Australian Parliamentarians Support Iranian Resistance and Call for IRGC Designation
NCRI-US Deputy Director Addresses the Australian Parliament
Several Senators and Representatives addressed the event, called for designating the IRGC as Terrorist, and supported the NCRI
On November 21, a conference titled “Iran Update, Democratic Options during Heightened Crisis” was held at the Australian House of Representatives hosted by the Honorable Michael Sukkar, MP and Shadow Minister for Housing. The event marked the anniversary of the 2019 uprising in Iran.
The event, moderated by Mr. Peter Murphy from the Australian Supporters of Democracy in Iran, was attended by several members of the Australian Parliament, as well as personalities and religious leaders.
Mr. Alireza Jafarzadeh, the Deputy Director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran—U.S. Representative Office (NCRI-US), addressed the event via Zoom from Washington, DC.
Jafarzadeh emphasizes the urgent threat posed by the Iranian regime, focusing on its domestic oppression, regional aggression, and nuclear ambitions. The regime’s survival strategy hinges on exporting terrorism, engaging in conflicts across the Middle East, and suppressing internal dissent, highlighted by an alarming increase in executions. It has also defied international nuclear agreements, accelerating efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
Jafarzadeh, who is the author of The Iran Threat, advocated for decisive international measures, including reinstating UN Security Council resolutions and designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
Jafarzadeh reiterated that central to the solution is supporting regime change led by the Iranian people and the organized opposition, particularly the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The NCRI champions a democratic, non-nuclear future through its Ten-Point Plan, which promotes freedoms, equality, and peace in the region. The Iranian Resistance has a history of revealing the regime’s covert activities, building international support, and demonstrating grassroots strength.
He urged nations like Australia to recognize the Iranian people’s right to self-determination and to support the global push for a free and peaceful Iran.
Senator Paul Scarr expressed his solidarity with the Iranian people, commending their courage in standing up to a brutal regime, and emphasized the need to designate the IRGC. He condemned regime agents in Australia for their threats against dissidents, emphasizing that any attack on them is an attack on him.
Mr. Andrew Wallace, MP, Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, reiterated the need to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Senator David Shoebridge from the Greens condemned the regime’s human rights abuses, supported democratic change in Iran, and called for listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Mr. Peter Cain, Leader of the ACT Liberal Party, condemned human rights violations in Iran, stating that meaningful change in the Middle East requires the overthrow of the Iranian regime.
Remarks by Alireza Jafarzadeh, Deputy Director of NCRI Office in the U.S. before the Australian Members of Parliament (November 21, 2024)
Thank you so much, Mr. Peter Murphy, for the very kind introduction.
Thank you so much, Mr. Peter Murphy, for your kind introduction.
I am honored and thrilled to speak before the Australian Parliament. I have heard only great things about your country, particularly its people. I hope to visit and see your continent firsthand.
I want to thank the Honorable Michael Sukkar for hosting this event and commend everyone who has contributed to its timely organization.
I want to start by addressing the problem the Iranian regime poses to the rest of the world, but my main goal is to focus on the solution.
For decades, this regime has relied on exporting terrorism and warmongering as its primary strategy to suppress the Iranian people and thwart their uprisings.
The war against the Iranian people has seen some 800 executions since the start of 2024.
Since the regime’s new president assumed office in August, approximately 500 individuals have been executed. Supreme Leader Khamenei has repeatedly stated that if the regime does not engage in conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Gaza, it would be forced to defend itself in Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz—the heart of Iran.
Since 2017, there have been nine rounds of uprisings in Iran, some so extensive and widespread that they engulfed all 31 provinces of the country, which has over 80 million population.
This is an undeniable truth that the regime’s primary war is against its own people.
The nuclear weapons program of the regime is a guarantee for its survival. That explains why the regime has completely violated the nuclear agreement and, by resorting to every form of deception, continues its nuclear bomb project. The IAEA report was just released today, clearly showing that the regime is more defiant than ever before and is rapidly moving to build the bomb.
The first urgent and necessary step is to activate the long-overdue snapback mechanism and restore the six UN Security Council resolutions against the regime.
You also have the crisis in the region, and the world has seen that the head of the snake of war and terror lies in Tehran.
The outside world can help slow things down and deny the regime resources, which is essential in weakening it.
Some of the practical steps in that direction are:
- Designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Iranian regime, also known as the IRGC, as a terrorist organization.
- Deny money, resources, and legitimacy to the Iranian regime, including shutting down the regime’s institutions and expelling their agents.
But at the end of the day, you will not see peace and tranquility in the region, nor an end to the nuclear, missile, and terrorism threat of the Iranian regime, so long as the mullahs rule Iran.
