The free Iran movement

In PJ Media, Tyler O'Neil reports on a major summit that will take place one week from today.

Next Friday, the international resistance to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), will meet for a massive global summit. The summit aims to rally the West against the mullahs, exposing the Iran regime’s terrorism and its horrific response to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, which the opposition claims has killed nearly 70,000 in Iran (the regime’s reported count is 12,000). The summit also aims to energize “Resistance Units” in Iran, building the movement from inside, as well as outside, the country.

“The gathering will echo the demands of the Iranian people expressed in the November 2019 and January 2020 uprisings for regime change,” MEK spokesman Shahin Gobadi, who is based in Paris, told PJ Media in a statement. “Activities of the Resistance Units inside Iran will be a major feature of the unique event, which will be watched throughout the country.”

“Iranians and hundreds of political dignitaries and lawmakers will join them and will warn about the mullahs’ growing use of terrorism. They will urge the international community to adopt a resolute policy in response to Tehran’s human rights abuses, terrorism, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” Gobadi added.

Ramesh Sepehrrad, a Ph.D. professor at the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, hailed the tenacity of the free Iran movement.

“The free Iran movement stands on four decades of hard-earned experiences and sacrifices, and continues to grow at home and abroad through the leadership of an organized and authentic opposition group,” Sepehrrad told PJ Media. “Resiliency, audacity, and steadfastness seen among the Iranian diaspora in organizing such an elaborate global summit is just one dimension of it. The other dimension is seen among the youth, women, labor movement, teachers’ unions, and the broader population who organize and support the engine for change at home.”

“The nationwide protests and total rejection of the regime is multi-generational and cuts across all sectors of the society,” Sepehrrad insisted. “Even the regime’s insiders are speaking of the imminent downfall. It is for this reason this global summit, taking place online during the pandemic, will draw in thousands in solidarity with the people of Iran. It is a historic event to watch, research, and study.”

The summit will take place in cities around the globe, including Washington, D.C., Paris, and Berlin, linked via an internet live-stream. Persians inside Iran, ex-patriots, resistance leaders, foreign dignitaries, and journalists will attend in person or virtually.

Notable foreign dignitaries include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Al Gore’s 2000 running-mate former Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), former French Defense Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie, former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi, Canada’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird, former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission Ken Blackwell.

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