On July 16, 2026, the Italian Chamber of Deputies hosted a landmark conference titled “Iran’s Crisis: The Democratic Path Forward” in Rome’s historic Regina Hall. The high-profile event brought together prominent Italian lawmakers, former international officials, and the Iranian democratic opposition to address the spiraling domestic crisis in Iran, regional conflicts, and the global security implications of the current regime’s belligerence.
Presided over by Mr. Fabio Rampelli, Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, and organized by Naike Gruppioni of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the conference featured powerful addresses from lawmakers across both houses of parliament, as well as international figures including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former US Representative Patrick Kennedy. A centerpiece of the session was the presentation of a joint statement signed by a majority of members from both chambers of the Italian Parliament, declaring their formal support for the provisional government announced by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to transition sovereignty back to the Iranian people.
As the keynote speaker, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the NCRI, presented the movement’s Ten-Point Plan as the ultimate blueprint for a free, secular, and democratic republic. Lawmakers and guest speakers strongly echoed her vision, demanding an end to Western appeasement, the maintenance of strict terror designations against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and a firm rejection of all forms of dictatorship—explicitly dismissing both the current ruling theocracy and any attempts to restore the defunct monarchy.
Below is the full text of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s address to the Italian Parliament:
Maryam Rajavi: Italian Parliament’s Bicameral Majority Declaration, a Brilliant Model of the Right Policy toward Iran
Distinguished Members of the Italian Parliament and Senate,
Esteemed Friends of the Iranian people’s Resistance,
It is a great pleasure to meet with you here in the home of Italian democracy. On behalf of the people of Iran and the Iranian Resistance, I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude for the support of the majority of the members of both houses of the Italian Parliament. In their declaration, they have emphasized a realistic, democratic, and popular solution to the crisis in Iran.
I stand before you today, on behalf of the Iranian people’s organized resistance for peace and freedom, to urge Italy and the European Union to stand in solidarity with the people of Iran.
Last August, in this very parliament, I made it clear: “Khamenei seeks to delay the inevitable overthrow of his regime at the cost of destroying the nation.”
In the months that followed, in a desperate bid to preserve his regime, he chose the path of national destruction, beginning with the ruthless slaughter of thousands of young people during the January uprising, and subsequently, by opening the country’s doors to war.
The Continuation of the Strategy of Suppression and Warmongering
Today, the religious dictatorship finds itself in a severe impasse. Yet, it has not retreated in the slightest from its long-standing strategy. It continues to pursue the same ominous agenda, built upon the suppression of the Iranian people, the pursuit of nuclear weapons, and the export of war and terrorism.
Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding to end the war with the United States, the regime’s new supreme leader immediately expressed his dissatisfaction, writing that, in principle, he holds a different view. His discontent, coupled with the opposition from various factions to this agreement, speaks to a fundamental truth.
As Massoud Rajavi, the Leader of the Resistance, has stated:
“Without war, this regime has neither a future nor a chance of survival.”
Peace is the Noose Around the Regime’s Neck
Over the past four decades, the dominant policy in the West was the attempt to change the regime’s behavior. However, this produced the exact opposite results, as it ultimately paved the way for war. Now, a question of paramount importance has emerged: what is the truly correct and principled policy?
The course of events clearly demonstrates that:
- No Peace Under the Current Regime: As long as this regime remains in power, the region will never see peace and tranquility.
- Resources Fuel Warmongering: No matter how much financial resources and commercial contracts it receives, it will never abandon its warmongering.
- Coexistence is Impossible: It is a profound mistake to believe that a day will ever come when this regime abandons its hostility toward Iranian society and the international community to embrace peace and coexistence.
Such a thing has not occurred in forty-eight years, and it never will. This is not due to mere madness or blind fanaticism but is rather based on a calculated political survival strategy. The remnants of the regime know better than anyone else that any retreat from suppression, war, terrorism, and nuclear weapons would swiftly lead to their overthrow.
Abbas Araqchi, the regime’s current foreign minister, has stated: “If we take a single step back, there is no telling how far we will be forced to retreat.” He added, “This, in my view, is our greatest challenge.”
I must emphasize that any policy failing to comprehend this existential challenge of the regime cannot provide a viable answer to the Iranian question. This is because such a policy fails to recognize that this regime sits atop a powder keg of public anger and discontent.
Furthermore, it overlooks the deep and irresolvable conflict raging within the regime over whether to end or continue the war, a division that directly threatens its very survival. It overlooks the fact that peace acts as a noose around the regime’s neck, and that if forced to choose, it would prefer war a hundred times over peace. Most importantly, it turns a blind eye to the reality that an organized movement of resistance units, in synergy with popular uprisings, is the real force for change in Iran.
