Legacy of a dictator: Iran's 30,000 murdered, then and now

 Iran's 30,000 murdered, then and now

In the wake of the 30th anniversary of the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in summer of 1988 in Iran, the people of Iran and especially families of the victims are still waiting for justice and an international tribune.

"[A] dictatorship that appoints as its justice minister someone who killed 30,000 people is telling you everything you need to know about the core nature of the dictatorship," said Newt Gingrich, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives, at the Free Iran Rally in Paris on July 1, 2017.  "[D]ictatorships like the one in Iran threaten freedom anywhere," according to Gingrich, who called Iran the largest supporter of state terrorism in the world.

The massacre was ordered by the Khomeini decree, called a fatwa, that reads: "[P]olitical prisoners throughout the country who remain steadfast in their backing for the Mojahedin (MEK) are condemned to execution."

The massacre happened 30 years ago to eliminate the main opposition group, the MEK.  Despite the continuation of execution, torture, and crackdown during the past three decades, miraculously, the regime has failed.  "You will someday be proud to say you were a part of what freed Iran," Gingrich said.

"I want to salute you today for your courage and for your perseverance of the MEK and the NCRI," Said Linda Chavez, chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity and former director of the Office of Public Liaison, at the Paris gathering.  "You are the ones who remain committed to freedom and to democracy for Iran and to eradicate the suppression, the terrorism, and the regime's demonizing campaign that has been directed at you.  Your perseverance gives up hope that we shall, in the end, defeat the phenomenon of Islamic fundamentalism, whose heart beats in the clerical regime in Iran.  I wish you a good meeting, and I wish that your message will be carried throughout the world."

Middle East peace hinges on regime change in Iran

An enormous crowd of participants joined hundreds of prominent dignitaries from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The entire convention voiced exuberant support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its President Maryam Rajavi as the sole viable alternative for the Iranian regime.

The NCRI President then emphasized on how her people continue to suffer from the mullahs’ regime, highlighting their main demand for an end to the mullahs’ rule. “Regime change is possible and within reach,” Rajavi said. “The Iranian society is simmering.”

The Iranian opposition leader’s call for the international to once and for all designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity received echoes by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and even elevated by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

“The Iranian people are the first victims of Khomeini’s dictatorship,” said former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal Faisal, also a former Saudi ambassador in the United States and the United Kingdom. “Your effort in challenging this regime is legitimate and your resistance for the liberation of the Iranian people of all ethnicities, including Arabs, Kurds, Baluchis, Turks and Fars of the mullahs’ evil, as Mrs. Rajavi said, is a legitimate struggle.”
Senator Joseph Lieberman reiterated Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.

Regime change in Iran is within reach

Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

The Free Iran gathering, attended by tens of thousands of Iranians and hundreds of politicians, parliamentarians, religious leaders and activists from across the world, suggested the prospects of democratic regime change are becoming more and more viable.
"The winds of change have started blowing in our homeland," said Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), during her keynote at the rally. "The ruling regime is in disarray and paralyzed as never before. Iranian society is simmering with discontent and the international community is finally getting closer to the reality that appeasing the ruling theocracy is misguided."
"The fact is the Tehran regime is the central problem in the Middle East," said former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, who spoke at the event. "As the campaign to destroy the [Islamic State] caliphate nears its ultimately successful conclusion, we must avoid allowing the regime in Tehran to achieve its long-sought objective of an arc of control from Iran through the Baghdad government in Iraq, the Assad regime in Syria and the Hezbollah terrorists."

What makes Iran different from other countries in the region where revolutions have spiraled into chaos is that there is a solid and reliable alternative. "In this case there is something different. We have an alternative," former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said at the event, referring to the NCRI, the opposition coalition led by Mrs. Rajavi.

The NCRI, founded in 1981, strives for the establishment of a secular and democratic government in Iran. The NCRI played a pivotal role in exposing Iran's illicit nuclear program since 2002.

What force is this alternative relying on? "It is relying on an organized and united movement with thousands of trailblazing and selfless members," Mrs. Rajavi "It relies on the genuine support of Iranians at home and abroad and the tireless efforts of its dedicated supporters."

The West Must Realize Rouhani Isn't An Agent Of Change In Iran

In the run-up to his election, Rouhani routinely invoked “violence and extremism” in his campaign rhetoric to bolster opposition to his leading opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, in the ongoing roleplay where the incumbent represents a more moderate approach than his acknowledged hardline alternative. This despite the fact that Rouhani had already demonstrated during his first term that he had no intention of challenging the violence and extremism of the clerical regime.

Many Iranians boycotted the presidential election to draw international attention to the fundamental lack of choice in a system where even self-described moderates like Rouhani are vetted by unelected clerics and judiciary officials based on their loyalty to the Supreme Leader and the ruling theocracy.

The Iranian people have always recognized Rouhani as a veteran regime insider who was a senior security official during the systematic execution of 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988, many of whom were supporters of the main opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

Iranian opposition upbeat as Trump Administration talks of regime change

As thousands of supporters of the largest Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, gathered outside Paris today, there is new confidence that pressure on the Iranian regime could finally lead to change.

The new tougher stance from the administration is a welcome move for the leader of the opposition group, Maryam Rajavi.

“The United States and the international community must respect the desire of the Iranian people for regime change and recognize this right,” she told Fox News in an exclusive interview from her group’s headquarters outside of Paris.

"The overthrow of this regime, the mullahs' regime, is the responsibility of the Iranian people and resistance. Nevertheless, we want the international community to stand with the Iranian people.”

Rajavi tells Fox News that her group’s activists inside Iran have stepped up their opposition to the government, and says a revolution against the theocratic regime could come from within.

Turki al-Faisal: Iran is the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the world

Prince Turki al-Faisal, chairman of the King Faisal Center for Islamic Studies, said in his speech Saturday at the Iranian opposition conference in Paris that “the Iranian government is the greatest sponsor of terrorism” in the world.

Al-Faisal said, “Khomeini sought to export revolutions and coups to the region.”

Al-Faisal stressed that the Iranian elections are undemocratic and illegitimate because Khamenei appoints the candidates, saying, “the behavior of the Iranian regime does not qualify it to be a democratic system.”

Prince Al-Faisal said, “Officials of the Iranian regime should be presented to the International Criminal Court.”

Several figures who participated in the Iranian opposition conference in Paris called for supporting the struggle of the Iranian people calling for change by overthrowing Tehran’s regime.

Among the attendees of the conference were parliamentary delegations from Britain, Italy, Albania, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Tunisia and Algeria – as well as various other European countries.

Iran opposition convention pioneers call for regime change

Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi delivering a speech at the Paris rally

A massive gathering of the Iranian Diaspora in a vast convention hall north of Paris voiced their compatriots’ demands for regime change in Tehran. The colossal and energetic event, staged annually by opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), led by its President Maryam Rajavi, brought together hundreds of former US, European and Middle Eastern officials and dignitaries.

Saturday’s rally was headlined by NCRI President Maryam Rajavi calling on the international community to acknowledge the Council as the legitimate voice and representative of the Iranian people, abandon once and for all the appeasement policy and adopt a firm strategy of standing alongside the Iranian people’s true demand of regime change.

American dignitaries representing both sides of aisle, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senator Joseph Lieberman, Mayor Rudi Giuliani, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Governor Ed Rendell and a slate of many other political and military officials also added their voice.