Ambassador Tim Broas, Former United States Ambassador to the Netherlands from 2014 to 2016 (D), addressed at the Free Iran World Summit 2021 on July 10, 2021.

It is an honor to be here to address the Iranian-American Community at the 2021 Human Rights and Democracy conference. My name is Timothy Broas.  I am a lawyer, and a former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.  I had the privilege and pleasure to serve in this position under President Obama. 

As an American Ambassador, one of my main tasks was to project America, and all that it stands for, to the people in the country in which I served.  Be it our democratic electoral system, our respect for human rights, our zealous protection of equality across every race, age, color, gender, sexual preference or heritage, our vigorous enforcement of the rule of law, the personal liberties of free speech, religion and press, it is our job as diplomats to embrace those values and share and spread them. It is also our mission to keep the world safe from nuclear proliferation. We do not impose our values or traditions or laws on our hosts, but we explain, project and educate as much as possible the American way of life.

We are not perfect, and never will be. But we desire to be perfect, and we aspire to be so. We set goals, we debate and pass laws, we vote and elect governing officials, we defend our country and our trusted allies against the vicious forces of terrorism and unjust war. We uphold constitutional rights through our courts, all in pursuit of meeting the high standard set by our founding fathers in our constitution: justice and equality for all. We condemn terrorism in all of its inhumane and evil expressions, external or domestic, and we investigate and prosecute all those who choose to commit such acts. 

Serving as an Ambassador in Europe allowed me to observe and study the origins for the foundational thinking behind the American republic. Our founders emigrated mostly from Europe, seeking to escape autocratic and corrupt monarchies and religious repression. Yes, they set lofty goals, but they gave all Americans a blueprint from which to grow, aspire, and pursue perfection. 

Democracy is sometimes an ugly process, and we don’t always find ways to compromise, but over time, life in America has progressed and improved. European countries provided the model for our constitution and political structure.  Our values derive from those experiences and those relationships. I like to think we adopted the best of our European partners’ values and systems, and repudiated the worst. 

As Iranian Americans, many of you came here from Iran, and many more of you were born and raised here.  Some of you have fond memories of living and working in pre-revolutionary Iran and dream of returning.  Those of you who were born here likely dream of visiting and discovering your homeland, and perhaps moving there and living there someday. 

Like our European founders, many of you came here to escape totalitarian and autocratic rule, intolerance and injustice.  You left behind an authoritarian and lawless theocracy, a sponsor and supporter of terrorism, a denier of basic human rights, a misogynistic collection of male rulers intolerant of women. 

Conceived in the name of eliminating corruption and foreign influence, the Iranian regime is an isolated land whose only friends and allies are fellow sponsors of terrorism and dictatorships. The Iran regime openly threatens to destroy Israel and takes pains to persuade its citizens that America is the enemy. It aspires to develop nuclear weapons. Instead of eliminating corruption, the Iran regime has become one of the most corrupt countries in the world. 

But there is hope for Iran, for its citizens, and for all of humanity. And that hope rests squarely and centrally with all of you: the resistance. You are a force, a loud and vocal force for change. But you can and must become even louder.  You can and must turn up the volume. 

You need to keep growing, keep speaking out, keep organizing, keep working with your friends and allies, both here in the U.S. Government and elsewhere in the civilized world. You have accomplished so much already, through House Resolution 118, a bipartisan resolution by the U.S. Congress, condemning Iran and embracing Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan. 

Through you and your colleagues, and the boycott of Iran’s recent elections, you have shown the world that the election of Mr. Raisi was a sham and a fraud. Mr. Raisi was not elected by the Iranian people. He was selected and appointed by the religious autocrats and cronies.  

The people of Iran are speaking through their actions.  They are protesting with their conduct. They are showing the world that the non-violent protest is the most powerful and effective force to affect change. Throughout history, we have seen how non-violent protest can affect the most profound change. Our own civil rights movement comes to mind, as does Nelson Mandela and his crusade against apartheid in South Africa, Mohatma Gandhi in India, and many others. 

Please intensify and expand your advocacy. The women and children of Iran are counting on you.  The political prisoners in Iran are counting on you. Like you, they are yearning for a democratic, secular and non-nuclear republic of Iran. They seek a government that treats all of its citizens equally. They desire a country with a legal system and courts that enforce and respect human rights, including access to justice, health and education and economic opportunity. 

All of this change is within reach. A democratic, secular and non-nuclear Iran may sometimes seem an unattainable dream, but it’s not.

Thanks to your resistance and your persistence, it is more hopeful and possible than ever. Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today.