Excerpts of the speech of Robert Torricelli, Former United States senator from New Jersey (1997–2003), at the Free Iran 2022, is as follows:
It’s wonderful to be with you today. I want to congratulate friends and colleagues who have come from all over the world to celebrate the cause of Iranian freedom and to note the work, the dedication, the sacrifices of Mrs. Rajavi and the entire MEK organization. This is the first year in so many that I haven’t been able to be with you. But I want you to know that nothing has changed in my heart or my mind.
I am committed to being a part of this cause and being together with you every year for as long as I’m able, until we’re all celebrating in Tehran. This year, in particular, the presence of those of you who live in Ashraf, and those of you who come from around the world, is notable. Because we do so in the aftermath of the failed bombing attack in Paris and the prosecution of those who would have destroyed us and taken our lives.
Your return, knowing of that attack and the focus of the mullahs on the MEK and all of us who participate, gives this year special meaning. It’s one more important milestone. It’s a milestone and a struggle that began with the decision to separate from the regime, because of the lost freedoms and the abandoned hope of the Iranian Revolution.
That was a commitment that continued into 1988, when tens of thousands of people were murdered for no reason but their determination to bring freedom to Iran and meaning to the revolution.
It continued through into the 1990s, when the regime successfully waged a campaign to have the MEK inappropriately put on terrorist lists throughout Europe and North America.
There have been many milestones, many hurdles. We’ve overcome them all. The decision to separate from the regime, the terrible struggle of 1988 with the terrible loss of life. Overcoming the inappropriate terrorist listings.
We have survived each and every one, bringing us to this point when the movement has never been stronger. Inside Iran, units of resistance have been formed in virtually every city and town across the nation. Resistance units are ready to take up the cause of Iranian freedom on a moment’s notice.
With incredible courage. Internationally, when the inappropriate, incredible listing of MEK resistance organization, which fights for freedom, as a terrorist unit, we overcame that listing nation by nation, court by court, parliament by parliament.
Today, we are entertaining former presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, from virtually every great democracy around the world. We’ve gone from the outside to the inside. Now, the MEK enjoys better relations with the leading nations of the world than the Iranian government. The regime is on terrorist lists.
We are welcomed and are today hosting leaders from around the globe. I know it’s a long struggle and I know how hard it has been. But it’s important to take note that the journey through all these years has brought us closer than ever before. And why? Well, because we’ve never given in.
Because the MEK remains the only organization resisting the mullahs. It has the financial strength, the commitment, the following, the leadership of Mrs. Rajavi, who has never compromised, never wavered, never sought advantage from the mullahs, and never sought to share or profit by the imprisonment of the Iranian people. The MEK, and Mrs. Rajavi, alone.
That resistance has earned us a special place in the heart of the Iranian people and a special place in history. I know the struggle has been long. But we’ve never been closer. Never been closer. We’ve now been accepted as the legitimate opposition around the globe.
We’ve now endured all these hurdles, and watched the regime’s assassins be convicted and go to jail. We are still here. We’re still here. Standing firm. Standing strong. My friends, we will prevail.
I will see you next year, whether it’s in Ashraf or in Paris or in Tehran. Every year. Every year until the Iranian people enjoy the freedom and the prosperity enjoyed by so many others around the world. Being Iranian doesn’t have to mean that you’re poor. It doesn’t mean that your shoulders have to be hopeless. It doesn’t mean you have to lose all freedoms.
Being Iranian can mean what it meant throughout history: A great proud people helping to lead the world. Thank you. I look forward to being with you all again soon.
