This book documents the 1988 massacre of dissident political prisoners by the Iranian regime, and uses those events to discuss general policy themes.

The NCRI’s goals are threefold:

• Bring those responsible for the 1988 atrocity to an international tribunal;
• A commission of inquiry set up by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;
• Alongside the issues of ballistic missiles, export of terrorism, and involvement in Syria, have the Trump administration address the issue of human rights in Iran

Human Rights Day sparked the Commissioner to state that the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are “under assault and must be defended.”

“Moderate” President Hassan Rouhani was quoted as saying that people should be hanged in public to make examples out of them for other citizens. It is reported that Iran accounted for 66 percent of all recorded executions in the region. Still, per the Amnesty International Report of Facts & Figures for 2016, the overall number of executions carried out in Iran dropped by 42 percent (from at least 977 to at least 567) from the previous year.

Another NCRIUS book, “Presidential Elections in Iran: Changing Faces; Status Quo Policies calls Iran’s election process, “selections” by the Supreme Leader, instead.

Human Rights Day commemorates the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 1948. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) noted how this milestone provides Trump an opportunity to address a longstanding human rights problem with our main allies, based on U.S. national security implications: Iran’s continuing repression of its own people.

While statistics regarding the number of citizens imprisoned for their political beliefs are unavailable, per the Department of State’s Human Rights Report for 2016 — human rights NGO, United for Iran, estimates there are 905 prisoners of conscience in Iran, including those jailed for religious beliefs. The NCRI makes this information available in its reports on human rights abuses in Iran, which are verified by Amnesty International, as stated above for 2016. Since the 2015 nuclear deal, human rights abuses in Iran have proceeded unabated, according to The Department of State website.

In his article for newmax.com, Professor Raymond Tanter, who served as a senior member on the Middle East Desk of the National Security Council staff in the Reagan-Bush administration, and is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, writes “The regime’s conduct stems from its radical Islamist ideology, which views Iran as the vanguard of Shiite Islam in a Middle East dominated by Sunni states and their U.S. patron. In this sense, Iran regards internal dissent as a form of Western cultural infiltration to undermine the regime’s legitimacy from within.”

In its book, “How Iran Fuels Syria War” the NCRIUS shows how the Iranian regime engages its forces in Syria, and displays how, by challenging Iran’s human rights abuses, Trump can advance U.S. interests.

Tanter attended a briefing in the prestigious Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Building of the U.S. Capitol, sponsored by the Organization for Iranian-American Communities (OIACUS) on December 7th, where welcoming remarks were presented in a video message from NCRI President-Elect Madame Maryam Rajavi.

“There were presentations by a distinguished group of former U.S. officials, as well as remarks from two present Members of the U.S. Congress — Sen. Ben Cardin Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (D-MD) and a senior member of the Committee on Appropriations, Sen. John Bozeman (R-AR). They both gave strong support to the people of Iran and were critical of the regime,” Tanter writes, and adds, “Other statements were by former Speaker of the U.S. House, Newt Gingrich.”

The growing capabilities of the main opposition group in Iran, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, were highlighted by Gingrich. The NCRI’s largest unit is the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, (PMOI), commonly known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq or MEK. Gingrich discussed the need for President Trump increase his pressure on the Iranian regime with new sanctions on Tehran.

General Jim Jones, former Chief of Staff, focused on regime change from within, and the enhanced capabilities of the NCRI family of organizations.

Closing the program was Ambassador (Ret.) Lincoln Bloomfield, Jr., who defended the idea of regime change from within, as well as new sanctions on Iran, and the growing capabilities of the NCRI to effect regime change.