Maryam Rajavi’s Speech at the international conference in Paris

I am very delighted to be with you, especially the esteemed and dignified personalities from France, the United States, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, etc., who have attended this gathering.

Dear Friends,
This is our first meeting following the removal of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. I thank all of you, our brave and justice-seeking friends, on behalf of the Iranian people and their resistance, for your efforts and helping us and the residents of Ashraf and Liberty in this campaign.
You have formulated a new international policy based on justice and the rule of law which advocates resistance against dictatorship and not a policy of cowardice based on economical expediency which seeks to solidify the ruling regimes in their positions.
I am happy to say that this occurrence symbolizes the appearance of the flagpole of the ship of hope riding in the turbulent sea of Iran.
The terrorist list, which protected the religious fascism against the waves of change and freedom, has now crumbled. In the true sense of the phrase, the balance of power between our resistance movement and the clerical regime has been tilted.
Today, our resistance movement emerges in order to organize and propel forward a struggle, which by relying on the people and courageous youth of Iran, will lead to the establishment of freedom and liberty in Iran.
Therefore, as the leader of the Iranian resistance, Massoud Rajavi said: It is task of every freedom loving Iranian who wishes to break the chains of oppression and particularly the brave Iranian youth who consider Ashraf as their symbol to rise up everywhere in Iran.
Dear Friends,
Two fundamental changes promise the velayat-e faqih regime’s ultimate demise and overthrow. The first is the culmination of the regime’s crises and the promise of a watershed moment. And the second is the removal of the chains of the terrorist designation from the hands and feet of a movement that acts as the engine and pivotal force for this change.
Let us first look at the circumstances that the clerical regime finds itself in. The regime is entangled in a five-sided crisis, each one of which leads it to either an implosion or overthrow.
The first crisis involves the popular anger and disenchantment that is condensed under brutal suppression.

The ruling clerics have no way forward or backward when it comes to dealing with the severe and prevailing anger in Iranian society.
If they come close to yielding to the people’s political demands, they would quickly lose control of the society.
On the other hand, if they continue conducting mass hangings or their inhumane repression, the widespread social resistance will obstruct all the regime’s policies.
The second crisis involves the overthrow of Syria’s dictatorship.
Regardless of the regime’s decision to continue its involvement in committing crimes in Syria or to retreat from such criminal meddling, either way, the fall of Assad is inevitable. It is only a matter of time.
And such a change is part and parcel of the project to overthrow the clerical regime since it would mark a defeat that would cause reverberations stretching all the way to Tehran.
This is why in order to forestall the downfall of Bashar Assad it has intensified warmongering in the region.
But the mullahs do not realize that Assad will be overthrow as will their own regime.
The third crisis is the disintegration of the regime’s ruling elite. Faced with the intensification of a power struggle among the regime’s internal factions, the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sees no good options. If he were to share power with the other factions, a huge rift will emerge at the top of the regime’s hierarchy and similar to 2009 the opportunity for popular uprisings will be emerged. On the other hand, if Khamenei chooses to initiate further internal purges, then he would experience further weakness, destabilization and internal crises in his regime.
The fourth crisis faced by the regime is the impasse over the nuclear program. The velayat-e faqih system is also helpless when it comes to the nuclear crisis:
If it were to decide to stop its nuclear program as a result of sanctions, such a retreat would mean that Khamenei has drunk the hemlock, accepting a huge defeat, which would act as a precursor to the downfall of the entire regime.
But, if he decides to insist on marching forward with the development of a nuclear weapon, then he would have to brace for the threat of toughening sanctions and possible military actions, which would bring an end to his regime.
The fifth crisis is the regime’s economic ruin and bankruptcy, which it cannot prevent:
The mullahs would either have to stop dedicating enormous funds to suppression and terrorism and lessen the influence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Iranian economy, which would pave the way for widespread popular protests.
Or, the regime would have to continue on with the current catastrophic situation, which would produce a massive explosion caused by the anger of the unemployed, the hungry and the impoverished.
The fundamental reality is that this crisis has entered its final phase, producing acceleration in the tempo of developments and bringing the mullahs closer to making a choice between implosion or overthrow:
? Their retreat would mean the regime’s implosion and the beginning of popular protests;
? The continuation of the current policies would mean confrontation and collision with the international community leading to the regime’s overthrow.
It is clear that despite the existence of such fatal challenges, the mullahs’ downfall will not be automatic and spontaneous. An organized movement is required to actualize the potentials of the current ripe circumstances and lead it to its eventual victory.
The delisting of the PMOI has removed the twenty-year-old chains of a competent movement that can act as the fulcrum for a great change.
Therefore, the requisite conditions that have ripened are the following:
First, a population that stands ready for change;
Second, a regime whose ruling elite is disintegrating;
And, third, a resistance movement which is able to fulfill its historical role.
The extraordinarily important conclusion that these circumstances lead to can be summed up in the following sentence: The time for overthrowing the mullahs has arrived. The mullahs have no way out and will be swept away.
In order to escape this fate, the clerical regime continues to conduct mass executions. There have been 445 hangings so far this year. In recent weeks, Sattar Beheshti died under torture. The “crime” of Sattar, a heroic worker, was that he asked the mullahs one simple question: “Why don’t you step down from power?”
Indeed, this is what the people of Iran want to see: the mullahs relinquishing their throne and we will compel them to do so.
Dear Friends,
One of the most important results of the PMOI’s delisting was the increase in morale and self-confidence of the Iranian society, especially the youth, who see that their leading organization made possible what seemed impossible, and that it did so by falling back on its own strengths and potentials.
This change has also made possible the regrouping of the resistance movement inside Iran, as well as the ability to expand and link together the Resistance’s units.
Yes, a very significant result is the beginning of a new trend to organize the Resistance’s units inside Iran.

