The Free Iran 2024 World Summit, held on June 29, 2024, in Paris, France, brought together over 500 lawmakers, former presidents, prime ministers, and senior officials from the US, Europe, and the Middle East. Key speakers included Maryam Rajavi, the NCRI’s president-elect, former US Vice President Mike Pence, and other notable figures such as former UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss, Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton.
At the same time, tens of thousands of Iranians gathered in Berlin to support the cause for a democratic Republic of Iran and the Ten-Point Plan of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the NCRI.
Maryam Rajavi: Iran’s regime is desperate
#FreeIran2024 World Summit
The sham elections are the outcome of the impasse and the major failures that plague the regime. The people of #Iran have repeatedly and clearly declared, “Our vote is to overthrow the regime; there is no place for elections in this regime. It's time… pic.twitter.com/QZHWlf3WhN— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 29, 2024
Maryam Rajavi’s address emphasized the resilience and determination of the Iranian Resistance. She underscored the regime’s vulnerability and the unwavering spirit of the Iranian people. “Appeasement towards the mullahs’ regime may lead to more bloodshed among our people,” she warned, “yet it will be futile in protecting Khamenei from his inevitable downfall.”
Mrs. Rajavi said: “The sham elections are the outcome of the impasse and the major failures that plague the regime because the people of Iran have repeatedly and clearly declared, “Our vote is to overthrow the regime; there is no place for elections in this regime. It’s time for revolution!”
Mrs. Rajavi stressed that the next incoming President represents the continuation of the mullahs’ supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s strategy.
“Reformists within this irreformable regime were this time used to increase turnout,” she said. “However, when asked, their candidate reiterated that his programs and policies are decided by Khamenei and that deviating from them is a red line for him.”
She added: “Khamenei’s assessment following the 2022 uprising led him to a desperate attempt, which later manifested in the conflict in Gaza. He publicly proclaimed his decision in Mashhad on March 21, 2023, under the name of the “Resistance Front,” declaring, “We unequivocally announce the Resistance Front.”
“This is why we argue that to achieve peace in the region, it’s crucial to target the head of the snake of warmongering.”
Pointing to the serial uprising beginning in December 2017 and continuing through the uprisings in 2018, November 2019, and September 2022, Mrs. Rajavi hailed “the generation driven by rebellion and revolution,” stressing that “every day, we witness the performance, growth, and ascension of this generation through the sacrifices of the Resistance Units across our occupied homeland.”
Threat of the Iranian Regime
The summit detailed the regime’s threats to both its people and global stability. Speakers argued that the regime’s repressive tactics and pursuit of nuclear capabilities pose significant dangers.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, “The real way to promote peace is to help the vast majority of Iranians who want regime change in Iran. Ayatollah Khamenei’s regime today is far weaker than the Shah’s was in 1978 because it is more brutal and more hated, it is more corrupt and it is more dysfunctional.”
“There is oppression especially of women, because women are the backbone of democratic resistance in Iran. There is brutal execution of political dissidents. There are executions every day,” Former Belgian Prime Minister and Member of the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt said. “During the mullahs’ regime, there has been proliferation of nuclear activities and they almost have a nuclear bomb. Moreover, they are spreading terrorism in the Middle East. There is not one terrorist group in the Middle East that is not funded by the regime.”
.@chavezlinda: "Without regime change in Iran, we will face a nuclear-armed Iran. It won't just be drones dropping conventional weapons in places like Ukraine; it will be nuclear threats against countries."#FreeIran2024 #MaryamRajavi4FreeIranhttps://t.co/d9NOtOKcZK
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 29, 2024
“Iran and its leadership are a threat to all of us,” Linda Chavez, the Former Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, said as she reminded that Iran’s regime is shipping drones to Russia which are used to kill civilians in Ukraine. “Iran’s support for the Houthis disrupts shipping lines, affecting the supply chain in many countries, including the United States, by stopping ships in the Red Sea,” she added.
John Bolton, Former US National Security Advisor, warned that the threats of Iran’s regime are not only aimed at the people of Iran, but also the countries of the region “and ultimately it’s aimed at the United States. It pursues a policy of assassination and intimidation, not just in the Middle East, but in Europe and the United States.”
