Rome, July 17, 2026 — Former Italian Prime Minister and EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told the international conference “Iran Beyond War, the Power of the People” that current developments in Iran must open the door to a genuine alternative and resistance rather than mere war or destruction.

Analyzing the consequences of recent conflicts, Gentiloni noted that the regime faces a growing power vacuum and internal weakening, even as the Revolutionary Guards attempt to assert heavier autocratic control.

Reflecting on the limitations of past policies, he declared: “The solution is, we could say, in your hands, in the hands of the Iranian people and on the support of the international community to the Iranian people.

There is not another solution, not the diplomatic way, not the war, and even not the sanction.” He firmly dismissed both the expired illusions of past diplomatic frameworks and the destructive fallacy of external military intervention, while acknowledging that economic sanctions can exert pressure but cannot serve as the decisive solution.

True change, he emphasized, rests entirely with the Iranian people and their organized resistance. Rejecting any narrative that portrays the clerical regime as strengthened by ongoing crises, Gentiloni stressed: “There is a way beyond the war. The way beyond the war is freedom and democracy.”

He reaffirmed his enduring support for the NCRI and the democratic aspirations of the Iranian population.