At a high-level bipartisan luncheon in the U.S. Senate on April 8, General James Jones, former U.S. National Security Advisor and Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, issued a blunt warning about the growing threat posed by the Iranian regime. Citing recent revelations about Tehran’s nuclear acceleration and its violent repression of dissent, General Jones declared: “The Iranian people want change. They deserve change.”
He expressed full support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, calling her Ten-Point Plan “a concrete roadmap” toward a secular, democratic, and non-nuclear Iran. Describing appeasement of Tehran as a failed policy, Jones said U.S. leaders must now “stand firmly with the Iranian people and their organized resistance” to ensure peace and stability in the region.
The full speech follows.
Thank you, Ambassador Ginsberg, for your kind and short introduction.
I know everybody appreciates that. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Happy Nowruz, and welcome to a discussion that we’re going to have, with different speakers, on a matter of global significance.
I want to particularly welcome staff members who are here. Could I ask you to just raise your hand if you’re part of the Senate staff, House staff?
Thank you. Thank you very much. And the reason I do that is because I spent five years of my military life right here in the Russell Building in the Navy-Marine Corps Senate Liaison Office.
General Jones and @Maryam_Rajavi pictured here. pic.twitter.com/5G2K0vGNn4
— OIAC: Organization of Iranian American Communities (@OrgIAC) April 8, 2025
And, while it’s great to have senators come by and give eloquent speeches, I know firsthand how those speeches are written and who does the work, and it’s very important that you understand how important what we’re about to discuss is today, and some of you already know that.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Islamic Republic of Iran stands today at a serious and critical crossroads.
As we gather here in the United States Senate, Iran’s theocratic regime continues its defiant march towards nuclear weapons capability, as had been mentioned by the Senator and the Ambassador.
It escalates its brutal repression of its people, and it remains the epicenter of instability and the fuel that fosters that instability throughout the Middle East.
Recent IAEA reports and revelations by the National Council of Resistance of Iran in December 2024 and in January 2025 confirm the regime’s accelerated nuclear ambitions.
My own interest in the democratic movement led by Mrs. Rajavi dates back to April 8, 2011, and to my awareness of Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan, which is a must and required reading for anybody who wants to understand what the potential future of Iran looks like. It’s astonishing and it’s powerful.
But on that corner, on April 11, 2011, I had just left government service, and I was thinking about what I was going to do with the rest of my life. And I was in a hotel room in New York City, and my cell phone rang, and it was my colleagues sitting at the table here, representing the MEK at the time and Camp Ashraf. And they were they were telephoning me to say there was an attack going on at Camp Ashraf and the citizens of Camp Ashraf. Now, why is that significant?
It’s significant because the attackers on the camp were Iraqi forces, and they were attacking men and women, and children that we had disarmed during the 2003 war within Iraq in return for giving everyone of them a safe conduct pass and a guarantee of security if they disarmed.
The people of Ashraf believed in our word. They disarmed. The US Army assigned full-time colonels to be the liaison between Camp Ashraf and the US military.
And Camp Ashraf and the MEK were providing valuable intelligence on what was really going on inside Iran with regard to the nuclear programs and different dissident movements that would eventually seek to overthrow the regime.
As I was listening to my telephone and I was listening to gunfire in the background from Camp Ashraf, and there are tapes that exist today if anybody wants to see them about that attack.
And this was during the time when our Secretary of Defense, Secretary Bob Gates, was visiting Iraq.
So an ultimate slap in the face of the United States by the Maliki regime, which, as you all know the history, launched a relationship with Iran to systematically eradicate the people of Camp Ashraf.
The rest is a little bit of history, but when I was aware of what happened, and I studied that particular attack and who was behind it, and by the way, that was a precursor to several other attacks on that camp. The eventual story of the departure of the people of Camp Ashraf 1 to Ashraf 2 to Ashraf 3 in Albania is a story that Ambassador Link Bloomfield has captured in several of his academic works. And if you really want a true story, you need to read Ambassador Bloomfield’s works on this matter.
President Trump’s administration now faces a very momentous decision regarding the, nuclear program of Iran. And while the president has offered direct talks and we’ve seen that, there are, in fact, going to be some talks with Iran, I agree with Senator Blunt that the regime typically is going to seek to run out the clock on the UN snapback mechanism, which expires this October, to avoid the reinstatement of previous sanctions.