So, the ultimate solution for getting rid of this evil dictatorship is regime change at the hands of the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance. There is no need for boots on the ground or appropriate money to affect change.
But the main question is, how realistic is that?
Indeed, I am appearing before the members of the Australian Parliament to emphasize that the warmongering and terrorism of the clerical regime ruling Iran can be ended.
Yes, fundamental democratic change is achievable, driven by the Iranian people and their Resistance. Here is why:
First, Iranian society is like a powder keg; nothing that the Iranian regime has done to suppress the population has worked, and it will never work.
The profoundly discontented populace and the organized force known as the Resistance Units lead the charge, and courageous women are at their helm.
Through their relentless efforts to dismantle the barriers of oppression, they embody the force for change and stand as Iran’s freedom fighters. These Resistance units are growing in numbers and capabilities. Thousands have been arrested and imprisoned, but more have joined, to the extent that the regime now has a nightmare of how to deal with the tens of thousands of Resistance unit members who are focused on change in Iran.
Second, an opposition organization has experienced fighting two despotic regimes: the monarchical dictatorships of the Shah and the current theocracy. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), with thousands of experienced members, represents a movement with a 60-year history and plays a pivotal role. This book contains the names and particulars of 20,000 members of this organization who have fallen for freedom.
This is also the primary reason for the regime’s relentless demonization of our resistance.
Third. There is a coalition of various groups and personalities who are committed to ending the rule of the regime and any form of dictatorship and establishing a democratic, free, non-nuclear republic of Iran.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is a democratic alternative that comprises over 450 members from diverse political backgrounds. Women comprise over half of its membership.
Established 43 years ago in Tehran, it is the most enduring political coalition in Iran’s history. The Council champions a comprehensive agenda that promotes freedoms and women’s rights, autonomy for ethnic groups, equality between Shia and Sunni Muslims as well as other religious minorities, and the separation of church and state. It also advocates for the abolition of the death penalty and a non-nuclear Iran, consistently supporting peace initiatives in the Middle East. These goals are concentrated in a Ten-Point Plan introduced in 2006 by NCRI’s president-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.
At significant cost, this resistance was the first to reveal the regime’s secret nuclear activities and facilities in 2002.
It was our revelations of the nuclear sites in Natanz and Arak that triggered the IAEA inspections of the Iranian nuclear sites for the first time that has since continued.
Our movement exposed 42 missile sites of the Iranian regime.
We were the first to expose its extensive drone program.
We also showed the web of the terror of the Iranian regime. Of course, we have also been the main target of the Iranian regime’s terrorism abroad and its political killings inside Iran.
Fourth. Over the past four decades, the Iranian Resistance has organized the largest gatherings of Iranians abroad, a clear testament to its support within Iran. Among its supporters are the families and survivors of the 100,000 victims who sacrificed their lives for freedom. This support base includes thousands of political prisoners for the past 45 years. You have witnessed them in Australia and know how dedicated they have been. They show up daily, not just when the uprisings are shaping up in Iran.
The Resistance independently funds all its activities—from daily operations to publications, gatherings, and a 24-hour television broadcast via five satellites—through contributions from its members and supporters inside and outside Iran.
Fifth, global support for the 10-point plan of the Iranian Resistance for a free Iran has been expanding. This support includes statements from the majority of 34 legislative bodies across Europe and America and parliamentary support from Australia and several Arab nations.
Over the past decade, the U.S. has consistently maintained bipartisan support in the House and the Senate for a free democratic republic in Iran and Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point plan for its future.
A declaration signed by 137 former global leaders and 80 Nobel laureates supported this plan.
To answer the question I first raised, how realistic is change in Iran? This movement has a remarkable history, and a high price has been paid.
But on top of that, let me quote from a very well-known anthropologist, Margaret Meade, who said:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Think about it; all the significant changes in history have come from those who were once small, the underdogs. But in the case of Iran, I have demonstrated that the momentum is on the side of the Iranian people, and the world is shifting its attention against the Iranian regime.
The Iranian regime and its proxies have never been so weak and vulnerable.
The Iranian Resistance has created a structure and commitment to a peaceful transition to a representative government once it achieves the goal of overthrowing the regime.
Chaos is not allowed after the mullahs’ fall because there is a viable alternative.
What Australia can do is stand on the side of the Iranian people, recognize their right to unseat the clerics, and push the IRGC out of power.
Indeed, Iran has the potential to be the heart of peace and tranquility rather than the epicenter of terrorism and chaos in the world. That inspiring prospect inspires my daily life, and I am confident that such a sunny day will come.
Thank you very much!