Dear Friends,
Over the last decade, the Iranian Resistance has been able to expose the most top secret aspects of the regime’s nuclear program and its terrorist networks.
The mullahs’ nuclear crisis is completely the result of the activities, pain and blood of the Resistance’s members inside Iran.
The role of this Resistance in the uprisings of 2009 demonstrates another aspect of its abilities and potentials.
According to a classified report of the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, those who formed the core units of the uprisings were either influenced by the PMOI’s stance or were members of the Resistance network. This is why the clerical regime hanged a number of the PMOI’s members and supporters and some of those arrested are still in prison.
The clerical regime’s security apparatus has also launched intensive measures to preclude the Resistance movement’s fundraising efforts. But it has not been able to stop the flow of such financial support.
Of course, the biggest defeat for the mullahs has been their failure to destroy the residents of Ashraf and their organization and movement. The decade-long perseverance of the Ashrafies, which has infused Iranian society with the spirit and inspiration of determination and struggle, remains to be the Iranian people’s most valuable asset for obtaining freedom.
It is on the basis of these sources of strength that after the PMOI‘s delisting our Resistance has the opportunity to take a leap forward in its struggle to overthrow the velayat-e faqih regime.
Dear Friends,
We have finally succeeded in removing the obstacle of the terrorist designation. And, now, a hundred new fronts for work and struggle have opened up in front of us, which signal the expansion and development of the struggle at this stage.
Before us lies the prospect of a struggle that will prove more intense, but one which at the same time will promise a more hopeful and more glorious result. This is a struggle that the Resistance’s members and supporters in Ashraf, Liberty, in Iran and all over the world are paying the price for through their sacrifices.
So, I would like to once again invite all the Resistance’s friends, advocates of democracy and dignified individuals all over the world, to actively rise up in support of this Resistance.
The freedom of the Iranian people is at hand. A rare and exceptional moment has arrived in the history of our struggle and the regime’s fall must be realized at all possible cost.
We can and we must.

