Iran Focus
London, 12 Feb – Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), told politicians opposed to the theocratic mullahs that Iran would not now be able to return to the status quo and that the only viable option was regime change.
At a meeting in Paris, she said: “What happened in Iran was beyond some protest demonstrations against economic problems, but a nationwide movement against the clerical rule in its entirety.”
The protests, sparked by a draft budget that increased funding for the military while slashing funding for the poor, quickly became about all of the Regime’s problems and shortcomings.
Rajavi explained that the demonstrations exposed the failures of Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani to tackle even the most basic problems facing the Iranian people, including high unemployment, rising inflation, and intense social and political suppression.
She said: “The reality is that financial, political and judicial corruption has engulfed the regime. Serious political changes are the only way to deal with these crises. This is something that the regime is not able to do.”
That is why regime change is necessary.
Rajavi urged the European leaders at last weekend’s event to put pressure on the regime to free protesters, guarantee freedom of speech, and end the suppression of women.
She also advised that European countries condition their relations with Iran on improvements to human rights and the abolition of the death penalty.
She said: “All forms of relations with Iran must be conditioned on an end to executions and repression.”
This was supported by most at the conference, including UK Labour peer Lord Tony Clarke.
He said: “The European Union should stop trading with corporations and those affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards and the suppressive organs and condition the continuation and expansion of political and economic relationship with Iran on the release of prisoners and the suspension of executions.”
The NCRI serves as the Iranian government in exile and is a coalition of many different Iranian Resistance groups, including the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Also this weekend, the MEK advised the international community to support the Iranian people’s fight for a free Iran in order to avoid war in the Middle East, something that the Iranian government is ratcheting up to, in order to distract people from its various crises.
MEK representative Shahin Gobadi said: “Iran’s warmongering and belligerence is a major source of concern and tension in the region that can lead to a major war. But it can be averted. Years of policy of appeasement by Western governments emboldened iran. The overthrow of the Mullahs and establishment of peace and democracy in Iran would have a lasting impact in establishment of peace and tranquillity in the region.”
