Transcript of remarks by Robert Joseph, former US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security a long-time supporter of the Iranian Resistance on July 17, 2020, addressing the Free Iran Rally 2020 Free Iran Global Summit.
Thank you. It’s always a privilege to be part of this incredible annual gathering of freedom fighters. Each year, I feel that we come closer to our goal of a free Iran. And this year is certainly no exception.
World Community Must Support Iran People’s Desire for Regime Change – Amb Robert Joseph at Free Iran Global Summit
Most important, we must support the democratic opposition, the #NCRI, the #MEK, and most important the brave resistance units inside #Iran.https://t.co/2nsgsmKXjX— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 2, 2020
The end of the religious dictatorship is insight. And the mullahs know it. They know their days are numbered. You can see it and you can feel it in their acts of desperation and their inability to reform.
The mullahs know the economy is in shambles, driven to bankruptcy by systemic corruption, by incompetence, and by international sanctions imposed on the regime for its sponsorship of terrorism, its pursuit of nuclear weapons, and its foreign adventurism that have robbed the Iranian people of their prosperity and their very livelihood. The regime has nowhere to turn to reverse this economic freefall. And selling out the country’s economic future to China is just the next desperate move that will only further ensure the regime’s demise.
The mullahs know that they have lost all legitimacy. The Iranian people have now become the principal threat to the regime. The mass killings in the streets across Iran are acts of desperation by a dying regime. Again, there is nowhere to turn. There is nowhere to hide for those on the wrong side of history.
The mullahs know that the people will never forgive them for their role in the human tragedy that is caused tens of thousands of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, a pandemic that continues to ravage the country. While the mullahs may try to hide the truth, the people know. And the mullahs know that the people know. As Senator Torricelli stated, the game is up, the game is up.
The #MEK represents more than just hope for democratic governance and respect for human rights in #Iran. It also represents the very real prospect of the mullahs being overthrown by #Iranian people, resulting in immediate benefit for global security.https://t.co/N7729n3GSY
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 1, 2020
While we prepare for the end of the regime, the mullahs’ only response is more corruption and more repression of the people. So, what must be done? We must keep the pressure on the regime from the outside. It’s working and it must not be relieved by a return to policies of appeasement. We must not throw the regime a lifeline by pursuing new fatally flawed agreements in exchange for more old false and broken promises.
We must work to cut off access to arms by extending the arms embargo. As Mrs. Rajavi has said, not a single bullet, not a single bullet. We must deny the regime any legitimacy by telling the truth, by keeping the focus on its reign of terror over the past 40 years. The recent House of Representatives resolution with wide bipartisan support is an important step, as are the growing calls to hold those members of the regime responsible for crimes against humanity. Here I can only second the recommendations just made by Director Freeh. We owe it to the martyrs and we owe it to the future.
Bipartisan House Majority Supports Resolution Condemning Tehran’s Targeting of Opposition, Backs Iranians’ Desire for A Democratic, Secular Republic #Iran #HRes374 https://t.co/ZkkNjSOnV9
— NCRI-U.S. Rep Office (@NCRIUS) June 19, 2020
Most important, we must support the democratic opposition, the NCRI, the MEK, and most important the brave resistance units inside Iran. We must also continue to fight against the false narrative surrounding the MEK that had become deeply ingrained given the regime’s massive and sustained disinformation campaign, served by an echo chamber of regime apologists who often masquerade as journalists and thinktank experts.
We know that regime change must come from within. We know regime change will come from within. Mrs. Rajavi and the 10-point plan provide the vision for effective action and the means to ensure a peaceful transition to a secular, non-nuclear, democratic, and free Iran. Mrs. Rajavi, I stand with you. I stand with you. Hazer, hazer, hazer.
Thank you very much.
