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Iran Opposition & Resistance

MP Bob Blackman: The Choice for Iran is Not Chaos, but a Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy

Written by Shamsi Saadati
Bob Blackman, member of the U.K. House of Commons
Bob Blackman, member of the U.K. House of Commons

In a stirring opening address at a meeting in the U.K parliament on March 4, 2026, British Member of Parliament Bob Blackman signaled a historic shift in the international recognition of the Iranian resistance, formally welcoming Maryam Rajavi and the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI) provisional transitional government. Highlighting the urgency of the current political climate, Blackman emphasized that the theocratic regime in Tehran is clinging to power through a desperate campaign of executions and repression.

He noted that within just 72 hours, over 70 cross-party members of the UK Parliament signed a statement endorsing this provisional government, reflecting a growing consensus that the NCRI is the legitimate voice of the Iranian people.

Blackman dismissed the notion of a return to the monarchy, noting that the Shah’s era was marked by brutality similar to the current IRGC. Instead, he pointed to Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan—supported by 4,000 parliamentarians worldwide—as the only detailed democratic blueprint for a non-nuclear, secular, and pluralistic Iran.

Calling for immediate action, he urged the UK government to proscribe the IRGC, close the Iranian embassy in London, and seize assets belonging to the regime’s elite. For Blackman, supporting this organized resistance is a strategic investment in global peace, ensuring that Iran’s future belongs to its people rather than its executioners.

The full text of Bob Blackman’s speech follows:

We together are meeting at quite an extraordinary time in history for Iran. It’s urgent and we obviously need to ensure that a legitimate government is elected into office in Iran rather than the theocratic regime which has brutally ruled Iran for so long. They are at the moment clinging to power through executions, repression, censorship, and fear.

And as you know, the NCRI announced the formation of a provisional government to transfer sovereignty to the people of Iran and to establish the democratic Republic that we all believe in based on Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan. And I warmly welcome you on behalf of everyone, Maryam, for the historic establishment of the provisional transitional government. This is a courageous and visionary step towards the realization of a democratic Republic in Iran.

Now, I don’t know about other colleagues, but two weeks ago when things looked as if things were going to erupt, I received more than 10,000 emails calling on me to support the proscription of the IRGC. As someone who’s campaigned for the last 16 years for the proscription of the IRGC, I felt this was a bit rich.

And now I’ve received numerous emails and a whole social media blitz from the son of the Shah saying that the Shah is the only one who’s representative of the Iranian people. So let me be very clear. He may have been around for a while, but he’s been hibernating. The NCRI and Madame Rajavi have been leading the Resistance in Iran for many many years and are the legitimate voice of the people of Iran.

So, the plan for a free Iran has earned now the support of more than 4,000 parliamentarians worldwide, including 600 from the UK Parliament. It guarantees freedom of expression and assembly, gender equality, the abolition of the death penalty, and after all, Iran is the leading executor of men and women who are executed for political beliefs, recognition of the autonomy for oppressed nationalities within a united Iran, a non-nuclear state, and the essential separation of religion and state.

The momentum now is undeniable. And I’m pleased to let everyone know that in the last 72 hours alone, more than 70 cross-party members of both Houses of Parliament have signed a statement endorsing the NCRI’s provisional government. And we urge the UK government to follow suit by officially recognizing and engaging directly with the provisional government.

Now, the Iranian regime’s embassy in London no longer holds legitimacy and should be closed. We must recognize the democratic opposition as the true voice of the people of Iran, and I anticipate that the number of signatories endorsing the provisional government will increase by the hour. This week we’ve seen the United States, Israel, and our neighbors strike Iran, decapitate the head of the serpent, Ayatollah Khamenei, and we all hope that regime change is coming and coming soon.

But it’s now down to the people of Iran to decide. While some speak of a return of the Shah, they forget that his father was equally as brutal with SAVAK acting as his version of the IRGC. So, the alternative is clear: Maryam Rajavi and her Ten-Point Plan for a free Iran.

And let’s be clear what that means: free and fair elections based on universal suffrage, a pluralistic Republic founded on the separation of religion and state, full gender equality in political, social, and economic life, the abolition of the death penalty, an independent judiciary and the rule of law, autonomy and equal rights for Iran’s ethnic minorities, and a non-nuclear Iran committed to peaceful coexistence.

That’s not a vague aspiration, it’s a detailed democratic blueprint. It aligns fully with the values that we in the UK claim to defend: human rights, secular governance, equality before the law, and peaceful international engagement. That’s why the regime fears what we have to offer. The regime has escalated executions, persecuted peaceful protesters, targeting those whose only crime is their commitment to democracy.

We know that more than 30,000 people were murdered on the streets and those that were injured were pursued to their homes and to hospitals. And while the regime claims that only 3,000 were killed, we know that it’s far far higher and probably more than 36,000 people overall. Now too low for too long, Western policy has treated the Iranian question as an issue far far away.

But this is impacting us in the UK right now. Stability won’t come from managing this regime, it will come from empowering the Iranian people and recognizing their organized resistance. So quite clearly, we must move not just from the Ten-Point Plan, but make sure we move from words to action.

So, having imposed meaningful human rights sanctions on those directing executions and repression, proscribing the IRGC in its entirety and sequestrating their assets in the UK, conditioned diplomatic engagement on an immediate halt to execution and the release of political prisoners. Support international accountability mechanisms for crimes against humanity. Publicly recognizing the Iranian people’s right to resist tyranny and establish a democratic Republic.

And we understand that the son of the late Ayatollah is the favorite to become the new Ayatollah. He owns several substantial properties in the UK. Those should all be sequestrated and taken away for the benefit of the Iranian people. Now we all want democratic change led by the Iranian people themselves, organized, principled, and grounded in a clear constitutional vision.

So, Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan demonstrates that the choice facing Iran is not chaos versus theocracy, it is dictatorship versus democracy. So, the Iranian people have made their choice. Supporting this democratic alternative is not only a moral obligation, it’s a strategic investment in a future Iran that can be a force for peace, stability, and cooperation rather than repression and conflict.

We know that Iran has led to the conflicts across the Middle East in all the various different Middle Eastern countries. Now is the time for Iran to play its full part as being a peaceful coexistence with its neighbors. So, the future of Iran doesn’t belong to the executioner, it belongs to the people, and they are ready. So, thank you for coming along this evening. We’re looking forward obviously to an excellent meeting and I would now invite Madame Rajavi to address us as the president-elect of a free and democratic Iran.

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