurrence in cities across Iran. The MEK has been active in helping to organize and spread information about protests and demonstrations, which has led to desperate attempts by the regime to stifle dissent and eliminate the MEK and the Iranian Resistance.

What has happened in #Iran since December 28, was beyond protest demonstrations incited by economic problems. But it was an uprising and a nationwide movement against the regime in its entirety.#Iranprotests pic.twitter.com/8e5uZWnPkn

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 9, 2018

The Upcoming School Year

The summer break ends in a few weeks, and many Iranian parents worry that they will be unable to afford basic school supplies for their children. Stationery prices alone have risen by over 40 percent in just the past year, and families are struggling to make ends meet without added expenses.

To add insult to injury, notebooks are now printed with regime propaganda to reinforce the misinformation which has been sprinkled throughout students’ textbooks since the dawn of the mullahs’ rule.

Of course, people dislike the mullahs. Unfortunately, the regime is unwilling to change its ways. The Iranian people are responsible for changing the regime and this change will be achieved by the main Iranian opposition movement, PMOI/MEK.

Staff writer

 

 

Regime Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s visit to Scandinavian countries this week was met with outrage by the Iranian communities, who held demonstrations in Sweden and Finland to protest his arrival.

Protests in Sweden

.@MEK_Iran – The Iranian diaspora, supporters of the #MEK, protest against #Zarif’s trip to Nordic countries, asking for an end to the policy of appeasement.#ban_Zarif #NoImpunity4Mullahs #Zarif_inte_välkommen @Niinisto @margotwallstrom @SweMFA @NorwayMFAhttps://t.co/4iXhAjsrpS pic.twitter.com/CN6DffGStB

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) August 20, 2019

On Tuesday, protesters in Stockholm held large banners reading “Stop appeasing the Mullahs’ regime. Expel their agents,” and “Kick Javad Zarif Out! Europe and Nordic countries are no Place for Criminals and Terrorists: World Peace, Stability, and Democracy Requires Regime Change in Iran.”

Others carried signs featuring Zarif’s face and the words “No to Despicable Shameful Diplomacy” and “Zarif Get Lost!”

The MEK and Iranian Resistance emphasized that meeting with the foreign minister of a country that has repeatedly committed terrorist acts against its opposition on European soil is disrespectful to the Iranian people who have spent 40 years fighting against the regime’s tyranny and oppression.

Protests in Finland

On Monday, yellow-jacketed MEK protesters and members of the Iranian communities in Helsinki greeted Zarif with banners and signs, demanding, “Zarif Get Lost!” in English and Finnish. Some carried signs shaped like hands proclaiming, “Stop appeasing mullahs in Iran.” Many of the protesters carried large Iranian flags.

Condemnation from the Iranian Resistance

Aug 20 – #Stockholm: #Iran'ian communities protest against Zarif's trip 2 #Sweden calling on FM Wallström to adopt a firm policy on Iran that recognises the democratic aspiration of the Iranian people & supports a democratic change by the people & their Resistance NCRI #ban_Zarif https://t.co/gLKtYaq4PT

— Dowlat Nowrouzi (@DowlatNowrouzi) August 20, 2019

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) issued a statement on August 17th condemning Zarif’s trip to Scandinavia, writing, “The Iranian Resistance strongly condemns the visit by the head of the medieval theocracy’s diplomat-terrorists, as it will embolden the regime to continue and step up the flagrant and systematic violations of human right and the export of terrorism and warmongering. This trip only arouses the Iranian people’s anger and abhorrence and must be canceled.”

The MEK has called for Zarif’s blacklisting from the international community for years, citing his role in the regime’s terrorist activities. Zarif characterizes himself as a moderate, but his actions prove otherwise. As Foreign Minister of Iran, he represents and supports the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Talks with #Zarif a minister of a country that has repeatedly committed terrorist activities against its opposition in European soil,is a disrespect 2 Iranian people’s struggle for 40 years against tyranny & oppression.#ban_Zarif #NoImpunity4Mullahs#Zarif_inte_välkommen @SweMFA pic.twitter.com/9V29DHKaP0

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) August 20, 2019

The United States recently issued sanctions against Zarif, citing his role as a spokesperson for the regime. These sanctions followed sanctions against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and terrorist designations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

In 2018, five Iranian regime diplomats, including an ambassador, were expelled from Europe for plotting terrorist attacks against the MEK and Iranian dissidents. Another four regime agents and a diplomat are currently in prison awaiting trial in Belgium for plotting a terrorist attack on the Free Iran Rally in Paris on June 2018.

The MEK urges the international community to blacklist Zarif and ends its appeasement of this terrorist regime. Diplomacy requires a good faith effort from both parties to reach an accord. Zarif and the mullahs have no intention of changing their behavior.

Zarif is scheduled to continue his tour with a stop in Norway this week. He is also set to meet in France with President Emmanuel Macron in the near future.

Staff writer

Mayor Rudy Giuliani in an interview with the Hill TV described the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a vehicle for democracy in Iran that has proved capable of a functioning government-in-exile.

