As the date of the Free Iran Global Summit on 17 July 2020 draws closer, the event is being covered by the media outlets. This event will be held virtually by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) connecting over 30,000 locations in 102 countries around the globe. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians will be joining the NCRI’s Free Iran Global Summit. This event will be attended by around 1,000 renowned politicians from both sides of the Atlantic.
The following are some media coverage of the Free Iran Global Summit:
The Washington Times: Question and Answer with National Council of Resistance of Iran acting President Maryam Rajavi
Maryam Rajavi, acting president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the world’s largest Iranian dissident organization, which seeks to replace Iran’s theocratic regime with a democracy, provided the following exclusive answers to questions from The Washington Times.
The Washington Times: In what way is your organization’s gathering this year different from the previous gatherings it has held over the past 17 years? What does the organization’s leadership, and what do the participants in this year’s convention hope to achieve and what message do they have for the International Community and the United States?
Mrs. Rajavi: The annual gathering this year is taking place in the aftermath of major developments that unfolded over the course of the previous year. Among those are: the major uprising in November 2019, where the people demanded the regime’s overthrow; the January 2020 uprising, in which in their slogans people rejected both the Shah’s (monarchy) and the mullahs’ regimes, and instead demanded the establishment of a republic based on universal suffrage; the regime’s parliamentary elections were dismissed through a nationwide boycott; the coronavirus catastrophe has claimed the lives of 70,000 of our compatriots as a result of the regime’s criminal policies; the deepening economic crisis has continued, with a 50% inflation rate and a 30% decline in the value of the national currency over the past few months alone.
The Washington Times: Do you think the Trump administration policy of “Maximum Pressure” is working to change the behavior of the Iranian regime domestically, and is it working to curb Iran’s malign influence in the Middle East? More specifically, is the current U.S. policy working to limit Iran’s use of terrorism against its opponents, and to limit Iran’s ballistic and nuclear programs, and other nefarious activities?
Mrs. Rajavi: The experience of the past four decades has taught us that the only effective and productive policy against the clerical regime is a firm and resolute policy. Denying the regime access to resources and opportunities, and preventing it from obtaining economic and political concessions, are indispensable to confronting its terrorism and aggression, as well as its attempts to obtain nuclear weapons.
This is in line with the Iranian people’s interests as well. Replenishing the regime’s financial coffers is tantamount to more suppression against the Iranian people and an escalation in exporting terrorism and warmongering in the region.
We have always said and reiterate that the regime must not be allowed to get its hands on a single bullet. It must not be allowed to reap the financial benefits of the sale of even a single barrel of oil, which belongs to the Iranian people.
An hour after the announcement on the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on July 14, 2015, I declared that the termination of the provisions of the six UN Security Council resolutions will not prevent the regime from obtaining the bomb.
Rather, what is imperative for preventing the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon can be summed up in snapback sanctions, re-imposition of the six UN Security Council resolutions, the full elimination of the regime’s enrichment capabilities, shuttering the regime’s nuclear sites, and instituting anywhere anytime inspections.
Let me highlight another aspect as well. Court proceedings for a regime diplomat will soon commence in Belgium. He was the mastermind of a large terrorist plot in June 2018. This is perhaps the first time that a diplomat is facing trial for being involved in a terrorist plot. He has spent the last two years behind bars, along with three other terrorist accomplices. He is a senior officer of the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and was the commander of a plot to bomb the Iranian Resistance’s annual gathering in Paris. The targets were myself and senior European and American dignitaries in attendance. If the plot were not discovered and thwarted at the last minute, it would have led to the largest and deadliest terrorist act on European soil. Of course, terrorism has been part of the regime’s survival strategy and its most important foreign policy instrument since day one. But in recent years, the situation has changed, creating a greater need for the regime to resort to terrorism, especially against its legitimate and powerful alternative, because the regime has grown increasingly weak and vulnerable. That is why, in the aftermath of the 2017 uprising where it heard its death knell, the regime plotted two significant terrorist operations against our movement, one planned to take place in Paris, and another planned to take place at a New Year celebration of thousands of MEK members in Albania in March 2018, a gathering in which myself and Mayor Giuliani were also present. Would leniency and appeasement toward this kind of a regime be anything but fueling its terrorism? A resolute policy is the only response.