The notion that the regime’s survival of a war means it has grown stronger is also false. This is merely a false narrative that the regime itself is desperately trying to project. The chronic tensions and existential threats in which the regime is currently floundering, especially the public outrage and discontent that fueled the January uprising, are far more severe than ever before.
The nation’s economy is in free fall, while inflation, unemployment, and poverty run rampant. Politically, Khamenei’s son utterly lacks his father’s influence to contain the divisions within the ruling establishment, leaving the regime increasingly fragile by the day.
Freedom is Attainable by the Hands of the People
As the world witnessed, a new, young generation emerged during the January uprising who, alongside the resistance units, stood up to the IRGC and the Basij. Today, more cohesive and organized than ever, they are preparing to confront the regime’s repressive forces in the uprisings to come.
Yes, freedom is fully attainable by the people themselves.
I would like to recall the words of Giuseppe Mazzini, the great Italian thinker, who said:
“No nation is worthy of freedom, nor can it long preserve it, unless it wins it for itself. Revolutions must be made by the people and for the people.”
In these critical circumstances, we call upon Italy and the European Union to chart a new policy founded upon these very realities.
If this policy remains unchanged, it is the religious dictatorship that will benefit, using it to perpetuate its brutal suppression and executions. Since the beginning of 2026, the number of executions has reached nearly one thousand, including dozens of political prisoners, members of the PMOI, and protesters detained during the January uprising.
A clampdown on religious minorities is also ongoing. Dozens of churches have been closed and Christians arrested. Just yesterday, UN experts condemned the confiscation of the premises of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tehran and the forced evacuation of 27 Armenian and Assyrian Christians who resided in the church.
Consequently, there is only one way for the European Union to play a positive role in the Middle East and to foster active, mutually beneficial relations: to support the Resistance of the Iranian people.
I must emphasize that by ignoring the Iranian people and their organized resistance, Europe has deprived itself of its most effective leverage in its policy toward Iran.
Adopting the Right Policy Toward Iran
In recent days, the United Kingdom fortunately designated the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. Our Resistance has repeatedly called for this decision for many years.
Now that almost the entire European continent, with very few exceptions, has officially acknowledged the terrorist nature of the IRGC, the time has come for Europe, including Italy, to recognize the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the regime and the fight of the resistance units against the IRGC.
The historical irony lies in the fact that today, the Shah’s son campaigns and advertises for a return to the past, contrary to the aspirations of the Iranian people. These activities, carried out through fabrications and manipulations on television and the internet, have been largely exposed in recent months and have lost credibility, especially in Europe.
There is no doubt that the adoption of the right policy toward Iran by the European Union, coupled with its alignment with the organized resistance of the Iranian people, will leave no room for such opportunistic and diversionary currents.
Honorable representatives of the people of Italy,
By adopting a resolute stance against the terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran, Italy and the European Union must not turn a blind eye to the regime’s crimes against humanity, nor grant impunity to its leaders. Otherwise, this regime will continue to commit and escalate its atrocities both in Iran and abroad.
Let me make it clear that Europe will regain its credibility in the Middle East only when it plays an effective and active role at the very epicenter of the region’s crisis, namely, in Iran. And this is nothing other than recognizing the will of the Iranian people to overthrow the regime and establish a democratic republic.
What We Seek
We seek a democratic republic based on the following pillars:
- The separation of religion and state
- Gender equality
- The abolition of the death penalty
- A non-nuclear Iran, free of weapons of mass destruction
- A foundation built upon peace, coexistence, and international and regional cooperation
A democratic republic is the objective of the provisional government designated by the National Council of Resistance. The motto of both the Resistance and the provisional government is peace and freedom. In Iran, no one desires war except for the remnants of the Shah and the mullahs.
Our Resistance is proud to have been the standard-bearer of peace throughout the entire history of this regime. During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, our Resistance successfully forced Khomeini to accept a ceasefire, and in the years that followed, exposed the regime’s nuclear weapons program.
Twenty-two years ago, we declared that the solution for Iran is neither appeasement nor war, but a “Third Option,” namely, regime change by the Iranian people and their organized Resistance.
Today, I reemphasize that the prerequisite for lasting peace and security in the region is the overthrow of this regime, and this task lies on the shoulders of the Iranian people, their uprisings, and the Liberation Army.
Fortunately, the statement signed by the majority of both chambers of the Italian Parliament serves as a brilliant model of the right policy toward Iran. They declared that supporting the provisional government and the Resistance movement is a necessary step toward establishing democracy and stability in Iran, as well as achieving peace and coexistence in the region and the world.
I hope the Italian government and the European Union will follow this foresight and realism shown by the representatives of the Italian people.