The Friends of Free Iran (FOFI), an inter-parliamentary group in the European Parliament, issued a statement following a meeting on January 25, discussing the current situation in Iran while making some policy recommendations for the EU leaders, especially urging them to put the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) on the list of terrorist organizations and support the Iranian people and their organized Resistance. This meeting was also attended by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), who, as the keynote speaker, presented an insight into the current revolution in the making in Iran. The following is FOFI’s statement regarding this event.
Brussels, 25 January 2023 – On Wednesday 25 January 2023, the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup in the European Parliament held a meeting to discuss the current situation in Iran. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, addressed the meeting.
Dozens of MEPs representing different political groups participated and spoke at this meeting which was chaired by MEP Petras Austrevicius.
In her remarks, Ms. Rajavi stressed that the desire of the Iranian people for regime change has manifested itself in a major and enduring uprising. For many years, the advocates of the Iranian regime as well as its allies denied that the Iranian people are demanding regime change. Today, however, no one can deny the stark reality that the people of Iran want this regime overthrown. They want to live in a society based on freedom, and democracy governed by a republic founded on democratic values.
But the pivotal foundation of EU policy vis-à-vis Iran has rested on engaging the clerical regime and is ignoring the demands of the Iranian people and Resistance. Such a policy has been detrimental not only to the Iranian people but also to the safety of the European continent.
Mrs. Rajavi added that the EU’s refusal to implement the European Parliament resolution, especially by not adding the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) to the EU terrorist list, is a huge disappointment for the Iranian protesters and human rights defenders.
In their remarks, the MEPs strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s crimes, particularly against the protesters, and the execution of detained protesters, and expressed support for a free and democratic Iran. The Iranian people have clearly demonstrated their opposition to any form of dictatorship, whether that of the Shah or the mullahs, the MEPs added.
They also underscored their support for Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-point Plan for the future of Iran, which is based on free elections, gender equality, the rule of law, the abolition of Sharia law and the death penalty, equality among followers of various religious and ethnic minorities, and a non-nuclear Iran.
While expressing their outrage over the non-implementation of the EP resolution and the decision by the Council for not placing the IRGC on the terrorist watchlist, they urged the Council to end the policy of appeasement and take the following specific steps:
Immediately designate the IRGC and affiliated foundations and institutions as a terrorist organization.
Sanction the regime’s leaders such as Ali Khamenei and Ebrahim Raisi and hold them accountable for the suppression and execution of dissidents inside Iran and terrorist activities abroad.
Impose restrictive measures against Iran’s diplomatic apparatus in Europe due to their role in terrorism.
MEP Milan Zver (Friends of a Free Iran Co-Chair)