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Guest post from National Council of Resistance in Iran
Brussels, Belgium - Today, the International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ) hosted a pivotal conference in Brussels, unveiling a critical whitepaper advocating for a significant shift in Europe's policy toward Iran. Speakers including former European Parliament Vice President Alejo Vidal-Quadras, and former Members of the European Parliament Struan Stevenson and Paulo Casaca, highlighted the urgent need for change.
The whitepaper, titled “Europe’s Failed Policy Towards Iran,” argues that Europe's current policy of engagement with Iran needs to drastically change. It points to a series of concessions made to the Iranian regime, including financial aid, political compromises, and restrictions on Iranian opposition movements, which have only emboldened the ruling clerics.
The whitepaper highlights a four-decade-long policy of "appeasement" toward Tehran, characterized by ignoring increased oil sales and capitulating to hostage-taking tactics. This approach, the paper contends, has fortified the regime's belief in its impunity, allowing it to continue its aggressive policies without facing consequences.
The whitepaper cites historical examples, such as the West's complacency toward Iran's nuclear advancements before the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) exposed two secret nuclear sites in 2002. It further points to the regime's acceleration of its nuclear weapons program, even after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with funds being diverted into weapons, terrorism, and domestic oppression.
Speakers at the conference highlighted the high cost of Europe's current policy. Vidal-Quadras, who survived an assassination attempt by Iran's regime last year in Madrid, emphasized the urgent need for change. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not an opponent with which one can engage and interact under the rules of international politics. It is a fanatical, corrupt, and terrorist state based on ideological dogmas that make impossible any evolution from inside,” he stated.
“The EU policy, both of Member States and of the Union as such, in relation to the Iranian dictatorship has always been and still is a wrong policy, it has failed miserably and must be completely changed,” Vidal-Quadras added.
Stevenson echoed this sentiment, arguing that Europe must move beyond the false choice between futile negotiations and military confrontation. He also warned about attempts by the regime to demonize its opponents through misinformation.
“The mullahs’ efforts to eliminate the PMOI also relied on a massive campaign of demonization and propaganda, both at home and abroad, to tarnish the organized Iranian opposition. The regime has spent millions, if not billions, of dollars on this propaganda campaign, publishing hundreds of books, magazines, and articles, as well as producing documentaries, movies, and TV shows to demonize and traduce the PMOI. These attacks against the PMOI are always based on manufactured lies and groundless accusations from the regime, intended to discourage people and parliamentarians from recognizing, supporting, and engaging with the Iranian opposition. Sadly, all too often some of the western media fall for this propaganda and publish articles and even documentaries based on garbage that has come straight from the mullahs in Tehran,” Stevenson said.
“We have a free world that fails to see the reality. The theater of puppet reformists versus hardliners has been played countless times in Iran in more than four decades and not even once was there any consistent change in the behavior of the regime. Each time, this charade was used to numb Western leaders into blindness and inaction. The exchange of Iranian terrorists for hostages was always followed by more terrorism. All acceptance of territorial expansionism has been followed by yet more expansionism,” Casaca pointed out.
The whitepaper calls for a paradigm shift in Western policy toward Iran, rejecting both appeasement and military confrontation. It advocates for recognizing the Iranian people and their organized resistance, the NCRI, as a viable alternative to the current regime. The paper urges the international community to support the Iranian Resistance's right to resist and seek democratic change.
According to the whitepaper, the strategy for regime change in Iran can be enabled by international isolation of the regime. One of the most effective measures would be the complete severance of diplomatic relations between the European Union and the theocratic regime in Tehran. This would involve closing all EU embassies in Iran and, reciprocally, shutting down Iranian embassies across EU member states. Expelling all of the regime's diplomats from European soil would send an unequivocal message of condemnation, stripping the dictatorship of its diplomatic channels used to justify its behavior and further weakening its grip on power. Such a move would not only underscore the international community's refusal to legitimize the regime but would also amplify the voices of the Iranian people as well as internal pressures on the Iranian regime, hastening its inevitable collapse.
The speakers at the conference echoed the whitepaper's conclusions, emphasizing the urgent need for a new approach to Iran. They highlighted the Iranian people's desire for a democratic and free Iran and the role the international community can play in supporting their aspirations. The conference concluded with a call to action, urging European leaders to adopt the whitepaper's recommendations and work towards a more effective and principled policy toward Iran.
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