On the brink of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, an online international summit, entitled “Trans-Atlantic Summit on Iran Policy, Time to Hold the Iranian Regime Accountable,” brought together Iranians in various countries around the world from 10,000 locations.

Among the personalities who addressed the summit were 30 bipartisan U.S. lawmakers from the House and the Senate, including Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Roy Blunt, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Bob Menendez, and dignitaries like Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor, General James Jones, National Security Advisor to President Obama (2009-2010), Newt Gingrich, 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Joseph Lieberman, former U.S. Senator, as well as a delegation of U.K. lawmakers, and Amb. Giulio Terzi, former Foreign Minister of Italy.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the keynote speaker of the summit, paid tribute to Navid Afkari, a rebellious national hero recently executed by the regime and said: “Faced with executions and massacres, the people of Iran urge the United Nations, and the U.N. Security Council, in particular, to restore snapback sanctions stipulated in the six U.N. resolutions against the clerical regime in Iran. Otherwise, Khamenei will continue to ravage the nation as his regime’s survival depends on murder and suppression. If Khamenei were to stop executions, he would lose control of the situation, and uprisings simmering in the depths of Iranian society would erupt and overthrow the mullahs’ religious fascism.”

Speakers in the summit demanded justice for over 30,000 MEK and other activists, political prisoners massacred in 1988. They urged an end to the policy of appeasement and demanded those who ordered and carried out this great crime, who currently occupy high positions in the regime, to be brought to justice.
U.S. Senator Martha McSally joined the summit. In her remarks, Senator McSally said,” It’s time for Iran to stop oppressing its people and sponsoring terrorism and instead become a positive actor in the Middle East.”

U.S. Senator Martha McSally

I’m Senator Martha McSally.  Thank you to the Iranian-American community of Arizona and the members of the Organization of Iranian-American Communities for inviting me to speak at this summit to support a free Iran.  It’s time for Iran to stop oppressing its people and sponsoring terrorism and instead become a positive actor in the Middle East.

I’m inspired by the Iranian people who continue to put their lives on the line to protest the murderous Iranian regime.  America stands with the protestors, demanding their God-given rights for freedom.  I served 26 years in the military and deployed to the Middle East in Afghanistan six times, flying a mighty A-10 Warthog. 

I’ve seen firsthand the terror the Iranian regime has inflicted on so many innocent people.  I fully support President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran using all elements of national power—economic, diplomatic, information, and military deterrents.  And I’m grateful that President had the resolve to order the killing of terrorist leader, General Qassem Soleimani who is responsible for the deaths of countless Americans this year along and will help hold Iran responsible for their malevolent actions. 

It’s time for Iran to provide freedom and opportunity for its citizens and become a responsible actor in the region.  The U.S. and the international community must continue to hold Iran accountable for its human rights violations and reprehensible behavior.  We must endeavor to end their dangerous proliferation of nuclear weapons, terrorism, and their oppression of their own citizens.  Our world cannot be stable while the number one sponsor of terror continues to operate. Thank you for your work to promote a free and democratic Iran.  America stands with you in fighting for a better future for the Iranian people.