Hundred and Five Nobel Laureates Urge UN Action on Human Rights Crisis in Iran

More than 103 Nobel Laureates have issued a powerful joint letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres, urging immediate global action to address what they describe as an “alarming state of human rights in Iran.” The letter, signed in July 2025, highlights mass executions, systemic repression, and Tehran’s destabilizing regional policies.

Iran’s Record-Breaking Executions

The signatories condemned the Iranian regime’s continued use of executions as a tool of survival and intimidation. According to the Laureates: “At least 1,000 executions, including 34 women, have been carried out by the Iranian regime in 2024. Iran remains the world’s leading executioner per capita, with at least 1,275 executions recorded during the 10-month presidency of the Iranian regime’s President since July 2024.”

The Laureates emphasized that ethnic and religious minorities, political dissidents, and ordinary citizens remain targets of this repression.

In Joint Letter to World Leaders, 80 Nobel Laureates Support Free and Democratic Iranhttps://t.co/3GcLtf6Kdc

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 7, 2024

People’s Rejection of Dictatorship

The letter recalls the 2022 nationwide uprising in Iran, during which citizens rejected both monarchy and theocracy: “The Iranian people clearly rejected both monarchical dictatorship and theocratic rule, calling instead for a democratic republic.”

The Nobel Laureates noted that this demand for freedom and democracy was further reinforced by the widespread boycott of the regime’s presidential elections.

Growing International Support for Iranian Resistance

The Laureates aligned their statement with growing global recognition of the Iranian Resistance, particularly the Ten-Point Plan proposed by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

On February 26, 2025, a bipartisan resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives (H. RES. 166) gained majority support, condemning the regime’s terrorism and human rights abuses while endorsing Rajavi’s democratic vision.

The Nobel laureates join the global support for the Iranian people’s democratic uprising, including statements from 117 former world leaders, the majority of the US House of Representatives, and many European parliaments.#FreaaIran2023https://t.co/8xmRv5s9DM

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 28, 2023

The letter also referenced the unprecedented global backing for this roadmap: “In June 2024, over 4,000 parliamentarians from diverse political backgrounds, along with 130 former heads of state and 80 Nobel Laureates, endorsed Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan.”

Similar endorsements have been issued in recent months by parliamentary majorities in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Norway, Canada, Ireland, Malta, Switzerland, Romania, Portugal, Argentina, Costa Rica, Iceland, Moldova, and the Netherlands.

A Democratic Future for Iran

The Laureates stressed that they “join this international chorus” in calling for a democratic Iran, where sovereignty rests with the people. They endorsed the Ten-Point Plan, which advocates: universal suffrage, free and fair elections, the separation of religion and state, gender and ethnic equality, a non-nuclear Iran, and peaceful regional relations.

“The Iranian Resistance, with its democratic platform dedicated to upholding human rights, provides a viable roadmap for national unity, the end of religious dictatorship, and transfer of sovereignty to the people.”

On March 15, in a joint letter to the President of the Council of Europe, 24 Nobel Prize winners expressed their support of #IranRevoIution and the 10-point plan of NCRI President-elect @Maryam_Rajavi. pic.twitter.com/W9ERcz8PE1

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 19, 2023

A Message to the World

The Nobel Laureates conclude by urging the UN and the international community not to remain silent in the face of Iran’s ongoing atrocities: “This vision offers the prospect of a democratic Iran and lasting peace in the Middle East.”

With over 100 Nobel Laureates adding their voices, this letter represents one of the strongest international academic and moral endorsements for Iran’s democratic aspirations to date.

Signatories to the laureates’ letter to the UN Secretary General:

