Iranian opposition leader condemns latest executions, calls on international community to stop appeasing the Tehran regime

Rome – July 30, 2025 – In a powerful address at the Italian Parliament, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), condemned the recent executions of two political prisoners in Iran and called on the international community to recognize and support the only viable path to freedom: regime change by the Iranian people and their organized Resistance.

Just four days prior to her speech, the Iranian regime executed Behrouz Ehsani, 69, and Mehdi Hassani, 48—both members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK)—in Ghezel Hesar prison, after years of torture and imprisonment. Rajavi described their execution as a “crime against the youth of Iran, whose only offense was their desire for freedom.”

Despite repeated offers from regime authorities to spare their lives in exchange for public remorse, the two dissidents refused to recant, echoing what Rajavi called “the unwavering resolve of the 30,000 political prisoners massacred in 1988.”

The Third Option: Change from Within

Mrs. Rajavi emphasized that the solution to the crisis in Iran does not lie in foreign military intervention or continued appeasement of the ruling theocracy. Instead, she reaffirmed the NCRI’s long-standing position known as the Third Option:

“Achieving change in Iran is based on the Third Option: Not foreign military intervention. Not religious dictatorship or appeasement of it. But regime change by the Iranian people and their organized resistance.”

She clarified that the Iranian Resistance is not asking for foreign governments to provide arms or funding, but rather to end their support—direct or indirect—for the regime in Tehran:

“They are simply demanding that no one stand with the regime.”

A Nation in Revolt, a Regime in Panic

Rajavi highlighted that today’s Iran is defined by a spirit of uprising and defiance. Even prisons, she noted, have become centers of resistance, where political prisoners refuse to submit despite the risk of torture and execution.

The regime’s answer, she said, has been brutal:

  • A new wave of arrests
  • Increased pressure on political prisoners
  • Death sentences targeting dissidents, especially PMOI members

This calculated violence, she warned, is aimed at preventing the next nationwide uprising.

The Choice Facing the World

In closing, Mrs. Rajavi posed a critical challenge to the international community:

“The fundamental question now is this: In the decisive battle between the Iranian people and the clerical regime, where does the international community stand?”

She called on lawmakers, governments, and democratic institutions across the world—especially in Europe—to abandon any policy of appeasement and recognize the Iranian people’s right to resist tyranny and achieve democratic change.

Context: A Growing Movement for Change

The speech comes at a time of growing international attention to Iran’s human rights record, particularly its use of executions and torture to silence dissent. The NCRI, which has led the organized resistance to the regime for decades, continues to advocate for a secular, democratic, and non-nuclear Iran, based on a ten-point plan championed by Rajavi.

The message from the Italian Parliament was clear: the tide is turning, and Iran’s future belongs to its people—not its oppressors.

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