Support for the Iranian Resistance
The importance of supporting the NCRI and PMOI was a recurrent theme in the conference as speakers discussed the possible solutions to counter the regime.
Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States, said, “One of the biggest lies of the ruling regime sold to the wider world is that there is no alternative to the status quo. But you all know there is an alternative, well organized, fully prepared, perfectly qualified, and popularly supported alternative called the National Council of Resistance of Iran, whose main component is called the MEK.”
As this presidential election plays out before a watching world, our allies and enemies need to know – whatever the condition of our current American leadership – the American people are strong, our military is the strongest in the history of the world and that any nation that… pic.twitter.com/htVXkwNyjN
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) June 29, 2024
Mike Pompeo, 70th US Secretary of State, said, “The MEK provides a solution to so many problems, not only for Iran but for the broader Middle East as well. There is an alternative. I’m convinced that you all in your lifetime will get to celebrate that very moment when the regime in Iran collapses.”
Today, I spoke before the Free Iran 2024 Summit in Paris in support of a democratic, non-nuclear Republic of Iran, after the Iranian people overwhelmingly rejected the mullahs' theocracy by boycotting their sham elections. I highlighted the need to provide political support for…
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) June 29, 2024
“The Iranian people are engaged in a struggle for democratic change, and we, all of us, should support them in that aim,” said David Jones, Former Minister and Member of the UK House of Commons, “The future of Iran must be determined by the people of Iran who very clearly want a Democratic Republic, and that will only be achieved through an organized democratic resistance movement exemplified by Madam Rajavi and the NCRI.”
John Bercow, Former Speaker of the UK House of Commons, said, “The philosophy and the intended policy program of the National Council of Resistance of Iran is one of the most eloquent, articulate, and comprehensive statements of an alternative that any democrat could wish to see.” He described the platform of the NCRI as the complement to a “rigorous sanctions policy applied with fixity of purpose and clear consistency. Let us support and equip those who want to fight for their freedom within. Let’s make it clear to the mullahs that when they are ousted, they will be brought to book.”
“The truth is, the mullahs in Tehran have no greater fear than the NCRI,” Mr. Pence said. “That’s why they put Mrs. Rajavi and 100 of the leaders of this movement on trial in absentia, hoping to scare the younger generation of heroes, many of whose faces we just saw on the walls of this gathering.”
Regime’s Efforts to Discredit the Opposition
The summit exposed the regime’s systematic efforts to undermine the opposition through propaganda and repression.
Ingrid Betancourt, Former Senator and Presidential Candidate of Colombia, said, “We need international support if we want change. That’s why the Iranian regime has deployed an aggressive strategy to disseminate false information about the NCRI, the MEK, and Iranian freedom fighters.”
.@IBetancourtCol: "Our support for the resistance is evidence of the regime's failure. It means that their money, time, disinformation and slandering campaigns, their bribery and corruption of journalists have failed."#MaryamRajavi4FreeIran #FreeIran2024https://t.co/zC52YaOgAM
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 29, 2024
Betancourt detailed how the regime uses its media connections and agents to portray a false image about the Iranian Resistance abroad.
“It is important to understand why the regime puts so much effort into stopping our support,” she said. “First, it’s because if we succeed in obtaining official support from governments, it sends a message as powerful as a nuclear bomb. It means game over. Because Maryam Rajavi has given hope to the Iranian people. And hope among leaders in dictatorial regimes is what they fear most.”
Baroness O’Loan, Member of the British House of Lords, said, “The regime’s relentless attacks against Maryam and against the NCRI, the smear campaigns, the terror plots, the kangaroo courts in Tehran, serve only to validate the effectiveness and legitimacy of the NCRI.”
The summit was a powerful demonstration of international solidarity with the Iranian people’s quest for democracy and freedom. Despite the Iranian regime’s efforts to thwart the event, the strong turnout and robust discussions underscored a united front against tyranny and for a democratic future in Iran.
For more details, read the full report on the website of the NCRI.