By Simon Baker
The Press Association – Protesters today demanded the "immediate" referral of Iran to the UN Security Council so that sanctions could be placed on the "brutal" regime.
Between 100 and 200 Anglo-Iranian members of the "Resistance" movement made the calls during a small but vocal demonstration outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London.
As officials from the EU, US, China and Russia met inside, the protestors waved placards and pictures of the resistance movement’s leaders as well as several Iranian flags.
A mock nuclear weapon also stood in front of the protest as well as gallows and a noose to represent the many executions that demonstrators claimed have taken place in their home country.
At one point, organisers of the protest handed in a petition to an official from the FCO and also a copy of a dossier that the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) had previously prepared on the regime’s nuclear programme.
Hossein Abedini, a member of the NCRI’s foreign affairs committee, said his organisation wanted an end to the "appeasement" of the Iranian regime.
He said: "These Iranians that have gathered here today are asking for the immediate referral of the Iranian regime to the Security Council of the United Nations.
"The West must end this policy of appeasement. They must respect and recognise the democratic aspirations of millions of Iranians who want to see an end to this brutal religious dictatorship and replace it with a democratic government."
He added that the constant discussions and delay by western governments over the issue had only encouraged the Iranian leaders to become more "aggressive and brazen".
But Mr Abedini said that resistance politicians did not want military intervention by the international community to bring about democratic change.
"We are not in favour of the appeasement policy or foreign invasion. We believe that there is a third option and that is the support of the resistance movement within Iran," he said.
"We are asking for comprehensive sanctions on the Iranian mullahs. Iran is the second-largest oil producer in OPEC and an oil embargo against it would put pressure on the regime."
He added that in the Council’s view there was "no doubt" that the Iranian government was seeking nuclear weapons with its "clandestine" operations in the country.
"We are talking about a regime that has been lying and deceiving the international community for many years," he said.
Mr Abedini added that the representation of gallows at the protest was to symbolise the 130 people that he said had been hanged by the Iranian regime since its "hard-line" president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power.
The petition and dossier was handed in to the FCO by Laila Jazayeri, director of the Association of Anglo-Iranian Women.
She was joined by Esmaeil Abnar, a former lieutenant commander in the Iranian Navy from before the country’s revolution who fled Iran and joined the resistance movement.
The petition was signed by representatives from various Iranian resistance organisations based in the UK who are linked to the NCRI, an international group led by Maryam Rajavi, its "President-elect".
