Maryam Rajavi: Decisiveness vis-a-vis this regime is imperative

Message to a conference at the UK parliament

Dear friends and honorable members of parliament,
On the eve of Nowruz and the beginning of the Iranian New Year, I salute all of you and wish that the New Year and the advent of spring would bring spring of freedom and democracy for the people of Iran.
I would like to use this occasion to also salute the courageous women of Ukraine and their resistance.

Dear friends,
The world is facing a critical situation and at the same time the regime is engulfed with crises of survival without any solution.
Iran’s ruling dictatorship is now at the weakest point of its rule in the past 43 years. Social discontent is widespread because of poverty, corruption and repression.
Since 2018 alone, eight major nationwide uprisings have shaken Iran.
During the November 2019 uprising, the regime brutally killed at least 1,500 people.
By installing the butcher of the 1988 massacre, Ebrahim Raisi, as president, Khamenei tried to brutally suppress the growing uprisings of the Iranian people, and pave the way for obtaining a nuclear bomb.
As the record holder of executions, at least 295 people, including 11 women, have been executed during Raisi’s presidency.
However, despite this brutal repression and despite the limitations of the pandemic, several segments of society continue their demonstrations.

The role of Resistance Units in Iran

The popular uprisings and the activities of the organized Resistance and the Resistance Units have brought the prospect of the regime’s overthrow much closer than ever.
Regime officials, including Khamenei, warn against this prospect and the role of the People’s Mojahedin.
Recently, dozens of the regime’s television and radio channels were disrupted by the Resistance Units.
Broadcasts on national television networks were interrupted and instead slogans were aired in support of the Resistance.
In various public places in many cities, in busy streets and shopping centers, the Resistance Units have been broadcasting slogans in support of the Iranian Resistance and calling for the overthrow of the regime.
Earlier, Resistance Units torched the statue of Qassem Soleimani, the regime’s terror master, which was six meters tall, in a major square of the city of Shahrekord.
This demonstrates the Iranian people’s anger at the regime’s policies. The activities of the Resistance Units have encouraged popular resistance and confused the regime.

The international community needs to adopt decisive policy

Under such circumstances, instead of making concessions to the regime in the hope of forcing it to halt its nuclear weapons program, the international community should adopt a decisive policy.
Just as the 2015 JCPOA did not halt the regime’s nuclear program, the recent negotiations cannot stop the mullahs either. They use negotiations and agreements to reinforce themselves.
They are both seeking the lifting of sanctions and obtaining the bomb because they see it as the only strategic guarantee of their survival.
Decisiveness in the face of this regime is an inevitable imperative.
Because a lack of firmness sends the message that they will never be held accountable for their criminal acts and that they should continue their disruptive policies.
Therefore, the IRGC, the regime’s main instrument of terrorism, repression, and plunder, should be blacklisted by the United Kingdom.
Secondly, the 1988 massacre, one of the biggest crimes of the second half of the 20th century, which led to the killing of at least 30,000 political prisoners, should be condemned and recorded as a crime against humanity and genocide.
The perpetrators of this horrific crime, including Raisi, must be tried in international courts.
Thirdly, the Iranian people’s right to overthrow this corrupt and criminal regime must be recognized immediately.

Supporting the people of Iran

With great appreciation from the elected representatives of the British people, I would like to emphasize that you have a special place in the campaign against religious dictatorship in Iran.
We pay tribute to the late Sir David Amess, whose firm support for the Iranian people’s organized resistance will always be remembered by the Iranian people.
I call on all of you, the elected representatives of the British people, and the supporters of the Iranian Resistance, to urge the British government to lead an initiative in support of the people of Iran and their Resistance to overthrow this regime.
Thank you all very much.