Rudy Giuliani who recently attended a 5-day conference in Ashraf 3, the main residence of the MEK in Tirana, was asked a question in the interview. If the Iranian regime were to fall and Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian opposition, was to govern, would she be able to govern during a transition period and prevent chaos? He replied:

“Well, what they do, what they—these are the questions, of course, we ask them all the time, and I’ve seen evidence that they have a functioning government-in-exile. They evaluate the problems in Iran every day. They are enormously active in communicating within Iran. They remind me of the Voice of America in one aspect during the Cold War, which used to broadcast into the Soviet-dominated countries every single day. They broadcast; they try to 24 hours a day. And they have ministers, shadow ministers for each one of the agencies of the government. And they have a plan for transition. And the plan for transition would say they’d put up an interim government immediately and they would attempt to get to a full election within six months so that there’s—so it isn’t an imposed government, it’s a democracy. And her proposition is that she doesn’t want to dominate, she wants to be elected or not elected, or elected to something and they would share leadership with maybe 10, 12 other groups.”

 

Addressing the American public, Mayor Giuliani describes President-elect Maryam Rajavi as a “true disciple of peace and democracy” and said:

“What they should know is that this is a true disciple of peace, democracy. Her whole life has been spent trying to obtain democracy for her country, first against the Shah who killed I think her sister. And then against the Ayatollah who killed another relative. I think another sister. Her family has been the victim of both the Shah’s oppression and murder and been the victim of the even more increased murder under the Ayatollah. And people should know that this is a regime that has more blood on its hands than any regime in the world, and that it is the biggest supporter of terrorism in the world.”

Mayor Giuliani called on European governments to stop the policy of appeasement and reiterated what he also mentioned during his speech at this year’s Free Iran gathering in Ashraf 3:

“Why do we want to negotiate or trust a regime that’s the biggest supporter of terrorism in the world? And I made that challenge to the European governments. Hasn’t Iran proven to us that they are too irresponsible, that they are too murderous to have nuclear weapons in their hands? It would be too dangerous for the world. And I think the European governments have to develop the kind of courage that President Trump has.”

Outlining his view of this year’s gathering, he added:

“So the conference was about basically how can we replace the regime of Iran with a democratic government, which the MEK has been attempting to do for 20 years. I have about 11 years of involvement with them. But they have a tremendous amount of support in the United States, bipartisan, about 200 members of Congress, an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. I was there with former Senator Lieberman, Democrat, former Senator Torricelli, who’s actually one of their principal people. He’s been involved with them longer than I have. And what they are is basically the National Council of Resistance in Iran is headed by Madame Rajavi. She’s the president-elect. And it’s made up of a group of organizations including the MEK that are resistance groups, like the French Resistance, against the Ayatollah. They’ve been active since the revolution. A hundred and twenty thousand of their people have been killed but they still are going strong.”

Rejecting speculations about the MEK’s popularity in Iran and the disinformation Iranian regime lobbyists try to spread in this regard, he vowed:

“Both the ayatollah and Rouhani have announced within the last year that they are the biggest threat to the regime. In the years past, it was always doubted that was created about how strong are they in Iran? How much support do they have? I think that all has been put to rest now with basically Rouhani’s statement and the Ayatollah[Khamenei]’s saying that the MEK, and sometimes they’ll call PMOI, is our most dangerous threat, the only one capable of putting a government together, and therefore we’ve got to wipe them out, which is what they do.”

“If they find that you’re a member of this organization, or suspect that you’re a member of this organization, by and large, you don’t get a trial. You’re either imprisoned or you’re shot depending on the circumstances. And so 120,000 since the beginning of the revolution. Probably another thousand in the last couple of years. And they have a government-in-exile. They have tremendous support. They have tremendous support in what’s called the Iranian diaspora. And they have a charter, 10 points, which largely looks like our Bill of Rights. Significant thing is, they’re headed by a woman. This is, this is the Middle East. This is right next to the Arab world. Not only are they headed by a woman, but roughly half their leadership are also women”, Mr. Giuliani added.

.@RudyGiuliani: Iran's democratic opposition the MEK has grown & grown. I feel an optimism in this room that I haven’t felt in previous meetings. If you wanted to build this city in NYC it would take 15 yrs. You've done it in a year#IStandWithMaryamRajavi #FreeIran #WeSupportMEK pic.twitter.com/aAZe5kMJcP

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

Regarding the prospect of regime change in Iran and the role of the Iranian opposition, Mayor Giuliani relied on his insight into the matter and reply to the question, “does she [Maryam Rajavi] have a chance to lead Iran into a democratic state?” said:

“She does. I mean, she does have a chance. I mean, I don’t think people realize how much turmoil there is inside of Iran. Since January of 2018, I think I have my facts correct here, there have been over 250 major protests all throughout the country, not just in Tehran. And now they have spread into the economic sectors. So there have been taxi drivers that have gone out on strike and protest. There are teachers, all the teachers of the country went on strike. There are farmers, professors have joined the political activists. And you can see it. Videos that I saw when I was in Albania because they have probably the MEK people, the PMOI [MEK] people have the best window into Iran”.

As a respected lawyer and an expert in the field, Mr. Giuliani also addressed the 1988 massacre of MEK political prisoners in Iran and said, “Back in 1988, within a two-month period, the regime killed 30,000 members of MEK. Thirty-thousand people! We are talking about a crime against humanity. Crimes for which they should be prosecuted in the World Court.”