Agence France presse – Around two hundred Iranian opposition supporters rallied in New York Wednesday to denounce Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is expected to visit the United Nations later this week.
Waving banners reading "Ahmadinejad is a terrorist" and chanting "Ahmadinejad out of the UN," the protesters called on the United States to remove two Iranian opposition groups from its list of terrorist entities.
Agence France presse – Around two hundred Iranian opposition supporters rallied in New York Wednesday to denounce Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is expected to visit the United Nations later this week.
Waving banners reading "Ahmadinejad is a terrorist" and chanting "Ahmadinejad out of the UN," the protesters called on the United States to remove two Iranian opposition groups from its list of terrorist entities.
"The terror tag on the People’s Mujahedeen… acts as the main impediment to democratic change in Iran. It must be immediately removed," the ad hoc group organizing the rally said in a statement.
The State Department lists both the National Council of Resistance of Iran and the People’s Mujahedeen on its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
Protesters also called for the United Nations to impose strict sanctions on Tehran as a first step towards achieving regime change in Iran.
"It is now very clear that the policy of indecisiveness, the policy of appeasement, the policy of negotiations has failed," opposition figure Alireza Jafarzadeh said. "This is a moment of truth for the Security Council."
The UN Security Council was meanwhile due to discuss a resolution outlining sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program. Ahmadinejad was expected to attend the vote on the resolution, possibly later in the week.
The proposed measure is in reaction to Tehran’s continued refusal to halt sensitive nuclear operations and follows sanctions imposed in December.
