Fredrik Reinfeldt—Former Prime Minister of Sweden, addressed at the International Conference entitled, “Holding the Mullahs’ Regime Accountable for Genocide, Terrorism, and Nuclear Defiance.”

This conference hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Auvers-sur-Oise, north of Paris, on Monday, January 17, 2022.

These are excerpts from the original remarks:

President Rajavi and friends of a free, democratic and secular Iran, this is a very important meeting. I would like to thank the witnesses that we were listening to earlier. These witnesses tell us about the family members that we have lost, so we must remember, you must remember, and the world outside must learn about this.

When we say democracy, we mean something more than just counting votes. With democracy, we mean freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assemble and to campaign. If you don’t follow all these rules, it’s not a democracy. It’s actually more of an appointment of a few rather than someone who has been elected by the people. So, Raisi is not supported by the Iranian people. He is chosen among a few men who thought that’s the one we want to have to keep control. That’s something completely different and should not be regarded as an elected official that can be respected alongside those who have won open free elections around the world.

People in Iran want food and freedom. They don’t want nuclear weapons. No one has ever asked for nuclear weapons. It’s the idea of a few because they cannot rely on the support of the people in winning free elections. They need the nuclear heads to stay in power and be secure because otherwise they could come under pressure, and therefore lose their influence. That’s why they want the bomb, nothing else.

If you want the international community to react more sharply to what is happening in Iran, you need Europe to join together to stand up for the values of democracy and in doing so, using all powers, except for military, to push back authoritarian rule wherever you will see it.

And one of the toughest cases, the most important, will be the mullahs of Iran because they are a threat to their people, to their country. They are a threat to the region, and they are a threat to the world for their destabilizing activities, for misusing Islam, and for wanting to have nuclear weapons. That is what we need to do. Thank you very much.