Tehran Outraged After Italian Parliament Supports Iranian Opposition Group Seeking ‘Free’ Iran

Supporters of Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, dem
AP Photo/Francois Mori
Joshua Klein

The Italian Parliament has come out in support of a popular Iranian opposition group seeking a free and democratic Iran, prompting the outrage of Tehran.     

Iranian opposition MEK (Mujahadin-e Khalq) political leader and President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Maryam Rajavi was met with cheers from supporters as she attended a Wednesday session of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Italian Parliament dedicated to discussing the latest developments in Iran, including the nationwide uprising.

The session, chaired by Mr. Giangiacomo Calovini, a representative from the Fratelli d’Italia (the Brothers of Italy) ruling party, was followed by her addressing a joint meeting of representatives from the Italian Parliament and Senate, along with members from both chambers of the Italian legislature.

Italian representatives expressed their support for the Iranian people’s uprising, rejected the current dictatorship of the mullahs, and endorsed Rajavi’s “Ten Point Plan,” which aims to ensure Iranians’ freedom of expression and assembly — as well as the right to choose their elected leaders — as part of the path toward a free, secular, and democratic Iran.

Rajavi, in turn, expressed her gratitude for the support from the Italian legislators while urging “the Parliament, the people, and the government of Italy to adopt this rightful and principled policy, which recognizes the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the religious dictatorship.” 

Highlighting the need for a fundamental change in the European Union’s policy toward the Islamic Republic, she noted that the declaration “enjoys the backing of 3,600 lawmakers, including a significant majority from the French National Assembly, both chambers of the British Parliament, the majority members of the US House of Representatives, 120 former presidents and prime ministers, and 70 Nobel laureates.”

Emanuele Pozzolo, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Parliament who presided over the conference, declared: “This declaration by absolute majorities in the chamber of deputies and the Senate, I believe, sends the message that Iran with its inhuman criminal conduct must not only be stigmatized but fought against, leaving the Iranian people free and recognizing the Iranian people’s right to self-defense against a criminal theocracy.”

Rep. Emanuele Pozzolo holding two booklets containing the names of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies supporting Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan.

Rep. Emanuele Pozzolo holding two booklets containing the names of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies supporting Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan.

The declaration of support, of which over 200 representatives and 100 senators (both absolute majorities) are signatories to, is the first instance that majorities in both chambers of the Italian Parliament endorsed a statement supporting the Iranian uprising and the Ten-point Plan.

In response, an enraged Iran rebuked Italy on Friday over its “terror sponsorship” after hosting the opposition leader, something the Iranian Foreign Ministry warned it would “not tolerate in any fashion.”

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News, NCRI’s Ali Safavi, a member of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee who serves as president of Near East Policy Research (NEPR), suggested that the “vehement reaction displayed by the Iranian regime must be interpreted in light of the palpable fear festering within the mullahs.” 

“This anxiety is being fueled by the escalating recognition and sway of the Iranian resistance, which is progressively fortifying its foothold both domestically and on the global stage,” he stated. “The surge in support is significantly catalyzed by the mounting international endorsement of Mrs. Rajavi’s visionary Ten-Point Plan for a democratic Iran—a blueprint for human rights and democracy that boldly stands in stark contrast to the regime’s medievalist rule.” 

Safavi also panned the “desperate” response of Tehran.

“In a brazen attempt to extend their repressive dominion and stringent censorship beyond their borders to Italy, the mullahs are demanding that this nation compromise its constitutional principles,” he stated. “In their scramble to suppress dissenting voices and forestall their inevitable overthrow, this desperate response is a stark reflection of their existential dread.”

Earlier this month, over 500 world leaders and officials gathered at the NCRI’s annual summit in France supporting the current uprising in Iran. 

The event followed a court’s reversal of the French government’s decision to ban the event’s thousands-strong outdoor rally.

Speakers included former US Vice President Mike Pence, British ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss, former US national security advisors John Bolton and General James Jones, former U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, President Donald Trump’s secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former NATO Commander General Wesley Clark, former Canadian premier Stephen Harper, and Republican congressman Lance Gooden from Texas, among over 500 other high-profile personalities.

The events come as massive protests have swept Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last year while in the custody of the Islamic theocracy’s notorious “morality police” for violating strict requirements for women to keep their heads covered in public.

Since then, a slew of incidents involving abuses and deaths at the hands of the regime have been documented during an ongoing clampdown on protests, with clips circulating showing Iranian regime officers brutally assaulting protesters.

In response, criticisms of the Islamic regime and its tactics continue to grow.

In May, over a hundred former world leaders penned an open letter to the heads of the U.S., Canada, the E.U., and the U.K. calling for the regime in Tehran to be held accountable for its long-running crimes against humanity.

Among the more than 100 signatories of the letter, including 50 former presidents and 47 former prime ministers, were former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Italian ex-premier Matteo Renzi.

Meanwhile, a joint congressional House caucus hearing voiced support for the Iranian people’s uprising, following a wave of recent executions by the Islamic regime in an attempt to contain unrest in the country.

In March, a bipartisan House majority endorsed a resolution expressing Congress’s support for a democratic Republic of Iran while calling for a new Iran policy in light of continued protests by the Iranian people and increasing repression by the “theocratic thugs who have oppressed them for far too long.”

The resolution, sponsored by 224 U.S. House members, supports Iran’s uprisings for a secular republic, while noting Rajavi’s “Ten Point Plan” to ensure Iranians’ freedom of expression and assembly — as well as the right to choose their elected leaders — is the “path toward a free, secular, Democratic and non-nuclear Iran.”

According to the NCRI, Iran — the largest state sponsor of terrorism worldwide — is currently witnessing a revolution “in the making,” with the Islamic Republic no longer capable of containing the current uprising.

Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.

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