The Process of Regime Change in Iran and the Role of Organized Resistance
On November 20, the Friends of Free Iran group hosted a conference at the European Parliament, attended by Maryam Rajavi, to address the current situation in Iran.
The keynote speaker was Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the democratic opposition coalition.
In her speech, Maryam Rajavi presented the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s roadmap for dismantling the current theocratic dictatorship and detailed its readiness to ensure a peaceful transition of power to Iran’s elected representatives.
During the session, Maryam Rajavi discussed the pathway to ending the dictatorship and establishing a democratic republic in Iran:
Democratic change can be realized through the efforts of the Iranian people and their Resistance. I will outline the key elements essential for achieving this goal:
1. The profoundly discontented and incensed populace, together with the Resistance Units leading the charge and the courageous women at their helm. The Resistance Units constitute the components of the Army of Freedom. By preparing for an organized uprising, they embody the force for change and stand as the freedom fighters of Iran.
2. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), with thousands of experienced cadres, embodies a movement with a 60-year legacy of resistance against the dictatorships of both the Shah and the clerics.
The Iranian regime openly recognizes the PMOI as its primary adversary and the decisive force behind the significant blows it has suffered over the past 45 years. This recognition explains why the PMOI remains the central target of the regime’s suppression, terrorism, and relentless demonization campaigns.Ashraf-3 in Albania, home to a thousand heroic women and nearly 1,000 former political prisoners who endured torture under both dictatorships stands as one of the organization’s key strongholds.
3. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a democratic alternative, comprises 457 members from diverse political backgrounds, with women constituting over half of its membership. Established 43 years ago in Tehran by Massoud Rajavi, it is the most enduring political coalition in Iran’s history.
The NCRI champions a comprehensive agenda that promotes freedoms and women’s rights, autonomy for ethnic groups, equality between Shia and Sunni Muslims as well as other religious minorities, and the separation of church and state. It also advocates for the abolition of the death penalty and a non-nuclear Iran, consistently supporting peace initiatives in the Middle East.
4. Over the past four decades, the Iranian Resistance has organized the largest gatherings of Iranians abroad, clearly demonstrating its widespread support within Iran. Among its supporters are the families and survivors of the 100,000 victims who sacrificed their lives for freedom, with the names and details of 20,000 of them already compiled. This support base also includes hundreds of thousands of political prisoners who have endured repression for the past 45 years.
At great cost, the Resistance was the first to expose the regime’s secret nuclear activities and facilities in 2002, as well as its interventionist policies in the region.
A diverse cadre of Iranian professionals abroad, organized across 320 associations within Iranian communities, plays a critical role in laying the foundation for a free and democratic Iran.
Operating independently and with financial self-sufficiency, the Resistance funds all its activities—ranging from daily operations to communications, publications, gatherings, and a 24-hour television broadcast via five satellites—through contributions from its members and supporters both inside and outside Iran.
5. Global support for the NCRI and the Iranian Resistance’s 10-point plan to establish a democratically elected republic is evident in various statements, including those from the majority of 34 legislative bodies across Europe, the US, and several Arab countries.
It is also reflected in declarations signed by 137 former global leaders and 80 Nobel laureates, as well as in the grand gathering of Iranians in Berlin in June 2024. These statements underline the consensus that there is no place in Iran for either a religious dictatorship or a dictatorial monarchy.
6. The NCRI does not seek to seize power but to return it to its rightful owners—the people of Iran. According to the NCRI platform (announced in 1981), the process for transferring power after the regime’s overthrow consists of the following steps:
a) The establishment of a provisional government, which will remain in power for a maximum of six months. Its primary responsibility will be to organize elections for a Constituent Assembly.
b) Once the Constituent Assembly is formed, the provisional government will step down, marking the completion of the NCRI’s mission.
c) Sovereignty will then be transferred to the people’s representatives in the Constituent Assembly, who will form a new government for a two-year term, tasked with drafting, approving, and conducting a referendum on the constitution of the new republic.
When a viable alternative exists, there is no room for chaos. Millions of Iranians living abroad will return to Iran, bringing their expertise and resources. As for the role of the international community, the key element of their policy should be the recognition of the Iranian people’s legitimate right to bring about change, as well as the decisive role of the organized resistance.
The religious dictatorship and its allies claim that there is no alternative. This is an outright lie. The solution lies in the overthrow of this regime by the Iranian people and their Resistance.
This goal is within reach, and here are its most critical components:#Iran… pic.twitter.com/ZhLl0Bcoh4— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) November 28, 2024
