Paris, June 29 — At the Free Iran 2024 World Summit in Paris, former British Prime Minister Liz Truss emphasized the crucial role of standing up for freedom and democracy, particularly in the face of the Iranian regime’s brutal repression. Truss expressed support for Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and her efforts in advocating for a free and democratic Iran.
Mrs. Truss highlighted the significant threat posed by the Iranian regime not only to its own people but also to the wider Middle East and the world. She stressed that Iran’s support for terrorist activities and its warmongering in the region demonstrates the regime’s exportation of brutality and terrorism globally.
The former Prime Minister underscored the importance of taking a tougher stance against Iran, advocating for increased sanctions and efforts to halt the regime’s nuclear ambitions. Truss called on Western allies to collectively pressure Iran and its supporters to prevent further undermining of global values of freedom and democracy.
The summit, according to Truss, is a vital platform to keep the flame of democracy alive and to stand unequivocally with the Iranian people in their fight against repression. She urged the free world to take strong and courageous actions to counter the rising threat of authoritarianism and totalitarianism represented by the Iranian regime.
The full text of former British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s speech follows:
I’m glad to be speaking again at the Free Iran Summit. What you do is so important to the future of the world. I back Mrs. Rajavi and all her fantastic work in support of freedom and democracy. We need to remember that it is particularly brave to stand up for freedom and democracy in Iran, given the brutality of the regime and the repercussions that people face. But it is of utmost importance because if we don’t fight if we don’t make sure we’re standing up for freedom and democracy, there is a very real fear that it could be extinguished across the world.
And we’ve seen in recent months that what is happening in Iran isn’t just a threat to the people of Iran, it’s also a threat to the wider Middle East and the entire world. The brutal repression of people that is going on, not being able to speak out freely, not being able to express themselves, and losing control over their own lives, is of course a very real tragedy in Iran. But what we’ve also seen is a wider malign influence in the Middle East.
Iran has been aiding attacks by Hamas on Israel and committing barbarous crimes. They’ve been funding Hezbollah, again attacking Israel. And Iran has also launched a direct attack on Israel itself. And what we’re seeing is the model of terrorism and brutality that has been used so cruelly against the Iranian people is being exported to the region and right around the world.
Former British PM @trussliz: "I back @Maryam_Rajavi and all her fantastic work in support of freedom and democracy. We need to remember that it is particularly brave to stand up for freedom and democracy in Iran."#MaryamRajavi4FreeIran #FreeIran2024 https://t.co/TTXrnZgsdY
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 29, 2024
Whether it’s taking hostages, whether it’s committing atrocities, Iran has been exporting these barbaric techniques. So, it’s not just in the interest of the people of Iran to challenge the appalling actions of the regime. It’s also in all of our interests to call out what is happening in the country. And this summit is so important. It is so important to keep the flame and the idea of democracy and freedom alive.
Because what we know is that Iran wants to extinguish that flame of freedom and democracy around the world. They want to eradicate Israel. They also want to undermine all of the values that we hold dear, whether it is the idea of individual freedom and liberty, freedom of expression, property rights, or the ability to live a life that you want.
Instead, what the regime wants is they want power and control over people’s lives. And it’s not surprising that we’re seeing in Western democracies some people on the left of politics backing the regime, backing the terrorist organizations that the regime supports because they, too, want to undermine our values.
So what do we need to do? Well, we need to take a tougher line. There can be no more appeasement of Iran. There are no good intentions. There are no deals to be done. We need to step up our efforts to stop the supply of funding to the Iranian regime, to increase the sanctions on the regime. We need to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
The situation is bad now, but it will be far worse with a nuclear weapon. And Western allies and allies across the free world must take every possible action to stop that from happening. It is clear that the regime is playing for time. They are trying to string along nations in the free world whilst they build up their nuclear capabilities.
We cannot allow this to happen. We’ve seen the way the regime behaved within Iran and towards neighbors in the Middle East. We cannot allow this to spread any further. We should also call out the appalling internal repression taking place in Iran, especially the repression of women, the appalling conditions in Evin prison, the role of the IRGC and the appalling actions that they take.
.@trussliz: "We should also call out the appalling internal repression taking place in Iran, the role of the #IRGCterorrists, and most of all, we must be unequivocally on the side of the Iranian people.."#MaryamRajavi4FreeIran #FreeIran2024https://t.co/TTXrnZh03w
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 29, 2024
And most of all, we must be unequivocally on the side of the Iranian people. We should never ever give up on the idea of a free and democratic Iran. We must also recognize that Iran is part of authoritarianism. They are acting together with Russia and China, countries and regimes that also want to undermine our way of life and the values that we hold dear.
We’re seeing the appalling war continue to be perpetrated in Ukraine. We’re seeing threats to Taiwan. And these regimes, China and Russia, are also undermining the sanctions that have been put on Iran. So, we can’t just tackle these three powers separately. We need to tackle them together. And that means the West and the free world using a collective approach to put pressure on those who are allowing Iran to evade the sanctions and be able to sell their products around the world.
And we also need to step up our defense capabilities. The reality is that after the Cold War ended, the West was complacent. We didn’t do enough to hold in the authoritarian regimes. And they have been allowed to benefit from the freedom and democracy that we have in the West and seek to undermine it. What has happened over the last year in the Middle East just proves how wrong this strategy was.
How wrong it was to believe that the Iranian regime would change if they were encouraged. Quite the opposite has happened. They have benefited from the West not acting strongly enough. We do face a rising threat from authoritarianism around the world.
What people in Iran face is in danger of spreading elsewhere. That is why it’s so important that we act together. That’s why it’s so important that we have this summit today to talk about how we are going to back those who want change in Iran, but also how we, as the free world, are going to do more to stand up to the spread of totalitarianism, of which Iran is an absolutely key part. This will take strength. It will take courage. It will take a difficult stance from all of the countries that believe in our values of freedom and democracy. But nothing is more precious. And I commend all of those who are fighting for a free Iran. Please continue.
Thank you very much.