On the brink of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, an online international summit, entitled “Trans-Atlantic Summit on Iran Policy, Time to Hold the Iranian Regime Accountable,” brought together Iranians in various countries around the world from 10,000 locations.
Among the personalities who addressed the summit were 30 bipartisan U.S. lawmakers from the House and the Senate, including Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Roy Blunt, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Bob Menendez, and dignitaries like Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor, General James Jones, National Security Advisor to President Obama (2009-2010), Newt Gingrich, 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Joseph Lieberman, former U.S. Senator, as well as a delegation of U.K. lawmakers, and Amb. Giulio Terzi, former Foreign Minister of Italy.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the keynote speaker of the summit, paid tribute to Navid Afkari, a rebellious national hero recently executed by the regime and said: “Faced with executions and massacres, the people of Iran urge the United Nations, and the U.N. Security Council, in particular, to restore snapback sanctions stipulated in the six U.N. resolutions against the clerical regime in Iran. Otherwise, Khamenei will continue to ravage the nation as his regime’s survival depends on murder and suppression. If Khamenei were to stop executions, he would lose control of the situation, and uprisings simmering in the depths of Iranian society would erupt and overthrow the mullahs’ religious fascism.”
Speakers in the summit demanded justice for over 30,000 MEK and other activists, political prisoners massacred in 1988. They urged an end to the policy of appeasement and demanded those who ordered and carried out this great crime, who currently occupy high positions in the regime, to be brought to justice.
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen joined the summit. In her remarks, Senator Shaheen said,” The government in Tehran continues to commit gross human rights violations against both its own people and in the conflicts that it supports across the region. “
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen
This is an important summit that comes at a critical time for Iran and the global community. The government in Tehran continues to commit gross human rights violations against both its own people and in the conflicts that it supports across the region. Iranian support for terrorist organizations and likeminded oppressive regimes has destabilized countries and prevented peace across the region.
At home, the regime denies its people the right to freedom of assembly, expression, and association. Peaceful activism is met with harsh jail time. Human rights advocates are arrested and tortured.
Unfortunately, these authoritarian tactics were on display at the end of last year when hundreds of thousands of Iranians came out in the streets to demand change and a just government that does not stifle their freedoms and opportunities. But instead of listening to the Iranian people, the government responded to these protests with armed force. That’s why I’m an original cosponsor of legislation that expresses support for the rights of the people of Iran to determine their own future and condemns the Iranian regime for its crackdown against legitimate protest.
The United States must stand up for human rights everywhere and condemn injustice anywhere. To this end, we support the people of Iran as they fight for human rights and freedoms. Thank you to everyone that is here virtually today for all of your hard work. I look forward to continuing the fight with you.
