More than 100 Nobel Laureates have issued a powerful open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, calling for urgent international action to address what they describe as a “grave and escalating human rights crisis in Iran.” Signed in July 2025, the letter denounces widespread executions, systematic repression, and Tehran’s destabilizing activities across the region.
Unprecedented Surge in Executions
The Laureates condemned the Iranian regime’s reliance on mass executions as a means of instilling fear and maintaining power. According to the letter, at least 1,000 people — including 34 women — were executed in 2024 alone. The country remains the world’s leading executioner per capita, with an estimated 1,275 executions carried out during just ten months of the current presidency.
The signatories stressed that ethnic and religious minorities, political dissidents, and ordinary citizens continue to be the primary victims of these systematic abuses.
A Nation Rejects Both Tyranny and Theocracy
The letter recalls Iran’s nationwide uprising in 2022, during which citizens made clear their rejection of both monarchical and theocratic rule, instead demanding a democratic republic. The Nobel Laureates further noted that widespread boycotts of the regime’s presidential elections underscored this call for freedom and democracy.
Rising Global Recognition of Iran’s Democratic Opposition
The statement aligns with the growing international acknowledgment of the Iranian Resistance, particularly the Ten-Point Plan proposed by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
In February 2025, a bipartisan resolution (H. RES. 166) in the U.S. House of Representatives gained majority support, condemning the regime’s terrorism and human rights violations while endorsing Rajavi’s democratic vision.
In June 2024, more than 4,000 parliamentarians, 130 former heads of state, and 80 Nobel Laureates publicly endorsed Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan. Since then, parliamentary majorities in numerous countries — including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Norway, Canada, Ireland, Malta, Switzerland, Romania, Portugal, Argentina, Costa Rica, Iceland, Moldova, and the Netherlands — have issued similar endorsements.
A Blueprint for a Free and Peaceful Iran
The Laureates affirmed their support for “a democratic Iran, where sovereignty rests with the people.” They endorsed the Ten-Point Plan, which advocates universal suffrage, free and fair elections, the separation of religion and state, gender and ethnic equality, a non-nuclear Iran, and peaceful regional relations.
According to the letter, “The Iranian Resistance, with its democratic platform dedicated to human rights, offers a viable path toward national unity, an end to religious dictatorship, and the transfer of sovereignty to the people.”
A Global Call to Action
The Nobel Laureates concluded by urging the UN and the broader international community not to remain silent in the face of Iran’s ongoing atrocities, emphasizing: “This vision offers the prospect of a democratic Iran and lasting peace across the Middle East.”
With over 100 Nobel Laureates lending their voices, this letter represents one of the strongest international moral and academic endorsements yet for Iran’s democratic aspirations.