Some 50 Bi-partisan Members of the United States House of Representatives took part in an online conference on Friday, February 11, calling on the Biden administration to adopt a firm Iran policy and stand alongside the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom and democracy. The Organization of Iranian American Communities hosted the event marking 43rd anniversary of Iran’s 1979 anti-monarchical revolution
While expressing their solidarity with the Iranian people, the representatives condemned the Iranian regime as the world’s “worst sponsor of terror” and criticized the current U.S. policy vis-à-vis the regime’s clandestine nuclear program. The lawmakers also expressed their support for a democratic, secular and non-nuclear republic in Iran.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), was the keynote speaker at the meeting during which she explained that the 1979 revolution began with the overthrow of the Shah and his “violent tyranny” and was hijacked by the mullahs ruling the country today.
“43 years ago, today, the Shah dictatorship was overthrown by the Iranian people’s nationwide uprising. The Iranian people revolted against a violent tyranny. They sought freedom and democracy. But since the Shah had practically destroyed all democratic movements, he paved the way for a reactionary mullah to take power,” Mrs. Rajavi said.
“Today, there is a democratic alternative that has powerful social base. It has elevated the widespread social discontent toward a goal-oriented struggle to overthrow the regime in its entirety,” she added.
“For years, the regime’s leaders have said that they need a nuclear weapon to prevent the regime’s overthrow. They need the bomb to blackmail western governments as concessions from Western governments is vital for their survival. Khamenei has repeatedly admitted that if the regime does not meddle in region, it would be forced to fight in the streets of Tehran. So, it would be a catastrophic mistake to consider the regime’s warmongering as a sign of strength, which leads one to make concessions to it,” Mrs. Rajavi continued, criticizing the West’s appeasement of the mullahs’ regime.
“Instead of adopting a firm policy and imposing comprehensive sanctions, the world community wasted a decade in useless negotiations with the regime, providing it with the opportunity to advance its nuclear project… The US Congress, which represents the conscience of American society, has adopted a realistic approach to the Iranian matter, as was reflected in House Resolution 118. Congress supports the struggle of the Iranian people against two dictatorships and their desire to establish a democratically elected republic… We hope that Congress shapes US policy in a way that mistakes committed during the Shah’s regime are avoided and that US policy distances itself from approaches that appease the mullahs.
The correct policy is within reach. This is a policy that recognizes the right of the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance to overthrow the religious fascism ruling Iran,” she concluded.
Message to the meeting with Members of Congress on anniversary of anti-monarchical revolution
Maryam Rajavi: The correct and feasible policy is to recognize the right of the Iranian people and Resistance to overthrow the mullahs’ regime.#WeStand4FreeIranhttps://t.co/W8pyWORhsZ pic.twitter.com/lId7nuwPC0— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 11, 2022
Rep. Brad Sherman (D), a senior member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, said the world should not forget the mass murders carried out by the Iranian regime in 1988.
“Today we know that as many as 30,000 political prisoners had their lives taken from them, taken because they supported the dream of a free Iran,” he said, adding that House Resolution 118 voices “supports for the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear republic.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BJm8vU2EpM
“I was grateful to introduce the Iran Human Rights and Accountability Act this Congress on the eve of Nowruz (March 2021), which would hold the Iranian officials accountable for gross violations of human rights against the Iranian people. Iranians deserve to live in peace with self-determination. We will not forget these dissidents who were abused or killed at the hands of the regime, and we stand with those in pursuit of a secular, democratic Iran,” said Rep. Joe Wilson ®, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa and Global Counterterrorism Sub-Committee.
On this anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, it is critical that the United States stand with Iranians who have endured abuse, torture, & repression by the regime while standing for a free and democratic Iran. We will not forget their sacrifices. #FreeIran
— Joe Wilson (@RepJoeWilson) February 11, 2022
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D), a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, condemned the massacres took place in Iran in 1999, 2009, 2017 and 2019, and quoted the legendary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in demanding equal rights for all people and promoting democracy, freedom, and human rights.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee emphasized that Dr. King “had these words: ‘Why we can’t wait for democracy and justice.’ And he also had these words, and I remind you of them: ‘The Arc of the moral universe bends long but it bends towards justice.’”
Rep. Don Bacon (R), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the Iranian regime is in “constant violation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
“It is my belief that it should be the policy of the United States to investigate and hold Iranian officials accountable for the extra-judicial killings of Iranian dissidents,” he said, adding that in recent years the Iranian people have staged hundreds of protests across the country and the regime has responded with its hallmark brutal crackdown.
Congressman Bacon said the U.S. should investigate “the disgraceful actions of President (Ebrahim) Raisi and his involvement in the 1988 massacre (of political prisoners). He must be held accountable for crimes against humanity.”
The conference also featured footage of members of the “Resistance Units” inside Iran, a network associated to the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) destroying monuments and banners in praise of Ebrahim Raisi, regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the regime’s eliminated terror mastermind Qassem Soleimani. Mrs. Rajavi emphasized that protests continuing by people from all walks of life throughout the country proves that a revolution for freedom continues in the streets of Iran.