Dear Friends,
An important aspect of our struggle remains to be the rejection of the western government’s policy of appeasement and the removal of the obstacles on the path of change in Iran one after the other.
In the U.S., the administration of President Obama has been re-elected for a second term. That administration officially pursued a policy of engagement with the Iranian regime in its first term in office.
This policy has failed and has had three disturbing consequences:
First, awarding the mullahs with a golden four-year opportunity to continue on with their nuclear program;
Second, handing over the government of Iraq to the religious fascism, which means leaving behind a catastrophic Iraq that continues to bleed;
And, third, giving an open hand to the mullahs and their Iraqi surrogates to suppress and murder Ashrafies.
Now that the administration prepares to start its second term, I hope that it has learnt from the failure of the policy of engagement and the enormous damages that it has caused for the people of Iran, Iraq, and the entire region, and that it would adopt a firm policy vis-a-vis the Iranian regime.
Our expectation and that of the Iranian people from the U.S. government is only one thing: Respect the Iranian people’s will to overthrow the religious dictatorship. This is in your benefit and the benefit of the whole world.
Dear friends,
Though the international sanctions have been implemented against the regime in several areas, still, the overriding current of western policy towards Iran remains to be the policy of appeasement.
This is the stance that allays the fears of the Iranian regime, because the regime sees that instead of halting all relations, western governments are still officially in contact with the regime’s lobbies, they are listening with open ears to the analysis and reports produced by the mullahs’ Intelligence Ministry.
They regularly associate with the factions and lobbies which loudly proclaim that faced with the prospect of a victory for the Iranian Resistance; they would undoubtedly prefer the preservation of the ruling mullahs.
It must be asked from western governments:
Why have you accepted the prolonging of nuclear negotiations that benefit the mullahs?
Are you waiting for the first nuclear bomb to be dropped on your heads?
Why are you not closing all the loopholes that the regime can use to circumvent international sanctions? Sanctions cannot be allowed to become a subject of dealings and appeasement.
Why are you not taking any serious measures to prevent the regime’s aid to the bloodthirsty dictator in Syria?
It is astounding that you have chosen to stay silent even when it comes to the regime’s large terrorist operations in recent months that have occurred in Bulgaria, to Malaysia to Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Why don’t you put the leaders of this regime on trial for their involvement in numerous crimes against humanity?
Why don’t you stop supplying the regime with the means of suppression, such as anti-riot vehicles or equipment to control phone and internet communication?
And why are you continuing to cooperate with the enemy of the people of Iran?
Yes, we say, stop this policy and expel the regime’s notorious networks of intelligence agents from western countries.
Halt your political relations with the velayat-e faqih regime and close the doors of its embassies.
Fortunately during recent days we have witnessed a new approach from the French government that has decided to recognize the coalition of the Syrian opposition and to provide arm to the Syrian Freedom army. We hope that other countries will follow this path.
Dear Friends,
The western policy of appeasement has paved the way for the mullahs in Iran and their puppet government in Iraq to create a variety of inhumane restrictions for the PMOI members in Camp Liberty.
They have been deprived of minimum human rights and humanitarian standards and they have been forced to live in a prison and are subjected to servitude.
These residents are considered protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and they are recognized as refugees and asylum seekers subject to international protections, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees.
Therefore, we must ask why the U.S., the EU and the UN have refused to demand thus far that Liberty be recognized as a refugee camp?
And, why are they not using their influence in Iraq to stop the Iraqi government’s harassment and suppressive measures against them?
And, why have they remained silent as the Iraqi government robs the PMOI’s assets and properties in Ashraf and Liberty?
Unfortunately instead of being a facilitator, the UN is de facto backing Iraqis against the PMOI. I call on the UN Secretary General to put an end to this inacceptable situation. Otherwise, the UN may face a great scandal.
This silence, inaction and submission to the dictates and desires of the religious fascism and its cohorts in Iraq are the relics of the policy of appeasement and the policy to preserve this regime.
This is a policy that has to change.
Dear friends,
The Iranian people, who possess an organized movement, will defeat the beast of tyranny, terrorism, and fundamentalism, and they will restore freedom and popular rule.
That day the people of Iran and the world over will be rid of the ominous phenomenon of Islamic fundamentalism.
The day of establishing a republic in Iran, based on separation of church and state, gender equality and a non-nuclear Iran without execution and torture.
Yes, the time to overthrow the regime is here. The Iranian people and their liberation army have risen up to make that into a reality. The international community must realign itself with the will of the Iranian people.
Hail to the people of Iran
Hail to the freedom-seeking Mojahedin in Liberty and in Ashraf
Hail to all of you