Brussels, Belgium – The International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ) hosted a pivotal conference today in Brussels, unveiling a critical Whitepaper advocating for a significant shift in Europe’s policy toward Iran. Speakers at the event, including former European Parliament Vice President Alejo Vidal-Quadras, and former Members of the European Parliament Struan Stevenson and Paulo Casaca, underscored the urgent need for change.
The Whitepaper, titled “Europe’s Failed Policy Towards Iran,” argues that Europe’s current policy of engagement with Iran needs to drastically change. It points to a series of concessions made to the Iranian regime, including financial aid, political compromises, and restrictions on Iranian opposition movements, which have only emboldened the ruling clerics.
Decades of Appeasement
The Whitepaper highlights a four-decade-long policy of “appeasement” toward Tehran, characterized by ignoring increased oil sales and capitulating to hostage-taking tactics. This approach, the paper contends, has fortified the regime’s belief in its impunity, allowing it to continue its aggressive policies without facing consequences.
The Whitepaper cites historical examples, such as the West’s complacency toward Iran’s nuclear advancements before the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) exposed two secret nuclear sites in 2002. It further points to the regime’s acceleration of its nuclear weapons program, even after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with funds being diverted into weapons, terrorism, and domestic oppression.
The High Cost of Inaction
Speakers at the conference highlighted the high cost of Europe’s current policy. Vidal-Quadras, who survived an assassination attempt by Iran’s regime last year in Madrid, emphasized the urgent need for change. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not an opponent with which one can engage and interact under the rules of international politics. It is a fanatical, corrupt, and terrorist state based on ideological dogmas that make impossible any evolution from inside,” he stated.
“The EU policy, both of Member States and of the Union as such, in relation to the Iranian dictatorship has always been and still is a wrong policy, it has failed miserably and must be completely changed,” Vidal-Quadras added.
Stevenson echoed this sentiment, arguing that Europe must move beyond the false choice between futile negotiations and military confrontation. He also warned about attempts by the regime to demonise its opponents through misinformation.
“The mullahs’ efforts to eliminate the PMOI [the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, Iran’s principal opposition to the ruling clerical regime, AKA MEK] also relied on a massive campaign of demonisation and propaganda, both at home and abroad, to tarnish the organised Iranian opposition. The regime has spent millions, if not billions, of dollars on this propaganda campaign, publishing hundreds of books, magazines, and articles, as well as producing documentaries, movies, and TV shows to demonise and traduce the MEK. These attacks against the MEK are always based on manufactured lies and groundless accusations from the regime, intended to discourage people and parliamentarians from recognising, supporting and engaging with the Iranian opposition. Sadly, all too often some of the western media fall for this propaganda and publish articles and even documentaries based on garbage that has come straight from the mullahs in Tehran.,” Stevenson said.
“We have a free world that fails to see the reality. The theatre of puppet reformists versus hardliners has been played countless times in Iran in more than four decades and not even once was there any consistent change in the behaviour of the regime. Each time, this charade was used to numb Western leaders into blindness and inaction. The exchange of Iranian terrorists for hostages was always followed by more terrorism. All acceptance of territorial expansionism has been followed by yet more expansionism,” Casaca pointed out.
Call for a Paradigm Shift
The Whitepaper calls for a paradigm shift in Western policy toward Iran, rejecting both appeasement and military confrontation. It advocates for recognizing the Iranian people and their organized resistance, the NCRI, as a viable alternative to the current regime. The paper urges the international community to support the Iranian Resistance’s right to resist and seek democratic change.
Key Policy Recommendations
- The Whitepaper outlines several key policy recommendations regarding the EU policy towards Iran that should be based on the following elements:
- International isolation of the Iranian regime. Closing all EU embassies in Tehran and expulsion of all diplomatic personnel from EU territory. After all, the Iranian diplomatic premises in Europe are but centers of spying and terrorism. Make of Iran a pariah state.
- Designation by the EU of the IRGC as a terrorist organization, as US and Canada have already done. The EU must neutralize the operational capacities of a terrorist organization that is destabilizing Near and Middle East and financing, training and advising Iran´s proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Houthis and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria.
- Financial strangling of the Iranian regime. Enlarging and hardening economic and trade sanctions to weaken the financial muscle of the regime.
- Increased and constant pressure on the Iranian regime in international fora for their unacceptable violations of human rights against the women and the people of Iran. In particular, call for international justice to make the mullahs accountable for their crimes against humanity as denounced in the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Javid Rahman.
- Full financial and political support of the NCRI as the real alternative to the Iranian dictatorship and the only Iranian organization able to conduct the transition to democracy in a peaceful and orderly way. Stand by the people of Iran in their struggle to get rid of the ayatollahs and achieve freedom and democracy.
A Path to a Democratic Iran
The speakers at the conference echoed the Whitepaper’s conclusions, emphasizing the urgent need for a new approach to Iran. They highlighted the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic and free Iran and the role the international community can play in supporting their aspirations. The conference concluded with a call to action, urging European leaders to adopt the Whitepaper’s recommendations and work towards a more effective and principled policy toward Iran.
This conference was covered by various news agancies including EU24News and Brussels Signal.
