Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, February 3, 2020—What can the European Union’s chief diplomat possibly achieve on a trip to Iran? Nothing positive. Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is headed for Tehran little over two months after the Iranian regime brutally murdered more than 1,500 protesters in the streets of Tehran and continues to detain and torture thousands more.
In the weeks that followed the November protests, the regime’s officials have on several occasions called for the severe torture and brutal execution of protesters who had raised their voice for their most basic right to live in freedom and have a decent livelihood. The regime also imposes other repressive measures against the families of the killed protesters, such as refraining from delivering their bodies to their families, preventing funeral ceremonies, and charging the families for the bullets used to kill their loved ones.
Under such circumstances, a diplomatic meeting with key Iranian officials will only justify the crimes of the regime and will give Tehran the green light to further suppress protests and to torture and execute political prisoners. This is especially important since protests have been ongoing in various Iranian cities even after the brutal suppression of the November uprisings. The people of Iran have vividly made it clear that they do not want this regime and that the mullahs do not represent them. Their slogans in the past weeks include “We don’t want the Islamic republic” and “Death to the dictator.” Therefore, they will view this as a sign of the European Union siding not with them but with the tyrants ruling their country.
But there’s more reason to be concerned about Borrell’s visit to Tehran. Aside from its repressive domestic policies, the Iranian regime has also become a source of anguish and pain for the people of the Middle East. For several months, protesters in Iraq have been calling for the eviction of the Iranian regime from their country and the dismantlement of any government that is influenced by Tehran.
Tehran’s response has been to unleash its terrorist proxy militias to murder protesters. Hundreds of Iraqi civilians have been killed by Iran’s forces in the past few months alone. Qassem Soleimani, the now-dead commander of Iran’s terrorist Quds Force, directly orchestrated the killing of Iraqi protesters.
At the same time, Tehran continues to send troops to Syria, where it is killing civilians with wild abandon. These nations too will view Borrell’s meetings with their butchers as a sign that the EU has abandoned all notion of humanitarian responsibilities for political gains.
And the regime continues to push forward to obtain nuclear weapons. A weak response from the international community will only send the signal to Tehran that it can continue its belligerent behavior and squander the wealth of the Iranian people to enrich and stockpile uranium and pursue its dream of one day building an atomic bomb.
As the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) declared in a statement on Sunday, “The policies and behavior of belligerent clerical dictatorship blatantly contradict the European Union’s values such as peace and human rights. Shaking hands with the rulers in Tehran, who must face justice for 40 years of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocidal killings, is illegitimate and cannot be justified even by economic interests. Investing in a regime, whose overthrow is sought by the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people, is doomed to fail and will only arouse the abhorrence of the people of Iran.”
#Iran Regime to View Borrell’s Trip as Green Light to Continue #CrimesAgainstHumanity #FreeIran2020 #IranProtests#FreeAllProtestershttps://t.co/i0nIsURUcg
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 2, 2020
Instead of seeking diplomatic initiatives with a regime that has proven its propensity for violence and disregard to all international norms and values, the EU should stand with the people of Iran and hold Tehran to account for its crimes against its people, against the people of the region, and against the world. History has shown that the mullahs only take advantage of the appeasement policy to further their evil ends.