The Washington Times: What is the status of the “opposition” movement inside and outside Iran, and specifically the “resistance” in Iran in view of the developments in the past year? In recent months, senior government officials have voiced alarm about the younger generation of Iranians joining the ranks of the resistance. Has there been an increase in arrests of Iranians, including two elite, award-winning students, for having ties with the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK)? If so, how do you explain this renewed attention towards your movement?
Mrs. Rajavi: The MEK has led a struggle against the two dictatorships of the Shah and the Sheikh (mullahs), sacrificing over 100,000 martyrs. The MEK’s members are selfless individuals with an unflinching focus on the ideal of freedom and liberty. They so not want anything for themselves. For this reason, they have a special place for the Iranian people. The rise and spread of Resistance Units over the past few years, and especially the role that they played in the 2017 and 2019 uprisings, have turned these units into an instrument of hope and inspiration for the Iranian people. The plans and platforms introduced by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which has the MEK as its central component, have made the Iranian people hopeful toward Iran’s democratic future.
FOX NEWS: Iranian dissidents to hold summit calling for regime’s overthrow, as US ramps up pressure on Tehran
Tens of thousands of Iranian dissidents and supporters of regime change are expected to gather for a virtual summit this week — as the U.S. continues to ramp up the pressure on the regime in Tehran over its terrorist activities.
The Free Iran Global Summit, an annual summit taking place online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be held Friday and feature dissidents, lawmakers and high-profile figures such as Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former Sen. Joe Lieberman, who are scheduled to speak at the event.
Former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph will also speak.
Organizers from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) say that participants from 102 countries and 30,000 locations will attend the event, which will warn about the growing use of terrorism in the region and Europe by the regime, and will call for the international community to act and support regime change.
The Washington Times: Iran: Freedom Within Reach
“Iran: Freedom Within Reach” is a Special Report prepared by The Washington Times Special Sections Department.
The Washington Examiner: Bipartisan group of prominent figures signals support for Iran regime change in letter ahead of summit
A group of U.S. policy figures from across the aisle have signed a letter declaring that “the days of religious fundamentalists controlling Iran are numbered.”
The statement, which is set to be unveiled on Friday during a worldwide virtual event hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, was obtained by the Washington Examiner in advance of the event. The statement takes a strong stance against the ruling government of Iran and expresses support for protesters seeking regime change.
“Not just the rights, but the lives of Iran’s citizens are being sacrificed for the empowerment of a dysfunctional and rapacious theocracy,” the letter reads. “Iran has also become a staging area for hostile operations directed against governments throughout the Middle East and beyond.”
“Every single year since 1984, Iran has been the leading state sponsor of international terrorism,” the group adds. Late last month, the U.S. State Department again called Iran the “foremost state sponsor of terrorism” in its annual Country Reports on Terrorism.
Among those who signed the statement, which is dated June 30, include President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, former Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, former Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former CIA Director Porter Goss, and a cast of other former military and political figures.
The Washington Times: ‘Resistance is stronger’: Tehran dissidents expand summit in face of pandemic
The world’s largest Iranian dissident organization is set to activate its annual global summit Friday, overcoming the social distancing COVID-19 era with a virtual event that aims to link potentially millions of supporters at 30,000 locations in more than 100 countries to calls for Iran’s theocratic dictatorship to be replaced by a democracy.
Organizers say they hope the a show of online force, which is being orchestrated by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its associate group the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK), will shake the regime of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“It sends a message to the clerical regime that, despite all its attempts to physically eliminate the Iranian resistance coupled with its extensive and well-funded demonization campaign, today the resistance is stronger, more cohesive and more determined than ever before to overthrow the regime in its entirety,” acting NCRI President Maryam Rajavi told The Washington Times.
