Rome, July 17, 2026 — Professor Carlo Cottarelli, former IMF Executive Director and Italian Prime Minister-designate, told the conference “Iran Beyond War, the Power of the People” that only the Iranian people themselves can resolve the country’s political crisis.

Cottarelli emphasized that the clerical regime’s reliance on mass arrests, intimidation, and executions reveals institutional fear rather than strength. Systemic dissatisfaction, he noted, has long been driven by women, students, and workers. “The future of Iran will ultimately be determined, not by foreign powers, but by the Iranian people themselves,” he stated.

He examined the limits of external approaches, explaining that strategic bombings and pressures have historically failed to dictate political outcomes, while standard diplomatic engagement cannot force a theocracy to moderate. “Dialogue, of course, remains an essential instrument of foreign policy, but the experience suggests that lasting political change cannot emerge automatically from diplomatic agreements,” Cottarelli observed.

Praising the opposition’s platform, he said: “The NCRI, here I’m underscoring the importance of Madame Rajavi’s ten points, have developed proposals for a future based on free elections, the separation of religion and state, the independence of the judiciary, gender equality, minority rights, and the rejection of nuclear militarization.”

He concluded that “Systems founded on violence, and this is a system founded on violence, often appear stronger than they truly are, until unexpectedly they collapse under the weight of their own contradictions.”