At a U.S. Senate event on December 11, 2024, General James Jones, former U.S. National Security Advisor, delivered a powerful call for regime change in Iran, denouncing the Iranian regime as a “vicious” destabilizing force threatening global peace. He emphasized the urgency for the United States to adopt a resolute stance against Tehran and its network of allies.
General Jones framed the situation as part of a broader global struggle between democracies and autocracies, cautioning against the expanding influence of authoritarian regimes that could reshape the international order. Highlighting recent developments in Syria as evidence of the potential for transformative change in the Middle East, he expressed hope for Iranian dissidents working toward regime change.
Rejecting policies of appeasement, Jones declared, “Appeasement does not work,” and called for a unified international approach to counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions and state-sponsored terrorism. He voiced strong support for Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for a democratic Iran, describing it as a “Jeffersonian” vision for the nation’s future.
In closing, General Jones urged greater public and governmental backing for the Iranian opposition. He stressed the importance of maintaining sanctions and international pressure on Tehran, while advocating for a detailed strategy to guide Iran’s transition to a democratic, rights-respecting government in the post-regime era.
Click on the image to see the video:
The full text of General Jones’s speech follows:
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s an honor to be here once again.
I think in my 11th year of being associated with this wonderful crusade and this effort to topple a vicious regime that has, caused so much damage in the world and still has the potential to, wreak havoc in in many parts of the world.
Like many of you in this room, I was raised in a foreign land. In my case, my family moved to Europe in 1946 when I was two years old and I grew up in France. And among the many benefits of living overseas as a young person, is you tend to see your own country in a different light.
And for me, that experience of living overseas during the Cold War, and during, all kinds of international allowed me to become very proud of my country for what it achieved in World War 2. It allowed me to see how generous in military victory our country was equally generous in rebuilding Europe, at least Western Europe and Japan.
And it motivated me, I think, in my teenage years to dedicate myself to a lifetime of service, in the American uniform worn by United States Marines after my father and my uncle.
So, as we look at the world today, ladies and gentlemen, particularly our young people here, we are, we are in a battle involving autocracies and democracies.
And I’ll start at a very strategic level. It’s no secret and everybody knows that Iran, Russia, North Korea, and China have embarked on a crew on a project to change the world that we live in. They must not be allowed to succeed.
However, the consequences of our failure to stand up to this new alliance, if you will, this new Cold War is also a hot war in some places. The consequences are serious. We must prevail. And the only way we prevail is for the United States and its friends and allies to unite and succeed and make sure that our potential enemies do not misunderstand our resolve or do not think that we have a lack of resolve.
And nowhere is this more important than what’s going on in the Middle East.
The government, the regime in Iran is ahead of the snake, and it has allowed for many years too long for organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and others to impede the progress of peace and prosperity and to and has impeded the progress and the desire of the Iranian people to live free in a democratic regime.
The head of the snake has always been in Tehran. Thank you General James Jones for your support. #Freeiran #IranianRegime #RegimeChange pic.twitter.com/GBNfGZBJu1
— OIAC: Organization of Iranian American Communities (@OrgIAC) December 11, 2024
So, this week this week, we’ve witnessed yet another tectonic shift in the Syrian government. We’ll wait and see what that means. But what it should mean to the people of Iran is a change is in fact possible in the Middle East.
You may have to wait for it, but it will come. And I think that, if I were a citizen of Iran, in opposition to the regime, I would be very encouraged today to know that this is in fact possible.
So, the fall of, Assad in Syria, really means a diminution of Russian influence in the region.
And I think it is very important because of the foursome of the four governments that I just mentioned, who will be lesser, influential in what happens in the Middle East if we do the right thing.
The change in the US administration that is upcoming in the near future has already caused some tectonic shifts in the geographic alignments. One of the lessons I think that all of our speakers have alluded to, directly or indirectly, is that with regard to the regime in Iran, appeasement does not work. Full stop.
Appeasement does not work. Another way of saying it is that the Iranian regime does not do nuance. There can be no mistake in how we communicate with that particular regime. The rise of US energy leadership is something that’s going to happen in the very near future.
It is going to be one of the instruments in our, vast array of ways to influence around the world that we can bring to the table. The renewed emphasis on the necessity of having friends and allies is going to be very important.
NATO has transformed itself, from being a defensive reactive alliance to one that now routinely embraces out-of-area operations and has, under the leadership of people like General Walters and General Cavoli and others have transformed itself to being a formidable barrier to any further encroachment on the European land mass and serves as an example of what friends and allies can do when they want to work together to prevail, undemocratic ideals.
As we go forward, I think in seeking and achieving regime change in Iran, public-private partnerships are going to be very important. It’s one thing to topple a regime, but it’s another thing to have a good plan for the day after that regime has been toppled.
Make no mistake. Iran is on its heels, but it’s still a very dangerous government. I hope that we will reject the idea of appeasement and look and search for some hope that a moderate Iranian leader can somehow emerge.
That is a pipe dream that has no validity. We have been led down that road many, many times, and it’s time now to affect a strong policy that will affect a regime change as we pivot away from past failures.
The Houthis, Hamas Hezbollah, and others like them are all in a weakened condition, and that’s a good thing.
And we must take advantage of that weakened condition. The incoming, President Trump has demanded a release of hostages by his inauguration day, or face consequences. We’ll see what we’ll see what happens on that line.
But once we say something like that, you can’t walk away from it and pretend like it didn’t happen. It’s there. President Biden has said he will not allow Iran to gain nuclear weapons. That those statements have consequences. Those statements have real meaning. But you must have a plan to make sure that if that doesn’t work, you have the ability to back up that statement.
Last year in Paris and in Berlin, we saw a powerful demonstration of support and intent by United States, Canadian, and European nations, in Paris. All the while in Berlin, 50,000 people marched in support of the NCRI, Mrs. Rajavi’s leadership.
Today, we need to recommit to the idea that as in Syria, change is also coming to Iran. A clear democratic change based on Mrs. Rajavi’s 10 points, which I’ve always labeled as Jeffersonian in principle.
So, what should we do in 2025? One, I would say to commit to continuing the education of the American media and the American public, with regard to the NCRI. What it is, what it isn’t, and what its hopes and aspirations are.
Second, continue to build congressional support for a free democratic Iran as mentioned by the senators who stopped by.
Number three, as Mrs. Rajavi indicated on the screen, gives hope to the Iranian people that change is coming by talking about expectations the day after the regime falls.
Number four, to the extent that you can improve on tightening sanctions on Iranian oil exports, I would recommend that that be strongly looked at.
And number five, live up to not allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons and delivery capability of those weapons. Ladies and gentlemen, we live in dangerous times, but dangerous times also have great possibilities.
Iran is now recognized for what it is. The NCRI is increasingly recognized by United States and global media as the voice the voice of opposition for the future of Iran.
Ladies and gentlemen, this room should be filled with people from the Senate staff. It should be filled with media. There should be a line out that door waiting to get in to talk about these issues.
And for those of you who serve on Senate staff, the next time we meet in this room, please bring two or three friends and build that line because what we’re talking about here today is really, really important.
I carry a small book with me. This is the declaration of independence and the constitution of the United States. It is the oath of office is the one that the president and officers of the American military carry.
I propose that in the near future, Iranian people be given a book that will have two things to it. Part one is Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan. You can part two is the constitution, the new constitution of the government of Iran.
We’ll work on this project, and I hope we have these books with a Ten-Point Plan as a reminder that this is the Jeffersonian democracy that we’re talking about.
And it is a bipartisan issue, and it is an issue that no American can dispute.
Thank you very much.
