The Friends of Free Iran (FOFI), a cross-party group in the European Parliament, has issued a powerful statement condemning the Iranian regime’s recent wave of repression and aligning itself with Maryam Rajavi’s “Third Option” for democratic change.

In a tweet posted on July 2, 2025, FOFI reaffirmed its support for Iran’s organized resistance and denounced the regime’s escalating violence, arbitrary executions, and suppression of dissent.

“FOFI Statement:

• Alarmed by regime’s intensifying crackdown

• Wave of mass arrests/worsening conditions for political prisoners

• Increasing use of arbitrary executions and systematic violence is regime’s attempt to silence dissent

• Supports #IranThirdOption”

FOFI Statement:
– Alarmed by regime’s intensifying crackdown
– Wave of mass arrests/worsening conditions for political prisoners
– Increasing use of arbitrary executions and systematic violence is regime's attempt to silence dissent
– Supports #IranThirdOption pic.twitter.com/GmN5uY8Sof

— Friends of a Free Iran – EP (@FOFI_EP) July 3, 2025

The full statement, co-signed by FOFI Co-Chairs Petras Auštrevičius (Lithuania) and Milan Zver (Slovenia), strongly condemns Iran’s newly adopted espionage law, which criminalizes dissent, journalism, and online discussions related to human rights or political opposition. Alarmingly, the law allows for the death penalty under charges classified as national security threats, including discussions held in venues like the European Parliament.

FOFI also emphasized that the Iranian regime’s strategy of inciting conflict abroad is meant to justify oppression at home. The statement highlights the growing movement led by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its President-elect, Maryam Rajavi, as a viable and democratic alternative.

Speech at the European Parliament- Strasbourg
Today, from the home of the peoples of Europe, a unified voice was heard in support of the people of Iran, the Iranian Resistance, and the network of Resistance Units in Iran. That voice declared that the only solution to this crisis… pic.twitter.com/CyF5WJtcnk

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 18, 2025

Rajavi’s message, echoed during a June 18 meeting with Members of the European Parliament, outlined a clear path:

“The solution lies neither in appeasement nor in war, but in the third option: regime change by the people of Iran and the organized resistance.”

The FOFI group urged the EU and its member states to adopt firmer policies, including:

• Designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity

• Linking diplomacy with the release of political prisoners

• Supporting UN access to monitor human rights in Iran

This marks another bold stance by FOFI, a group established in 2003 that has consistently advocated for human rights and democratic change in Iran, despite being targeted by the Iranian regime.