SILENCE IN THE FACE OF THE GALLOWS: WESTERN FAILURE AND THE COURAGE OF IRAN’S RESISTANCE

The deepening crisis around Iran has exposed, once again, the moral bankruptcy and strategic incoherence of Western policy. As tensions rise and the spectre of wider conflict looms, one might expect clarity of purpose from Brussels, London, and Washington. Instead, what we have witnessed is hesitation, equivocation, and most damning of all, silence in the face of undeniable brutality.

Nothing illustrates this failure more starkly than the muted, almost shameful response to the executions this week of Mohammad Taghavi, (59), Akbar Daneshvarkar (60), Babak Alipour (34), Pouya Ghobadi (33), Vahid Bani-Amerian (33) and Abdolnasser Montazer (66), political prisoners and members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) Resistance. They stood valiantly against tyranny and paid the ultimate price for their convictions. Their deaths demanded outrage. They were met with silence, a silence that sends a message that there is a level of repression that can be carried out without consequence, provided it is wrapped in the complexities of international politics. Executions should be condemned without hesitation. Torture should be exposed. Political prisoners should be named and not forgotten. The actions of those who resist repression should be recognised. There can be no neutrality in the face of this level of abuse.

Accounts emerging from their final moments make that silence even harder to justify. Reports indicate that, even as they faced execution, these brave men remained steadfast and resolute. They spoke with conviction, declaring their belief in a free Iran and rejecting the authority of the regime that condemned them. Yet across Europe and the United States, their names barely registered. The European Union, so often keen to present itself as a defender of human rights, has retreated into vague language and procedural caution. The United Kingdom, with its long tradition of advocating liberty, has issued careful statements that avoid direct accountability. In Washington, where leaders frequently speak of supporting democratic movements, the response has been subdued and constrained by competing strategic interests. This is not merely disappointing. It is indefensible. At a moment that demands moral clarity, Western governments appear paralyzed, caught between fear of escalation and a lingering attachment to failed engagement strategies. The result is a position that neither deters repression nor supports those who resist it.

Inside Iran, the situation continues to deteriorate in ways that should shock the conscience of the world. Arrests are rising sharply. Surveillance is expanding. Executions are being carried out at an alarming rate. Young men and women are being sentenced and killed after proceedings that would not meet even the most basic standards of justice. This morning the 18-year-old Amir-Hossein Hatami was hanged for taking part in the January 2026 uprising. Inside the prisons, conditions are appalling. Detainees are denied proper food and medical treatment. They are held in isolation. During air raids they are left without protection. Families are kept in the dark.

There are growing reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), increasingly fearful of being targeted by Israel, is reluctant even to man checkpoints in Tehran and other cities. Instead, in a stark display of cowardice, children as young as twelve are being deployed, armed and placed in positions of real danger. To send children into harm’s way while trained forces hold back, reveals a system driven by fear rather than strength. It reflects a regime that no longer trusts its own position and is willing to endanger the young to preserve itself. The absence of strong and unified international condemnation of such practices is yet another failure.

A pattern has become impossible to ignore. Each escalation inside Iran produces a brief moment of attention, followed by a return to normal diplomatic routines. Statements are issued, concerns are noted, and then the urgency fades. For those inside the country, there is no such relief. They live under constant pressure, where dissent carries severe consequences and where the boundaries of permissible behaviour are enforced with increasing severity. Despite this, resistance continues. It is visible in protests, in everyday acts of defiance, and in the persistence of organized opposition. It is also evident in the final words of those who refuse to submit. The executions of Mohammad, Akbar, Babak, Pouya, and Amir-Hossein were intended to instil fear. Instead, they have highlighted the depth of conviction among those who oppose the regime. Their deaths stand as a stark reminder of the human cost of repression and of the courage required to confront it.

For too long, Western policy has swung between confrontation and accommodation, with neither approach producing meaningful change. Both have, in different ways, strengthened those in power. This reality has long been articulated by Mrs Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), who, as far back as 2004, argued that neither war nor appeasement offers a solution. Current events only reinforce that conclusion. Lasting change in Iran will come from within. It will be driven by a population that has repeatedly demonstrated its determination to challenge repression, even at great personal risk.

The responsibility of the international community is clear. It must speak honestly about what is happening. It must hold those responsible to account. It must ensure that strategic interests do not override fundamental principles. Above all, it must end the silence. The people of Iran have made their voices heard through protest, resistance, and sacrifice. The least the West can do is listen and respond with clarity and resolve.