Appeasement is not the way to deal with Iran, and further appeasement will cause even more damage.

The Iranian regime is falling to pieces and the internal disputes are irreparable, made worse by the recent election fail for the Supreme Leader who was unable to engineer the outcome so that his favoured candidate became president.

On Saturday 1st July, the Iranian opposition held its annual “Free Iran” rally just outside Paris. People from all over the world attended, including tens of thousands of Iranian people and hundreds of politicians, parliamentarians and dignitaries.

The speakers highlighted how the time is right for regime change.

Almost two years on from the nuclear deal, nothing has changed in Iran. Over $100 billion dollars was freed up for Iran as a result of the deal, yet the people are still living in extreme poverty. The money, instead of being used to improve social conditions, was used to fund terror across the Middle East – Iraq, Syria and Yemen in particular.

The people are becoming restless and in the run up to the presidential election, a huge campaign was launched by PMOI (People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran/MEK) activists calling for justice for the 1988 massacre in which more than 30,000 political prisoners were executed. It was on such a large scale that candidate Raisi, a member of the 1988 “Death Commission” during the massacre, had no chance of winning the race.

After the elections, the country’s Assembly of Experts which selects the next supreme leader declared that the votes, demands and views of the people hold no significance at all.

There is no doubt that the mullahs’ regime must come to an end. The crises (internal and otherwise) are unsurmountable. Most importantly, unlike its neighbours in the region, Iran already has a viable and democratic alternative.

Some believe that the regime can change from within but the past few decades have shown us that this is impossible. President Rouhani was gifted with appeasement by the US during his first term. Obama turned a blind eye to every act of belligerence from Iran for fear that the nuclear deal would fall through.

The opposition and the people of Iran are in a position to effectuate great change. They have already succeeded in getting the regime to condemn Raisi for his role in the 1988 massacre. They will succeed in ensuring the regime is overthrown so that the people can finally enjoy freedom and democracy.