1. Professor Daron Acemoglu, Nobel prize, Economics 2024, Turkey-USA
2. Professor Pierre Agostini, Nobel Prize, Physics 2023, France
3. Professor Peter Agre, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2003, USA
4. Professor Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize, Literature, 2015, Belarus
5. Professor Harvey J Alter, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2020, USA
6. Professor Victor Ambros, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2024, USA
7. Honorable Oscar Arias, Nobel Prize, peace, 1987, President of Costa Rica 2006-2010, Costa Rica
8. Professor Alain Aspect, Nobel Prize, Physics 2022, France
9. Professor Robert Aumann, Nobel Prize, Economics 2005, USA-Israel
10. Professor Barry C Barish, Nobel prize, Physics 2017, USA
11. Professor Moungi Bawendi, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2023, USA-Tunisia-France
12. Professor Georg Bednorz, Noble prize, Physics 1987, Germany
13. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, Nobel Prize, Peace 1996, East Timor
14. Professor Ben Bernanke, Nobel prize, Economics 2012, USA
15. Professor Bruce Beutler, Nobel prize, Medicine 2011, USA
16. Professor Mario Capecchi, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2007, Italy-USA
17. Professor Thomas Cech, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 1989, USA
18. Professor Elias Corey, Nobel prize, Chemistry 1990, USA
19. Professor Johann Deisenhofer, Nobel prize, Chemistry 1988, USA
20. Professor Peter C. Doherty, Nobel prize, Medicine 1996, Australia
21. Professor Gerhard Ertl, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2007, Germany
22. Professor Francois Englert, Nobel prize, Physics 2013, Belgium
23. Professor Annie Ernaux, Nobel Prize, Literature 2022, France
24. Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel prize, Peace 1980, Argentine
25. Professor Joachim Frank, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2017, USA-Germany
26. Professor Jerome Friedman, Nobel prize, Physics 1990, USA
27. Leymah Roberta Gbowee, Nobel prize, Peace 2011, Liberia
28. Professor Reinhard Genzel, Nobel prize, Physics 2020, Germany
29. Professor Sheldon Glashow, Nobel prize, Physics 1979, USA
30. Professor John Lewis Hall, Nobel prize, Physics 2005, USA
31. Professor Serge Haroche, Nobel prize, Physics 2012, France
32. Professor Oliver Hart, Nobel prize, Economics 2016, USA
33. Professor Alan Heeger, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2000, USA
34. Professor Richard Henderson, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2017, UK
35. Professor Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel prize, Physics 2024, Canada
36. Professor Jules Hoffmann, Nobel prize, Medicine 2011, France
37. Professor Roald Hoffmann, Nobel prize, Chemistry 1981, USA
38. Professor Gerardus ‘t Hooft, Nobel prize, Physics 1999, the Netherlands
39. Professor John Hopfield, Nobel prize, Physics 2024, USA
40. Professor Michael Houghton, Nobel prize, Medicine 2020, UK
41. Professor Anne l’Huillier, Nobel prize, Physics 2023, Sweden
42. Professor Louis Ignarro, Nobel prize, Medicine 1998, USA
43. Professor Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, Nobel Prize, Literature, 2017, UK-Japan
44. Elfriede Jelinek, Noble prize, Literature 2004, Austria
45. Professor Brian Josephson, Nobel prize, Physics 1973, UK
46. Professor Takaaki Kajita, Nobel Prize, Physics 2015, Japan
47. Professor Wolfgang Ketterle, Nobel Prize, Physics 2001, USA-Germany
48. Professor Brian Kobilka, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2012, USA
49. Professor Roger D. Kornberg, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2006, USA
50. Professor Ferenc Krausz, Nobel prize, Physics 2023, Austria-Hungary
51. Professor Finn Kydland, Nobel prize, Economics, 2004, Norway-US
52. Professor Juan T. Lee, Nobel prize, Chemistry 1986, USA-Cina
53. Professor Robert Lefkowitz, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2012, USA
54. Professor Anthony Legett, Nobel Prize, Physics 2003, UK-USA
55. Professor Jean-Marie Lehn, Nobel prize, Chemistry 1987, France
56. Professor David MacMillan, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2021, UK
57. Professor Eric Maskin, Nobel prize, Economics 2007, USA
58. Professor John Mather, Nobel Prize, Physics 2006, USA
59. Oleksandra Matvichuk, Nobel Prize, Peace 2022, Ukraine
60. Professor Michel Mayor, Nobel prize, Physics 2019, Switzerland
61. Professor Craig Mello, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2006, USA
62. Professor Paul Milgrom, Nobel prize, Economics 2020, USA
63. Professor Patrick Modiano, Nobel prize, Literature 2014, France
64. Professor Paul Modrich, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2015, USA
65. Professor William Moerner, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2014, USA
66. Professor Edvard Moser, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2014, Norway
67. Professor May-Britt Moser, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2014, Norway
68. Herta Muller, Nobel Prize, Literature 2009, Germany
69. Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Prize, Peace2021, Russia
70. Professor Christiane Nusslein-volhard, Nobel prize, Medicine 1995, Germany
71. Professor Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Prize, Literature 2006, Turkey-USA
72. Professor James Peebles, Nobel Prize, Physics 2019, USA
73. Professor William Phillips, Nobel prize, Physics 1997, USA
74. Professor Christopher Pissarides, Nobel prize, Economics 2010, Cyprus-UK
75. Professor John Polanyi, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 1986, Canada
76. Professor Venkatraman RamaKrishnan, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2009, US-UK-India
77. Professor Sir Peter Ratcliffe, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2019, UK
78. Professor Charles M. Rice, Nobel prize, Medicine 2020, USA
79. Professor Sir Richard J. Roberts, Nobel prize, Medicine 1993, UK-USA
80. Professor Michael Rosbash, Nobel prize, Medicine 2017, USA
81. Professor Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2016, France
82. Professor Randy Schekman, Nobel prize, Medicine 2013, USA
83. Professor Richard Schrock, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2005, USA
84. Professor Gregg Semenza, Nobel prize, Medicine 2019, USA
85. Professor Karl Barry Sharpless, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2022, Chemistry 2001, USA
86. Professor Vernon Smith, Nobel prize, Economics 2004, USA
87. Professor George Smoot, Nobel Prize, Physics 2006, USA
88. Professor Wole Soyinka, Nobel prize, Literature 1986, Nigeria
89. Professor Donna Strickland, Nobel prize, Physics 2018, Canada
90. Professor Jack Szostak, Nobel prize, Medicine 2009, USA
91. Professor Joseph H. Taylor, Nobel prize, Physics 1993, US
92. Professor Kip Thorne, Nobel prize, Physics 2017, USA
93. Professor Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel Prize, Literature 2018, Poland
94. Professor Harold Varmus, Nobel prize, Medicine, 1989, USA
95. Professor John Walker, Nobel prize, Chemistry 1998, UK
96. Professor Arieh Warshel, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2013, Israel-USA
97. Professor Stanley Whittingham, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2019, USA-UK
98. Professor Eric Wieschaus, Nobel prize, Medicine, 1995, USA
99. Jody Williams, Nobel prize, Peace 1997, USA
100. Professor Robert Wilson, Nobel prize, Physics 1978, USA
101. Professor David J. Wineland, Nobel prize, Physics 2012, USA
102. Professor Gregory Winter, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2018, UK
103. Professor Anton Zeilinger, Nobel prize, Physics 2022, Austria
104. Mr. Kaylash Satyarthi, Nobel prize, Peace 2014, India
105. Professor Louis E. Brus, Nobel prize, Chemistry 2023, USA