BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR IRAN FREEDOM SEMINAR

Boothroyd Room, House of Commons, Westminster, London.

17.00-19.00hrs – Wednesday 10 June 2026.

IRAN AT THE CROSSROADS – FREEDOM THROUGH RESISTANCE, JUSTICE THROUGH DEMOCRACY

Ladies and gentlemen,

Iran stands today at one of the most decisive moments in its modern history. Beneath the surface of official propaganda and carefully staged displays of strength, the foundations of the clerical regime are cracking. Economic collapse, growing social unrest, factional warfare within the ruling elite, international isolation and rising public anger have combined to create a crisis unlike any witnessed since the 1979 revolution.

For decades, the regime sought legitimacy through fear, ideology and repression. Today, each of those pillars is weakening. The Iranian economy is in freefall. Inflation has devastated working families. The national currency has lost much of its value. Food prices continue to rise beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. Pensioners struggle to survive. Teachers, workers and civil servants face impossible choices between paying bills and feeding their families. Millions live under the shadow of poverty in a country blessed with immense natural resources.

This disaster arose from neither sanctions alone nor external pressure. Corruption, economic mismanagement and the vast diversion of national wealth into military projects, proxy wars and security systems have hollowed out the economy from within. While ordinary Iranians endure hardship, regime insiders continue to accumulate enormous fortunes. Across Iran, frustration is boiling over. Strikes spread through workplaces. Protests erupt among workers, pensioners, students and farmers. Every demonstration reveals a widening gulf between the rulers and the people. Every chant exposes the collapse of public confidence in a system that promised justice yet delivered poverty and repression.

Faced with growing unrest, the regime has returned to its oldest instrument of control – terror. Executions have reached horrifying levels. Political prisoners, dissidents and activists face relentless persecution. No fewer than 31 dissidents have been hanged since March 19, including eight from the PMOI. Eleven more PMOI members are on death row. Every execution sends a message intended to intimidate society. Every hanging serves as a warning against dissent. Yet history teaches a powerful lesson. Tyrannies that rely increasingly upon executions reveal fear rather than confidence.

A government that feels the ground shaking beneath its feet reaches for the rope, the prison cell and the torture chamber.

Iran’s rulers understand the danger they face. They see growing resistance throughout the country. They witness the courage of young people who refuse silence. They recognise that a new generation has rejected both fear and submission. At the heart of this struggle stand the PMOI Resistance Units. These brave men and women represent one of the most remarkable movements of civil resistance in the contemporary world. Operating under extraordinary pressure, they challenge a dictatorship armed with prisons, intelligence networks and security forces. Their activities demonstrate that the spirit of resistance survives in every province, every city and every neighbourhood across Iran.

Many face arrest. Many endure torture. Some pay the ultimate price. Yet their courage continues to inspire millions. Through banners, messages, public actions and acts of defiance, they expose the regime’s weakness. They remind Iranians that change remains possible. They prove that organised resistance can survive even under the harshest conditions. Their sacrifice deserves recognition from every democratic nation.

At the same time, the international community faces an uncomfortable reality. Two approaches toward Iran have repeatedly failed. The first is military intervention. Recent conflicts demonstrated the limits of military power. Air strikes can destroy buildings. Missiles can damage infrastructure. Military operations can eliminate commanders and disrupt strategic assets. Yet bombs and missiles cannot create democracy.

The second failed approach is appeasement. For years, Western governments pursued a strategy based upon concessions, endless negotiations and hopes for moderation from within the regime. Each cycle followed a familiar pattern. Tehran demanded incentives. Sanctions eased. Diplomatic engagement expanded. The regime gained breathing space. Meanwhile, repression continued. Political prisoners remained behind bars. Executions continued. Regional destabilisation persisted. Nuclear ambitions advanced. Proxy networks expanded.

The choice facing democratic nations therefore extends beyond war and appeasement. A third path exists. That path involves maximum support for the Iranian people, firm pressure upon the regime, accountability for human rights abuses and recognition of the democratic opposition seeking a free and secular republic.

Yet amid this historic struggle, another danger has emerged. Some voices seek to exploit public dissatisfaction with the clerical regime by promoting a return to monarchy under Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed and despised Shah. Recent scenes in Europe shocked many observers. Supporters of Reza Pahlavi openly displayed symbols associated with SAVAK, the Shah’s notorious secret police organisation, in European cities, including here in London, where an Iranian rapper openly urged that PMOI supporters should be shot. SAVAK remains synonymous with surveillance, torture, arbitrary detention and political repression. Attempts to rehabilitate that legacy should alarm every supporter of democracy.

The Iranian people have rejected theocracy and Monarchy, they seek a republic. They demand accountable government rather than hereditary privilege, elected institutions rather than unelected power structures, the rule of law rather than rule by decree.  Reza Pahlavi frequently presents himself as a democratic figure. Yet his refusal to confront the crimes committed under his father’s rule raises serious concerns. Genuine democratic leadership requires honesty about the past. Accountability strengthens democracy. Historical amnesia weakens it. Even more disturbing are indications of Pahlavi’s engagement with elements linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Lacking any semblance of an organised network within Iran, Pahlavi is counting on the ruthless IRGC as the agent of change.

The struggle unfolding in Iran concerns far more than changing faces at the top of the political system. It concerns the creation of a democratic republic founded upon universal values. It concerns gender equality. It concerns freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and belief, independent courts, free elections and respect for human rights, the right of every citizen to participate in shaping the future of their country. Indeed, it concerns all of the items contained within Mrs Maryam Rajavi’s renowned Ten Point Plan.

The courage displayed by Iran’s PMOI Resistance Units points toward that future. Their sacrifice demonstrates that democratic aspirations remain alive despite decades of repression. Their determination offers hope during a period of immense uncertainty. History shows that authoritarian systems often appear strongest shortly before decline. Iran’s rulers face many of the same pressures today, economic breakdown, public anger, internal division, diplomatic isolation and a growing loss of legitimacy.

No one can predict the exact timetable of change. Yet the direction of travel has become increasingly clear. The future belongs neither to the ayatollahs nor to advocates of restored monarchy; it belongs to the Iranian people, to those who continue their struggle for democracy despite imprisonment, to those who raise their voices despite threats, to those brave PMOI Resistance Units who carry the torch of freedom through the darkest hours. Their courage reminds us that tyranny remains temporary, while the desire for liberty endures.

Iran stands at a crossroads. One road leads backward toward dictatorship, whether clothed in turban and robe or a crown and a cloak. The other leads forward toward democracy, accountability and human dignity. For the sake of the Iranian people, for regional stability and for the cause of freedom itself, the democratic road must prevail.

Thank you.