They rallied and demanded a regime change in Iran, advocated for a democratic, non-extremist, pluralistic, and non-fundamentalist government. More than twenty Nobel laureates have declared their support for the \u201cFree Iran\u201d gathering.<\/p>\n
The size, resources, and influence of this Iranian Opposition shows that this is the movement that politicians, leaders, republicans, and democrats can join and support, if they are looking for the Iranian government turn into a rational and moderate state, by the Iranian themselves.<\/p>\n
Former White House Director of Public Liaison Linda Chavez opened the Grand Iranian Opposition and\u00a0said<\/a>, \u201cLet\u2019s honor and commend the bravery and dedication of Camp Liberty residents. We all know that Camp Liberty came under heavy missile attacks on July 4th, which left vast destruction and dozens of injuries.<\/p>\n The Mullahs perpetrating this attack showed that what threatens them the most and what are they afraid of the most.<\/p>\n Therefore let\u2019s make it clear to the mullahs that nothing can and would prevent the Iranian Resistance from forging ahead for democracy and freedom in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen.John Boozman\u00a0addressing his \u2018friends\u2019 pointed out that he was \u2018disturbed\u2019 by the incresaing number of human rights violations in Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n Chairman of the Board of the King Faisal Center for Research And Islamic Studies Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal stated \u201cIn the pre-Islamic world, the Persian Sassanian Empire extended from Turkey and Egypt in the west to the Indian subcontinent in the east; it was a cultural and political force rivaling that of ancient China, India, or Rome.<\/p>\n The Sassanians were envied by the Romans for their advanced military technology, Sassanian artists and musicians were welcomed by the royal courts of ancient China, and the Sassanian government was widely praised for its humane and effective style of rule.<\/p>\n The Persians of the ancient world could even lay claim to one of the world\u2019s first monotheistic religions: Zoroastrianism, a faith based on the teachings of Zoroaster, who lived over 3,000 years ago,\u201d and he added that \u201cAnd you, Maryam Rajavi, your endeavor to rid your people of the Khomeinist cancer is an historic epic that, like the Shanameh, will remain inscribed the annals of History.\u201d<\/p>\n The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the parent coalition of the opposition People\u2019s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), has planned this rally that is normally preceded by round-table events.<\/p>\n Every year, the NCRI gathers the Iranian Opposition and supporters of freedom and democracy in Iran. More than 100,000 Iranian expatriates\u00a0attended<\/a>\u00a0the rally last year.<\/p>\n The annual event attracts hundreds of prominent international personalities, many high-level politicians, political leaders, military officials, religious leaders, and former diplomats from around the world.<\/p>\n This year\u00a0high-profile<\/a>\u00a0American figures- such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich<\/a>, former ambassadors to the United Nations John Bolton<\/a>, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, to name a few- have confirmed their attendance for the Free Iran rally. The number of officials endorsing and attending the NCRI\u2019s rally appears to increase every year.<\/p>\n The United States Congressman, Brad Sherman, veteran of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, emphasized the significance of theFree Iran\u00a0<\/a>rally and he congratulated the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) for \u201cthe critical role it played in exposing the Iranian regime\u2019s nuclear weapons program.\u201d Patrizia Toia, a Member of the European Parliament from Italy,declared<\/a>\u00a0that she desires to \u201cencourage everyone to join the event in Paris of 9th of July.\u201d<\/p>\n Free Iran: The Significance, Purpose, and Aspirations<\/strong><\/p>\n For many, the significance of such event is that there exists a powerful and organized institution (NCRI\/PMOI), holding the largest number of Iranian oppositions connected with people inside Iran, that can be a critical platform for facilitating a fundamental change in the Iranian government and its political establishment by the Iranian people themselves, and without the need for foreign or military intervention.<\/p>\n Maryam Rajavi is the president-elect of the NCRI and PMOI. The US Congressman, Brad Sherman\u00a0commended<\/a>\u00a0Rajavi, for her \u201cadvocacy of democracy, human and women\u2019s rights in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n Maryam Rajavi stated that the participants of the Paris convention represent the voice of millions of oppressed Iranians who long from freedom and democracy and expect the next U.S. President as well as other western leaders to stand with the Iranian people and stop appeasing the Tehran regime. She added that the international community must adopt a firm policy, which would have as its components the condemnation of the regime\u2019s human rights violation and its export of terrorism.<\/p>\n In addition, the organizers of Free Iran rally advocate these kinds of protests give voice to those people who are suffering in the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n The objectives of Free Iran rally are anchored in several themes as well. Firstly, many of the protesters emphasize and provide a clear understanding that the nuclear agreement \u2013 known as JCPOA- has not made Iran less repressive regionally and domestically, and that President Obama\u2019s message of Iranian moderation is inaccurate.