Message to the US Senate meeting on the eve of Nowruz

Maryam Rajavi: The mullahs’ strategy relies on the three elements of repression, nuclear bomb making, and terrorism

At the beginning of spring and the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, allow me first to pray for peace and security in the world and freedom and democracy in Iran.
This conference comes as the war in Ukraine and the plight of its people have shocked the world.
Iran’s ruling mullahs have openly supported the invasion of Ukraine and the killing of innocent civilians. In contrast, the Iranian Resistance and the people of Iran have sided with the people of Ukraine.

The circumstances in Iran

Today, the mullahs’ regime is at its weakest point. Iran’s economy is in a recession.
Last year, there was one major anti-regime uprising every four months.
Iranian teachers and workers held continuous nationwide protests and strikes. The Iranian people’s desire for fundamental change is the cause of these protests.

Khamenei and his Revolutionary Guards are detested and lack any legitimacy among Iranians. They continue to plunder our nation’s wealth and incite war in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.
Khamenei’s decision to install Raisi, the henchman of the 1988 massacre, as the regime’s president is the product of the regime’s vulnerable state.

On January 27, the Resistance Units disrupted 25 regime television and radio channels and broadcast the slogan, “Death to Khamenei.” This special operation destroyed 600 of the regime’s radio and television servers, disrupting their programs for several weeks.
Since then, the Resistance Units have repeatedly broadcast anti-regime slogans in busy locations in large cities, which has shocked the regime.

Recently they launched another operation destroying several sites of the ministry of guidance, which is responsible for censorship and fundamentalist propaganda of the mullahs. This was another blow to this brutal and suppressive regime.
The Resistance Units also set fire to the statue of terror mastermind Qassem Soleimani, in the capital of one of Iran’s provinces.
The Resistance Units have combined the organized Resistance with the social movement against the regime.

The mullahs’ strategy

Dear friends,
The regime’s strategy is based on three elements:
1. brutal repression, torture, and executions,
2. making an atomic bomb, and
3. inciting war and terrorism abroad, including in the United States and Europe.
The nuclear talks in Vienna have been going on for exactly eleven months. The mullahs will never stop their bomb-making program, regardless of the result of the negotiations.
On March 10, Khamenei said he would not abandon the nuclear program even after the sanctions are lifted.

Let me remind that the regime began expanding its nuclear program right after the July 2015 agreement, and not in the last two years.
The mullahs want a nuclear deal to have the money to pay for repression, warmongering, and completing their bomb-making program. The nuclear deal will provide the mullahs an opportunity to reinforce their position.

The need for a firm policy

Dear friends,
On many occasions in the past 40 years, the regime was on the verge of being overthrown but the policy of appeasement helped the regime survive and emerge as a greater regional and global threat.
Today, more than ever, it is necessary that the US Senate lead a bold initiative to bring about a dramatic change in Iran policy.

A principled approach is to recognize the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the clerical regime and the fight of Iran’s rebellious youth against the IRGC and the repressive forces.
The human rights violations in Iran should be referred to the UN Security Council.
The regime’s leaders must face justice for four decades of crimes against humanity and genocide, especially the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 and the killing of at least 1,500 protesters in the November 2019 uprising.

The following steps are necessary to prevent the clerical regime from obtaining an atomic bomb:
-Implement the six UN Security Council resolutions;
-Dismantle the regime’s enrichment facilities and nuclear sites;
-Anytime, anywhere inspections by the IAEA.
Every dollar in the hands of this brutal and illegitimate regime will be used for repression, terrorism, and warmongering.
The world must condemn the regime’s measures to block Iran’s Internet and provide the Iranian people free access to the Internet.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to you, our friends, and distinguished personalities, who defend the just struggle of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy, which also guarantees global peace and security.
I have no doubt that as it has been proven during the last four decades, the Iranian people shall overcome.
Thank you and God bless you.