Paris – Washington: Europe and the Arabs

In a coordinated display of growing popular support for the democratic alternative, thousands of Iranians took to the streets in European and American capitals and cities in support of the National Council of Resistance of Iran's declaration of a provisional government, emphasizing that Iran's future must be built on transferring sovereignty to the people and establishing a democratic republic, not on the continuation of the mullahs' rule or a return to the Shah's dictatorship. According to a statement issued by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Paris, a copy of which we received, “On Saturday, massive demonstrations took place in European and American capitals and cities, with thousands of Iranians residing abroad participating in support of the NCRI’s declaration of a provisional government as a framework for a transitional phase aimed at transferring sovereignty to the Iranian people and establishing a democratic republic based on the Ten-Point Plan proposed by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.” The demonstrations extended to Paris, Washington, London, Berlin, Brussels, Rome, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Aarhus, as well as several other major European cities. Participants chanted slogans affirming their categorical rejection of both the Shah’s dictatorship and the mullahs’ dictatorship, demanding that the international community recognize the provisional government and the struggle of the Iranian people and the youth of the uprising against the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. A wide spectrum of Iranians abroad participated in these demonstrations, including representatives of national minorities, in a scene reflecting the growing support for the democratic republic option. As an alternative to the existing regime and any attempt to reproduce tyranny in its old or new form.

In Paris, thousands of Iranians gathered in the Trocadero Square, where speeches were delivered by Ms. Sorounaz Chitsaz, Chair of the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI); Mr. Abolghasem Rezaei, Deputy Secretary of the NCRI; and Ms. Zeinat Mirhasemi, a member of the NCRI and Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Nabard-e Khalq.

In Washington, a demonstration was held in front of the Capitol Building, where Ms. Sona Samsami, the NCRI’s representative in the United States, and Mr. Arash Saleh, representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), spoke.

Participants in these demonstrations emphasized that the Iranian people alone possess the legitimacy to determine their political future by transferring sovereignty to them and establishing a republic based on universal suffrage, political pluralism, and the principles of the Ten-Point Plan, which stipulates full equality between men and women, the separation of religion and state, and the establishment of a non-nuclear Iran.

In a message to the demonstrators, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi stressed that Iran is going through In one of the most turbulent moments of the past half-century, she emphasized that "the light of resistance and uprising" continues to shine amidst this turbulent period. She stated that the solution in Iran "is neither war nor appeasement, but rather the overthrow of the regime by the people through organized uprising and resistance."

Rajavi added that "the remnants of Khamenei, by appointing a new Supreme Leader, will not be able to save the regime, just as the remnants of the Shah will not be able to return Iran from religious dictatorship to the Shah's dictatorship," stressing that the Iranian people alone have the legitimate right to determine their country's political future.

In concluding her message, Rajavi asserted that the current stage requires transcending the dichotomy of past and present, saying: "There is no going back to the past, nor stagnation in the present, but rather a leap towards a free, democratic, and progressive future."

She also appealed to governments worldwide to pressure the Iranian regime to release political prisoners, warning that their situation, under conditions of war, has become more dangerous and threatening than ever before.

This reflects According to the participants, these demonstrations represent an escalation of the bet on an organized political alternative that presents itself in opposition to the rule of the Supreme Leader, and is based on a clearly defined democratic program, at a time when international calls are increasing to recognize the right of the Iranian people to determine their own destiny away from religious repression or a return to the rule of the Shah.