On June 30, 2024, at the Free Iran 2024 World Summit – Day 2 hosted at the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) headquarters in Paris, Former US Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Robert Joseph, delivered an impactful speech.
Ambassador Joseph praised Madam Rajavi’s vision and courage, likening her to the great leaders who make history. He acknowledged her role as a beacon for various audiences: the Resistance Units risking their lives across Iran, the residents of Ashraf 3 working tirelessly for a democratic Iran, the Iranian people yearning for freedom, and the international community supporting this historic struggle.
1. Robert Joseph Calls for International Support for Iranian People's Struggle for Freedom #MaryamRajavi4FreeIran #FreeIran2024 https://t.co/c6KSzA8zHa
— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) June 30, 2024
The full text of Ambassador Joseph’s speech follows:
It’s an honor to be here with you, but I think I’m going to do it, as an act of trust but verify, start my own stopwatch. I would very much dislike being known as the late Bob Joseph, even though that might be welcome news to the mullahs in Tehran. I hope to continue to disappoint them for years to come.
Let me begin with a quote from President Harry Truman, who once said that great men, that’s right, great men, make history, not the other way around. Well, Madam Rajavi, you are a great woman, and you are making history today. Your inspirational leadership, your vision, and your personal courage serve as a beacon. A beacon to many different audiences.
To those in the Resistance Units on the front line, fighting at the risk of their own lives across the cities of Iran. To the residents of Ashraf 3, who work day and night, ceaselessly, for the cause of a democratic Iran. To the entire Iranian people, who yearn for freedom. And to the international community, who support you in your historic struggle.
For 45 years, the Iranian people have suffered unspeakable brutality, and have been denied the fundamental human rights, the universal rights of all men and women. These rights were the centerpiece of the Declaration of Independence in my own country, 248 years ago, this week.
Achieving these unalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness has been sought by many others, providing the aspiration for people around the world, who have achieved the overthrow of despots and dictatorships for over two centuries.
These are the same freedoms that the people of Iran demand. And these are the freedoms that they will achieve when they once shake off the yoke of repression. The brave men and women will accept nothing less, even if it requires the ultimate sacrifice on their part.
As one Iranian woman in the resistance units was recently cited in an interview, stating that the pressure in Iran, the pressure has been building and building, and it is simply too much. The people have had enough, and it is time for action. What we see in this young woman is the whole Persian nation. She is risking her very life to crush the head of the snake. She is turning to the viable and ready alternative, the MEK, the NCRI, and the visionary 10-point plan of Mrs. Rajavi. And the Persian nation is following in her footsteps.
It is the task of all civilized nations to support the Iranian people in their fight for freedom. In doing so, they must reject the insidious disinformation conveyed by useful idiots in and out of government, often bought and paid for by the regime.
Instead of treating the regime for what it is, the indisputable leader and supplier of international terrorism and the mass murderer of its own citizens, Western nations in particular have pursued the policy, I call it the fallacy, of appeasement. And this must stop. The entire international community must stop being the lifeline that sustains the evilness that for far too long has oppressed the Persian nation.
Instead, Western nations should remain loyal to their moral principles. They should practice what they preach. They should act in their own national security interests. They should express moral support for those inside and outside of Iran seeking to end the regime and assist in many other ways in order to accelerate the collapse of the regime by exposing its pervasive brutality and corruption and by exasperating, through effective sanctions and other means, the internal contradictions, especially the fissures between the people and the ruling medieval elite.
On this, I would recommend that we follow Ronald Reagan’s policies toward the Soviet Union, which you will recall he referred to as the evil empire. All nations should demonstrate political support for the democratic opposition and call for a free, democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Iran, as stated in the Ten Point Plan. This plan, which is endorsed and applauded by hundreds of parliamentarians, congressmen, and senators in my own country and around the globe, should be the guidepost for our future.
Madame Rajavi, thank you very much. Thank you all.
