By Jubin Katiraie
Earlier this week, we wrote a piece to give you an overview of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Today, we will expand on that with a piece about the political structure of the NCRI.
President-elect of the NCRI
Maryam Rajavi is the President-elect of the NCRI, who serves as the President-in-exile and will take over as President of Iran during the transition period after the mullahs’ Regime has fallen.
Her presidential term will end once a new Iranian constitution has been ratified and a new president has been elected, which will be six months after the end of the Mullah’s Regime.
Secretariat of the NCRI
The secretariat of the NCRI has five secretaries, including Mahnaz Salimian, the Senior Secretary of the NCRI, and Abolghasem Rezai, the Deputy Senior Secretary of NCRI.
Its main duties are to arrange NCRI meetings, communicate with NCRI members, and perform all administrative tasks.
Assembly of the NCRI
The assembly of the NCRI is responsible for making decisions on policy with the NCRI members present at the time. They hold weekly informal discussions on current political issues as well as meetings with the committee chairs.
Committees of the NCRI
The NCRI has 25 committees, which serve as shadow ministries, and are responsible for conducting research and planning for the future of Iran, but some have more responsibilities.
Let’s look at some of the committees that are involved in activities aside from research.
Foreign Affairs Committee
• maintains contact with parliamentarians, political personalities, think tanks, UN bodies, NGO’s, and human rights organizations from across the world
• publishes numerous papers on the situation and new developments in Iran, in English, French, German, Italian and Arabic languages
Women’s Committee
• works with Iranian women, both inside and outside of Iran, women’s rights organizations and NGOs, to obtain information about the situation of women’s rights in Iran
• attends international or regional conferences on women’s issues
Defense and Strategic Research Committee
• monitors the regime’s military activities, especially nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities
• work with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) network inside Iran
Political Research Committee
• researches the Iranian regime’s internal activities from its internal factions to social unrest to recent trends
• prepares internal reports, using MEK sources, to help the NCRI assess policies and positions
Security and Anti-Terrorism Committee
• counters any terrorist and intelligence threats by the Regime against the resistance
• working with the MEK in Iran to reveal the Iranian Regime’s terrorist activities
Arts and Culture Committee
• working with various Iranian societies to enrich Iranian culture and arts by holding cultural gatherings, concerts and artistic programs
• assessing the situation of artists and writers under the Iranian Regime
Representative offices of the NCRI
Unlike most of the NCRI, which is based in Paris, these representative offices are based in many European countries as well as the US. These offices are responsible for maintaining contact with that country’s local and national governments, NGOs, and Iranian Diaspora.
NCRI members in those countries will participate in independent political, human rights, cultural, and extra-curricular activities.