<\/p>\n They oppose the US appeasement policy towards the Islamic Republic, and contend that the nuclear agreement is encouraging Iran\u2019s aggressive and destabilizing behavior.<\/p>\n On a domestic level, the rate of execution has reached an unprecedented level in over 25 years, and any opposition is being silenced immediately.<\/p>\n On the regional level, Iran has tested ballistic missiles several times, it is assisting Bashar Al Assad\u2019s forces, Hezbollah, Shiite militia groups and fueling sectarianism more forcefully, which is leading to more recruitments by ISIS and other radical groups. In addition, Iran is growing its IRGC stranglehold across the region.<\/p>\n On a humanitarian level, the protesters are demanding rule of law, equality for all nationalities, gender equality, implementation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression and press, putting an end to discriminations against ethnic, religious minorities, and women, among others.<\/p>\n Keyvan, an Iranian-American businessman who travelled from Washington DC to Paris to attend the rally said \u201cWashington\u2019s appeasement policy towards Iran is empowering Iranian leaders and making them more interventionist and aggressive in the region.<\/p>\n There is no difference between the moderates and hardliners. They have the same objectives. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians opposed the nuclear agreement. But Obama did not listen.<\/p>\n The nuclear agreement is helping IRGC to dominate other countries in the region, crack down domestically, and help its proxies like Hezbollah\u201d.<\/p>\n Mohammad, an Iranian-Canadian policy analyst, attending the rally, pointed out that many protesters truly believe that the Iranian government is on the verge of collapse, the only thing that is needed is pressure from other countries<\/p>\n He also argued that other governments should support Iranian Opposition; \u201cIn 1978, no one thought that Shah was going to be overthrown in a year.<\/p>\n Iranian Opposition is now ready to change their government. They need support from outside. The only difference between now and then is that US administration of Carter put pressure on Iran at that time, which was instrumental in helping people to change the regime.<\/p>\n But Obama is supporting the Iranian regime. We are connected to the large, dissatisfied and organized opposition in Iran. We need support for bigger version of the 2009 protests. That is what the Iranian government is most afraid of.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the protesters argue that the next US administration should take bolder stance towards Iran by putting pressure on the Iranian government not only concerning the nuclear issues, but also human rights abuses.<\/p>\n The Iranian Leaders Fear: Uprising<\/strong><\/p>\n From the perspective of Iranian leaders, NCRI\/PMOI and Iranian Opposition are a graver threat to their hold-on-power in comparison to any other threat including foreign intervention.<\/p>\n It was a major blow to Iran when NCRI revealed Iran\u2019s clandestine uranium enrichment site at Natanz. Iran state-owned media outlets do not report NCRI\u2019s annual rally. Iran\u00a0also\u00a0executes people who are linked to PMOI and NCRI.<\/p>\n NCRI\u2019s headquarter is in Paris, but it also has offices in Washington DC and several other major European countries. PMOI has a camp in Iraq, camp Ashraf, which has been\u00a0attacked\u00a0by the Iranian government several times.<\/p>\n This week,\u00a0according\u00a0to Reuters, militias affiliated with IRGC Quds Force, a special elite unit of Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards that operates in foreign nations, bombarded the camp by firing tens of rockets and injuring more than forty people.<\/p>\n Iranian leaders are concerned that more politicians and governments, particularly the next US administration, might endorse NCRI, the Iranian Opposition, and the Iranian dissidents. Although President Obama seems to have abandoned the Iranian Opposition, more Congressmen and global leaders are becoming advocates of NCRI.<\/p>\n From the perspective of Iranian leaders, Iranian dissidents abroad might inspire the disaffected youth to revolt inside the country. Khamenei has repeatedly warned the youth of such infiltrations from the West.<\/p>\n For Iranian leaders, PMOI and Iranian dissidents, attending the Free Iran rally, can be significant threat because they can facilitate a popular uprising, a larger repeat of the 2009 protests, put pressure on Iranian politicians, and direct a change in the Iranian government, specifically when they are supported by regional and global powers.<\/p>\n Finally, the size, resources, and influence of this oppositional group highlights the notion that, this is the movement that politicians, leaders, republicans, and democrats can join and support, if they are looking for the Iranian government to turn into a rational and moderate state actor, by the Iranian themselves.<\/p>\n![\"Iranian](\"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/maxresdefault-min-300x188.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nIranian dissidents say Baghdad camp shelled, more than 40 hurt<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
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