At the European Parliament, MEPs join Maryam Rajavi in urging EU to blacklist Iran regime’s Revolutionary Guards
Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday (22 November), calling on European Union leaders to counter the Iranian regime’s impunity and terrorism by blacklisting the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization and shutting down embassies of Iran’s regime.
Mrs. Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), made the appeal just days after terrorists, suspected to be working for Iran, attempted to assassinate former European Parliament Vice President Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a long-time supporter of the Iranian Resistance.
The chair of the conference, Mr. Zarzalejos, read out a message by Prof. Vidal Quadras, currently recovering in a hospital in Spain following his November 9 assassination attempt on his life.
In his message, Vidal Quadras who was a Vice-President of European Parliament from 1999- 2014, pointed to the Iranian regime as the most likely culprit in the attempted assassination of former Spanish lawmaker.
“Let me remind you that the Iranian regime uses four methods to impose its malignant will upon us. The first one is based on the panic Western governments feel for an Iran equipped with nuclear weapons. From that perspective, the JCPOA is purely tactical to buy time until they achieve their goals. The second is hostage taking and hostage swapping. The mullahs arrest innocent western visitors to Iran and after exchange them for convicted terrorists serving sentence in European or American territories. The third element relies on obscure interests of some big Western companies operating in Iran. On that particular point, doing business with the Iranian dictatorship is bread for today and hunger for tomorrow. And the fourth and last method is the capacity of the Iranian regime to plot and execute terrorist attacks as the one I have recently suffered. We must not forget that if you accept blackmailing once you will be blackmailed forever,” Dr. Vidal-Quadras, wrote in his message to the conference.
“Let me state very clearly to you that the EU policy in relation to the Islamic Republic of Iran has to change and this change must be as profound as effective. For decades, the West has tried to appease, to negotiate, to dialogue and to make concessions. We have now all the evidences that this approach has not worked and it will never work. One can make the effort to compromise with a rational enemy. Reaching an agreement with irrational Absolute Evil is just impossible,” former EP Vice President added.
Mrs. Rajavi told the meeting: “Last year, the mullahs’ regime placed Prof. Vidal-Quadras on the top of its blacklist. While being taken to hospital, he pointed out, ‘I have no doubt that the Iranian regime is behind this crime… I have no other enemy but the Iranian regime.'”
“While the regime’s belligerence has engulfed the Middle East, its terrorism has jeopardized the security of European politicians and citizens. Nevertheless, the bullet that struck Mr. Vidal-Quadras in the face was a disgrace to the policy of appeasing Khamenei. This crime is the outcome of handing over the regime’s imprisoned terrorist-diplomat in Belgium, and tolerating the presence of the network of agents and spies from the mullahs’ Intelligence Ministry in Europe. Indeed, isn’t it a proven fact that the regime’s embassies in Europe serve as its command headquarters for terrorism? Then, why have European governments failed to shut down those embassies?”
Elsewhere in her remarks, Mrs. Rajavi said: “To guarantee its own survival, from the outset, the clerical regime’s has relied on the suppression of the Iranian people and on war and terrorism against the international community. This regime is the main enemy of the Palestinian people and their only legitimate representative, the Palestinian Authority.”
“The head of the snake is in Tehran, the epicenter for export of terrorism and warmongering,” Mrs. Rajavi said while calling on MEPs to urge their governments to:
- Place the IRGC on the terrorist list according to the EP resolution of January 19, 2023.
- Shut down the regime’s embassies in Europe.
- Expel the regime’s agents and spies from European institutions.
- Restore the UN Security Council’s six resolutions, consistent with Resolution 2231 and re-impose the sanctions against the clerical regime. Trigger the snapback mechanism to prevent petro dollars from pouring into the coffers of Khamenei and the IRGC.
- Recognize the Iranian people’s struggle for the regime’s overthrow and the young people’s fight against the IRGC.
Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Gholam Hossein Ejeii, and other regime leaders must face justice for genocide and crimes against humanity, Mrs. Rajavi added.
Guy Verhofstadt MEP, former Prime Minister of Belgium, said: “Europe is far too weak in its approach to this criminal regime in Tehran.” The EU must accept that there is no difference between the so-called moderates and the extremists in the mullahs’ regime, he said, adding that the EU had only imposed sanctions on just over 200 Iranian officials. He urged the EU to place the IRGC in its entirety on its terrorist list.
The Slovenian MEP Milan Zver said at the conference: “The situation in the Middle East should serve as a wake-up call to Europe regarding the Iranian regime’s activities and its destructive role in spreading extremism, creating and supporting terror proxies, warmongering, and continuing repression at home.”
He added: “It is time to support the NCRI as the democratic alternative seeking to establish a democratic system based on Mrs. Rajavi’s ten-point plan.”
Anna Fotyga MEP, former Foreign Minister of Poland, told the event that it is high time for Iranian officials to be held accountable for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
Ryszard Czarnecki MEP from Poland decried EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell for failing thus far to include the IRGC on the EU’s blacklist despite a resolution adopted by the European Parliament in January calling for this measure.
Petras Auštrevičius MEP from Lithuania described the mullahs’ regime in Iran as part of an ‘axis of evil’ that spreads terror in the region and beyond. “The Revolutionary Guards must be designated as a terrorist organization,” he said.
The French MEP, Michèle Rivasi told the meeting that Europe must do more to support the brave women of Iran who have had a major role in the recent anti-government protests.
Petri Sarvamaa MEP from Finland said Iran’s regime is the main obstacle to peace in the Middle East. He urged the EU to blacklist the IRGC as a terrorist group immediately.
The Italian MEP Anna Bonfrisco declared her solidarity with the Iranian people and democratic Resistance movement at the meeting.
Former German Defense Minister Dr. Franz Josef Jung told the event that in addition to its domestic suppression of dissent and export of terror abroad, Iran’s regime also runs an extensive “disinformation campaign” against the NCRI.
He pointed out: “One of the most bizarre claims made by agents of the Iranian regime is that the NCRI has no support among the Iranian population. If that were true, I ask why are the supporters of the NCRI arrested and some of them executed? Why is the NCRI being demonized? The truth is that the NCRI enjoys the support of the Iranian population, is well organized and, with the 10-point plan of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, offers a democratic platform for the future of Iran that European institutions should support.”
Ivan Štefanec MEP from Slovakia called on world leaders to hold Iranian officials accountable both for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and the crackdown on recent anti-government protests.
- Tags: 1988 Massacre, Maryam Rajavi, NCRI