DAILY STAR: US hosting biggest ever virtual summit to tackle Iran’s ‘growing terror threat’
The world’s largest-ever virtual summit is taking place on Friday with hundreds of prominent critics of the Iranian regime involved.
Participants from 102 countries will join from 30,000 locations worldwide to support regime change in Iran and an end to what they call the Islamic regime’s “growing terrorist threat”.
More than 1,000 current and former officials, as well as international dignitaries and bipartisan lawmakers, are expected to speak, urging the global community to take a harsher line against Tehran.
Among the speakers are Donald Trump ‘s personal lawyer and former Mayor of New York and US Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.
Louis Freeh, the director of the FBI between 1993 and 2001 will also speak.
Other prominent speakers include US Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway, First US Homeland Security Secretary Governor Tom Ridge and former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army General Jack Keane.
A number of prominent cross-party delegations from the UK Parliament, the European Parliament, and key politicians in Germany, France and Italy will also take part in the momentous summit.
Huge gatherings of Iranian dissidents and critics will take place in major cities including Washington DC, Paris and Berlin.
DAILY CALLER: The International Community’s Silence On Iran’s Unrest And Iranians’ Resistance
While the continued activity of Iranian protesters at the start of this year suggests that the domestic population is doing its part, the same cannot necessarily be said of foreign governments and organizations that are in a position to support the Resistance. The opposition is organizing an international gathering that is scheduled to take place on July 17, entitled “Free Iran Global Summit, Iran Rising Up for Freedom, Resistance Units Key To Victory.”
Previous annual rallies attracted as many as 100,000 Iranian expatriates. This year, Iranians will take part in the virtual event from 30,000 locations in 104 countries. More than 1,000 parliamentarians, former officials, ambassadors, scholars, and experts on foreign affairs from across Europe, North America, and the rest of the world will be joining them. During the Free Iran Global Summit, Western policymakers and other interested parties can gain a deeper understanding of what is happening inside Iran.
MANESS: TIME TO HOLD IRAN’S REGIME TO ACCOUNT
As the US contemplates solutions to contain the Iranian regime’s growing threats, it must act now to bring accountability to the world’s foremost state-sponsor of terrorism. On July 17, the largest virtual international gathering of Iranians promises to offer concrete solutions and ways to do just that.
Significantly, in advance of the Free Iran Global Summit on Friday, 31 American luminaries and senior policy figures from across the aisle signed a letter declaring that “the days of religious fundamentalists controlling Iran are numbered.”
Some of the signatories, who will also speak during the Summit, include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
The stellar cast of high-ranking foreign policy, diplomatic, intelligence, congressional and military leaders and experts add in their letter: “The senior officials [of the Iranian regime] at whose direction police murder citizens on the streets and wrongfully arrest innocent people, prison officials torture and execute citizens whose only crime has been expressing the desire for political and religious freedom, and judges enable government tyranny and twist the rule of law, must now be held accountable.”
These American leaders voice support for the main Iranian opposition and democratic alternative, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which will host the Free Iran Global Summit on Friday.
TRUE NORTH: Stephen Harper, John Baird to speak at Iranian resistance summit
Former prime minister Stephen Harper will be speaking at a large conference pushing for regime change in Iran, True North has learned.
Harper will join former Canadian foreign minister John Baird, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former United States senator and vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman among the numerous speakers at this weekend’s Free Iran Global Summit, according to a source connected with the event.
Harper’s participation has not been publicly announced and a request for comment to his spokesperson was not returned.
The Free Iran conference is hosted by the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its activist wing, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).
With delegates from 30,000 locations across 102 countries, the NCRI is trumpeting this year’s conference as the “largest virtual gathering,” having been forced online with public health challenges and travel restrictions caused by the novel coronavirus.
