Italian lawmakers and Maryam Rajavi call for stronger European action against the Iranian regime, an end to executions, and recognition of the Iranian people’s democratic resistance.

ROME – July 16 — Italy’s Senate Human Rights Commission hosted a significant hearing on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, bringing together lawmakers and Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi to examine the regime’s escalating repression and discuss Europe’s responsibility toward the Iranian people.

Invited officially by the Commission, Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), addressed senators on what she described as a defining moment for Iran and for European policy. Throughout the session, Italian senators from multiple committees echoed concerns over the sharp increase in executions, systematic human rights abuses, and the need for stronger international support for the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations.

A Failed Strategy of Appeasement

Rajavi argued that the Iranian regime remains trapped in an existential crisis but has shown no willingness to abandon its long-standing pillars of survival: domestic repression, pursuit of nuclear weapons, and the export of terrorism and regional conflict.

She rejected decades of Western efforts to moderate the regime through engagement, saying those policies had failed to alter its behavior.

“As long as this regime remains in power,” she said, “the region will never see peace and stability.”

According to Rajavi, the assumption that economic incentives or diplomatic concessions could persuade the regime to abandon its aggressive policies has repeatedly proven false. Instead, she argued that repression and external confrontation are not policy choices but structural necessities for the regime’s survival.

Peace Threatens the Regime More Than Conflict

One of the central themes of Rajavi’s address was the argument that genuine peace poses a greater threat to the regime than war.

Quoting Resistance leader Massoud Rajavi, she stated:

“Without war, this regime has neither a future nor a chance of survival.”

She maintained that the regime fears internal unrest far more than external pressure, emphasizing that any retreat from repression would accelerate its collapse.

Rajavi pointed to growing public anger, deepening economic hardship, inflation, unemployment, and widening divisions within the ruling establishment as evidence that the regime is increasingly vulnerable despite its attempts to project strength.

She also dismissed claims that surviving recent regional crises had strengthened the regime, arguing instead that it faces unprecedented domestic instability.

Freedom Must Be Won by the Iranian People

Rajavi stressed that democratic change cannot be imposed from outside.

Referring to the nationwide uprising and the activities of Resistance Units across Iran, she argued that a younger generation has emerged prepared to confront the regime’s security apparatus.

Quoting Italian patriot Giuseppe Mazzini, she reminded lawmakers:

“No nation is worthy of freedom unless it wins it for itself.”

She reaffirmed what the NCRI has long described as the “Third Option”—neither foreign military intervention nor appeasement, but democratic change led by the Iranian people and their organized resistance.

Alarm Over Executions and Human Rights Violations

Rajavi warned that executions have reached alarming levels during 2026, saying nearly one thousand people have been executed since the beginning of the year, including political prisoners, PMOI members, and protesters arrested during the January uprising.

She also highlighted continuing persecution of religious minorities, citing the closure of churches and arrests of Christians.

Arguing that Europe possesses significant political leverage, she urged the European Union to recognize the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the ruling dictatorship and to support their organized resistance.

She welcomed the United Kingdom’s recent designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization and called on the rest of Europe, including Italy, to formally recognize the Iranian people’s struggle against the IRGC and the regime.

Italian Senators Express Broad Support

Several prominent Italian senators used the hearing to express solidarity with the Iranian people and call for stronger European action.

Stefania Pucciarelli, Chair of the Senate Human Rights Commission, said the suffering of the Iranian people demands international support for their aspirations for freedom, equality between women and men, human dignity, and peace.

Giulio Terzi, Chair of the Senate European Policies Committee, warned that human rights violations have reached an alarming level. He stressed that the international community must continue listening to the voice of the Iranian Resistance and increase political and diplomatic pressure on the regime.

Terzi emphasized that the Resistance’s commitment to democracy, rule of law, and human rights deserves international recognition and protection.

Senator Gisella Naturale, Vice Chair of the Senate European Affairs Committee, likewise argued that no signs of easing repression are visible and that Iran’s future should ultimately be determined by its own people and their organized resistance.

Bartolomeo Amidei, a member of the Human Rights Commission, cautioned against allowing regional security concerns—such as energy routes or the Strait of Hormuz—to overshadow the regime’s escalating domestic repression.

He expressed particular concern over reports that special judicial branches have been established in Tehran to accelerate execution sentences against detained protesters.

Amidei urged Italy and other European governments to use diplomatic pressure to halt executions, secure the release of political prisoners and hostages, and restore unrestricted internet access for the Iranian people.

A Democratic Republic as the Alternative

Concluding her address, Rajavi outlined the vision promoted by the NCRI: a democratic republic based on separation of religion and state, gender equality, abolition of the death penalty, respect for human rights, and a non-nuclear Iran committed to peaceful coexistence.

She praised a declaration signed by a majority of members of both chambers of the Italian Parliament, describing it as “a brilliant model of the right policy toward Iran.”

Rajavi expressed hope that the Italian government and the European Union would translate that parliamentary support into concrete policy by recognizing the Iranian people’s struggle for democratic change and standing firmly against the regime’s continued repression.

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