Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, September 21, 2020—On the eve of the annual UN General Assembly, the “Trans-Atlantic Summit on Iran Policy” was held online on Friday, September 18, in Ashraf 3 and in connection with 10,000 places around the world. Ashraf 3 is home to 3,000 members of the Iranian opposition the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
At the conference, a bipartisan group of high-ranking members from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives expressed their support for the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy, and emphasized the necessity to adopt a tough policy vis-a-vis the clerical regime ruling Iran.
Unanimous statement for change
The speakers agreed unanimously on the fact that the current circumstances indicate it is time for fundamental and political change in Iran.
The Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani said, “Three things must be priority:
the suffering of the Iranian people and their desire for change. They’ve had enough of this regime. Preventing the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The regime should not be trusted with nuclear weapons. There must be an end to the regime’s meddling and terrorist activities in the region and across the world. Terrorism and peace don’t go together. Agreements with people who sponsor terrorism are only agreements in words.”
“The people of Iran recognize the regime is on its heels, is more isolated than ever. The people see and feel the momentum gaining against the mullahs. The Iranian people know they are the point of the spear, they are on a path to regime change. Not only are they in the streets demonstrating against the regime, but they are also targeting the regime’s facilities and symbols,” said General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
“Iran is at a pivotal moment in its history,” said David Jones, British MP, and former Secretary of State for Wales.
Former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire Kelly Ayotte said, “It is time for the world to come together. Together, we can make sure there is peace and freedom in Iran. The people of Iran deserve to live in freedom and prosperity.”
British MP Bob Blackman stressed that in the coming days, world leaders will gather for the United Nations General Assembly, and that there should be three pressing issues regarding Iran:
– Extending the UN arms embargo on Iran
– Reimposing international sanctions on the regime. Allowing the regime to legally buy sophisticated weapons will not bring about peace in our lifetimes. Appeasing the theocratic leaders in Tehran will not bring about moderation or reforms.
– Establishing an independent inquiry into the 1988 massacre of Iranian political prisoners.
The religious dictatorship ruling in Iran
The speakers also emphasized that the regime is irreformable and is the source of instability, repression, and massacres.
“Thirty-two years ago, the Iranian regime waged a brutal campaign of torturing and executing thousands of its citizens, who were in prison for merely exercising their fundamental human right, to express their own opinions. The Supreme Leader’s Death Committee sought out those whose political ideas were regarded as incompatible with the theocratic state and ensured that they would simply disappear. To date, the Iranian government continues to deny this atrocity and still frequently calls upon the Revolutionary Guards to wage violence against its own people, peacefully protesting and dissenting from the political regime,” said Rep. Tom McClintock from the U.S. House of Representatives.
Eight U.S. Senators and 22 Members of the House of Representatives, together with prominent a variety of U.S. figures, attended the “Trans-Atlantic Summit on Iran Policy” held online on Friday, September 18, in Ashraf 3, the MEK complex in Albania. The online event connected 10,000 places around the world to support the Iranian Resistance and a firm policy toward the mullahs.
In this regard, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt said that the Iranian regime remains the leading state-sponsor of terrorism, violates its treaty obligations, and continues its disregard for human rights. The mullahs are destabilizing the Middle East, funding Shiite militias in Iraq, supporting the Assad regime in Syria, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon. “They are trying to interfere in America’s election process,” he said.
“It is an absolute necessity that we hold the regime’s officials to account for their crimes against humanity. There is no outrage the regime will not commit. They tortured a confession out of Navid Afkari and they executed him. We must hold them to account for this crime. The mullahs not only violently oppress their own people but also seek to project that oppression to other people across the world,” said U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate Ted Cruz.
Marco Rubio, another former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator, said, “Our battle is to give Iran back to its people.”
The alternative to the mullahs’ regime
The speakers also underlined that there is a legitimate, credible, and powerful political alternative, being the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and it should be supported worldwide.
“The real solution is in the hands of the Iranian people. The Iranian people want to control their own lives and nations. They want to be respected across the world,” Mayor Giuliani said in this regard. “The MEK and NCRI present a democratic alternative to this regime of terror. They can take Iran through the transition. We have a government in exile that will make sure your country moves forward with prosperity. Iran is afraid of Madam Rajavi’s vision for a future Iran, her ten-point plan.”
Rep. Tom McClintock explained that this is exactly the reason why the Iranian Resistance remains a target of repression in Iran and that many of its supporters have recently been arrested in Iran for their affiliation with this movement.
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez said Congress will stand united in its efforts to prevent Iran from continuing to export its ideology in the form of terrorist actors and destabilizing activities, and in preventing Iran from threatening her neighbors and the world with a nuclear weapon.
The only successful and viable policy toward Iran
The speakers also emphasized that the only successful and viable policy toward Iran is a firm policy and support for the Iranian Resistance to overthrow this regime.
“We have tried everything to change the behavior of the regime of Iran. It is time for a conclusion. The regime will not change. We must change the regime in Iran. That is what we mean when we say freedom for the people in Iran. We are ready to support the freedom fighters in Iran in their uprising. We will not remain silent as you fight to bring about change,” Senator Joseph Lieberman said on this topic.
U.S. Senator Martha McSally highlighted that it is time for Iran to stop suppressing its people and sponsoring terrorism, and instead becoming a positive actor in the Middle East. “I’m inspired by the Iranian people who continue to put their lives on the line to protest the murderous Iranian regime. America stands with the protesters demanding their God-given rights for freedom,” she said.
“We must support the democratic opposition. It is the Iranian people who will decide the future,” said Ambassador Robert Joseph, former Undersecretary for Arms Control & International Security of the U.S. Department of State, and underlined that “The Resistance Units are the true beacons of freedom. You have endured suffering at the hands of the regime for standing up for democracy and a secular republic. Your sacrifices and your success will inspire the next generation in Iran. The end of the religious dictatorship is insight. Even the policy of appeasement can’t save the religious dictatorship from its ultimate fate. We are at a crossroads. The future of Iran will be affected by decisions made in the next months.”
