Conference entitle, “Iran: Uprising and Resistance against the Regime of Execution”

Maryam Rajavi: The regime fears a nationwide movement that is ready for a fundamental change in Iran

First, let me salute my fellow Baluch compatriots. On the anniversary of the Zahedan uprising, where 120 people were killed by the regime last year, they staged a courageous protest and confronted the repressive forces under gunfire and tear gas.

I also salute the brave young people who undertook many acts of protest on the anniversary of the 2022 uprising despite the maximum presence of the Revolutionary Guards and other repressive forces.

According to the regime, 600 women were arrested in Tehran alone on September 16.

Suppression of women continues and recently, a 16-year-old girl was badly beaten by the regime’s agents under the pretext of not observing the mandatory hijab.

Now, she is in a coma and the regime has surrounded the hospital to prevent any incident.

I call on all international bodies, and women rights organizations to condemn and further investigate this issue.

Social readiness to continue the protests

Now, on the last year’s uprising, there are several significant and practical conclusions that I would like to mention.

First: the social readiness to continue the protests has increased, despite massive repression.

Khamenei and the IRGC cannot prevent the eruption of this volcano.

Second: Western governments have largely helped the regime.

For example, the easing of sanctions has increased the regime’s oil revenues.

However, Khamenei and his criminal president, Ebrahim Raisi, have failed to break the regime’s deadlock. Economic and social crises have intensified and social discontent has increased.

The regime’s media publish reports every day of the growing number of attacks on the IRGC by young people. These reports indicate that people do not fear the IRGC.

And the third conclusion is that the social impact of the MEK and the NCRI has significantly improved inside the country over the past year.

Despite the arrest of thousands of members of the Resistance Units, their network has expanded in many provinces.

The regime fears a nationwide movement

Regarding the last year’s uprising, the speaker of the mullahs’ so-called parliament said, “The MEK had the most significant role in organizing and conducting these incidents.”

The regime’s experts say, “The main question in our country, which we must deal with today, is the MEK.” They say, “Today, we are facing a new version of the MEK” which is “certainly more dangerous.”

What they mean, is that the MEK has developed a vast network inside Iran.

For this reason, the regime has stepped up its attacks on the MEK to counter the advances of the Resistance. Inside Iran, they do this by suppression.

On the international level, they do it by demonization and by asking other governments to impose restrictions on the Iranian Resistance. In this way, the regime tries to keep its balance.

The core issue, is the regime’s fear of a nationwide movement that is ready for a fundamental change in Iran.

The bankrupt policy of appeasement of the mullahs

It has been a long time that none of the advocates of appeasement can openly defend this criminal regime. No one can claim that there is a moderate faction in religious fascism. Instead, the advocates of appeasement rely on three main arguments.

First: They say if the regime is toppled, the situation will get worse.

Second: They say that the regime is capable of containing the protests.

Third, and the most important one, is that they deny the existence of any credible alternative and say that the MEK does not enjoy any support in Iran.

Recently, the US government gave considerable financial aid to the regime. Your description, Mr. Secretary, clarified the core of the matter. You said this was a “massive financial support to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”

For the mullahs, however, the biggest help is to deny the existence of a credible alternative and the decisive role of the MEK and NCRI in Iran, and limit their impact, by denying their rights and creating obstacles.

It was recently revealed that because of the policy of appeasement, the clerical regime had been able to install some of its agents in various United States government agencies. The mastermind and contact point of this network is a member of the Revolutionary Guards.

The duty of this network has been to pump the Iranian regime’s desired disinformation into the decision-making centers in the US. The common aspect among the members of this network is their hostility to the MEK, that is reflected in dozens of articles and countless tweets by them.

In the past four decades, every time foreign governments have taken a stand against the MEK, the mullahs have been behind it. The bankrupt policy followed by those governments is against the Iranian people’s uprising and against global peace and security.

A viable policy that would advocate freedom in Iran and peace and security for the world has been expressed in House Resolutions 100 and 627.

I am sure that the policy that is recommended by 124 former leaders and 3,600 lawmakers from around the world will soon be proven correct.

They have defended the Iranian people’s uprising to overthrow the regime and establish a democratic republic. They have supported the democratic alternative and the Iranian Resistance’s plan for the future of Iran.

The Iranian people are determined to overthrow the religious dictatorship. They reject all kinds of dictatorships, including both the Shah and the mullahs.

So, I am confident that Iran will be free.