Rome, July 17, 2026 — Sir Liam Fox, former United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defense and for International Trade, delivered a sharp condemnation of the Iranian theocracy and Western policies of appeasement, insisting that only regime change can resolve the crisis.

Addressing the conference “Iran Beyond War, the Power of the People,” Fox argued that the regime is entirely unreformable and that seeking middle-ground compromise is a dangerous illusion. “There is only one single solution to the Iranian problem, and that is regime change,” he stated firmly. He criticized historical policies such as the 2015 JCPOA.

Speaking directly to NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi, Fox praised the principles she has outlined for a free Iran and rejected all forms of dictatorship. “Only the Iranian people can establish a democratic republic free from the twin oppressions, the oppressions of the mullahs and the oppressions of monarchs, and Iran must be free from both,” he declared.

Underscoring that freedom must come from the Iranian people themselves, he said: “Madame Rajavi, as I said when we were in Paris, freedom does not fall from the skies. It never has. Freedom comes from the ground up.

It always has.” Fox urged the international community to prepare economic and political support for a liberated Iran while affirming that the ultimate triumph belongs to the Iranian people.

The full text of Sir Liam Fox’s speech follows:

Well, good afternoon.

It’s an absolute pleasure, as ever, to be here in Rome, which is actually even hotter than London is at the moment.

I would like to begin by going back to what former Prime Minister Gentiloni talked about in the JCPOA, take us back to 2015. Because the JCPOA was not only, in my view, an act of appeasement, it was so fundamentally flawed that it has led us to where we are today.

Let’s remember what Iran got. It got the freeing up of a vast amount of finance with no conditions attached, and no improvements demanded.

There was not a stopping of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, only a delay to the point when it could become a reality. There were no demands made about Iran’s appalling human rights record, and its abominations have continued.

And what are the consequences of the JCPOA? A huge amount of money went to Iran’s proxies, to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to the Houthis, and we’ve seen the international consequences in Lebanon, in Iraq, in Israel, in Yemen.

We saw massive investment in Iran’s technology in missiles and drones, and we can see the consequences of that in the Gulf today. We saw a continued development of their nuclear program in defiance of the international community, and we saw a continuation of the appalling human rights abuses to which so much of the free West still seems to turn a blind eye.

There are not marches every Saturday in London demanding improvements in the murderous regime and the human rights abuses in Iran, the way there are for other parts of the world. How strange that so much of the liberal West decides not to call out Iran for its behavior.

And why do I, why do I mention all of this? I mention it because despite all this experience, there is still talk in many Western circles today about finding solutions, plural, to the Iranian problem.

There are no solutions to the Iranian problem. It is an illusion. As the former Prime Minister said, I mean the JCPOA is not a solution, it’s not even a peace agreement. It is only a road map to a road map to a road map to a peace agreement that will probably be worth nothing in itself if it is ever actually agreed.

There is only one single solution to the Iranian problem, and that is regime change.

There will be no peace in the region and beyond until the regime in Iran is removed and replaced by a different one. And to talk about change in the regime is so naive as to be tragic.

Those in the regime cannot change, because if they do, they will become a totally different entity, which will surrender the last shreds of credibility and legitimacy with which they justify their continued existence. And those who are dealing with this regime, let me tell you, they will find that they are the most duplicitous, the most rigid, and the most destructive people they have ever tried to negotiate with. And just because the regime is weaker, let me tell you, does not make it less dangerous than it has been in the past, and there are arguments that a weaker regime will be more dangerous rather than less in the region.

I have to say, it would be nice to hit on an optimistic note today, but this war may not only continue, this war may expand. Attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iran may bring Pakistan into the conflict because of their agreements on defense with the Saudis.

The Strait of Hormuz, as a red line, is a direct challenge to the entire global community and to international law. We are guaranteed free movement on the high seas by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We require it for international security, for international prosperity and trade. The whole world, but especially the third world, the developing world will be hit very, very hard by further disruption in that, and we have a duty to deal with it. And if that’s extended to the Houthis and the Red Sea, the consequences become multiplied, not just additional.

All we can do is to lay the ground for the inevitable moment when the Iranian people will rise up, because there will be an uprising and there will be a free Iran.

The global community must organize against Iran’s red lines, including by increased sanctions if necessary, although we understand that they will hurt the Iranian people. But the Iranian people have already shown us the tremendous sacrifices they themselves are willing to undertake to get to this path of freedom. We should not be weak in our resolve when they are strong in theirs.

But we must also begin discussions about how we can help a free Iran, how we can help it economically, how we can help with investment, how we can help improve the degraded infrastructure that Iran has today. Let’s create a carrot as well as the stick. Let’s show the young people of Iran, in particular, that there is a better and different future for them, that we in the free world, we in the capitalist world can help build that better future with them. Get young people, get young men and women into the creation of businesses that we take for granted in Europe or the United States, but let’s give them something to hope for, rather than simply tell them why they’ve got the problems that they have today.

Madame Rajavi, as I said when we were in Paris, freedom does not fall from the skies. It never has. Freedom comes from the ground up. It always has.

And may I say, I hope as a realist and without sounding cynical, that no nation supports Iran without some complication of its own self-interest, and it’s much better that we all understand the reality of that.

But we can all help. However, however much we help we give, the basic truth remains: only the Iranian people can reclaim their birthright of freedom and self-determination. Only the Iranian people can create a non-theocratic legal system that empowers and does not subjugate its people. Only the Iranian people can establish a democratic republic free from the twin oppressions, the oppressions of the mullahs and the oppressions of monarchs, and Iran must be free from both.

All of us, in our daily lives in politics and in international affairs, we operate in a binary system. We either shape the world around us, or we are shaped by the world around us.

I believe that your culture, your history, your identity, and the principles set out by Madame Rajavi for how a free Iran would operate are all reasons why you should shape your future, and in doing so, shape the future of a better world for all of us.

Thank you.