Former #American National Security Advisor General James Jones emphasizes the failure of appeasement toward the #Iranian regime and the importance of strategic public-private partnerships for a post-regime transition. pic.twitter.com/3L0DIFFwUr
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 25, 2024
The talks should have really only one goal: to end the entire nuclear program of Iran. No ifs, no ands, no buts, no dragging, and no legitimization of any part of the nuclear program. Tehran’s nuclear weapons program must be shut down, period, full stop.
So the human cost of this regime’s brutality cannot be overstated and needs to be restated over and over again to make sure that people who make decisions about Iran understand the magnitude of that brutality.
In 2024 alone, over 1,000 executions occurred by the regime. The regime has intensified its targeting of political dissidents, particularly members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, commonly known as the MEK, sentencing many to death simply for participating in a pro democracy protest.
This escalation of repression reveals a regime that recognizes that its growing vulnerability to organized opposition is growing. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to stand before you today with a clear message: The Iranian people want change. They deserve change. And there exists a viable democratic alternative to the current theocracy, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, known as NCRI, led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.
I know Mrs. Rajavi personally, and I’ve known her for several years. And I know this movement, and I personally studied it along with a distinguished group of American patriots. After 40 years of military service, I feel very strongly about this alternative and how it can best serve not only the people of Iran and the region but also the national security interests of the United States.
General James Jones, former US National Security Advisor: This week's shift in #Syria proves change is possible in the #MiddleEast. For Iranians opposing the regime, take heart—change will come. It may take time, but it is achievable. pic.twitter.com/JoDrq0CMru
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 21, 2024
The NCRI represents the most organized, long-standing, and principled opposition to the clerical regime. For over four decades, they have maintained their struggle for a democratic, secular, non-nuclear Iran.
They have built extensive networks within Iran through Resistance Units that coordinate protests and actions against the regime and act as an engine for change in Iran. They have repeatedly provided accurate intelligence on Iran’s nuclear program and terrorist activities, intelligence that has been validated time and time again.
But most importantly, the NCRI has articulated a clear vision for Iran’s future, the foundation of which is the Ten-Point Plan that has been referred to, by previous speakers and you will hear more about, I’m sure, later.
They put out these outlines of commitments to universal suffrage, gender equality, separation of religion and state, and all the things that Senator Blunt mentioned.
This is not merely an aspirational document. It represents a concrete road map for transitioning from theocracy to democracy.
The global recognition of this plan is a fact, it’s a reality, and it’s remarkable. During the Free Iran World Summit in Paris Last June, over 4,000 legislators from 84 parliaments across 50 countries endorse Mrs. Rajavi’s platform.
Former #American National Security Advisor General James Jones at the #FreeIran2024 World Summit: Every act of repression by Tehran only amplifies the movement for freedom and human rights in Iran. pic.twitter.com/BHewoEW9Ah
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 15, 2024
This includes majorities from 34 legislative bodies, including the US House of Representatives and many distinguished members of the US Senate.
The resolution that was just introduced by Senator Tillis, along with senators Shaheen, Cruz, Cory Booker, and a dozen other cosponsors, rightly note Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point platform.
The NCRI has also detailed a clear process for the transfer of power following the fall of theocracy. A provisional government would be established for a maximum of six months, tasked with organizing free and fair elections for a national constituent assembly.
Once formed, this assembly would draft a new constitution subject to a referendum by the Iranian people. This is not a seizure of power. It is the restoration of sovereignty to the people of Iran.
Mrs. Rajavi is clearly the most capable person to oversee this transition, and she has time and time again passed the litmus test that validates her candidacy and her mission. No wonder the Iranian regime has waged the most atrocious plans to target and kill her and waged the most expensive demonization campaign against her.
But the more the regime and its allies attack her, the more the world get becomes convinced about the role that she and her movement actually play.
Some voices suggest that we should look to remnants of the Shah’s regime, including his son, Reza Pahlavi, as a potential partner.
Former US National Security Advisor General James Jones: "The vision of a free #Iran is enshrined in @Maryam_Rajavi's ten-point plan, which is truly Jeffersonian in its principles and in its aspirations. The plan is a beacon of hope for a better future for the #Iranian people." pic.twitter.com/Y8K68lYptj
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 19, 2023
Tehran welcomes this grave strategic error. Pahlavi has described the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is a designated terrorist organization, as, and I quote, “the very force to guarantee Iran’s future security.” He has boasted about bilateral contacts with IRGC commanders and expressed a preference for the current theocracy over democratic resistance forces.
After all, the Palavi dynasty, a single-party rule that convinced the Iranian people to sweep them out of power by a genuine grassroots revolution, a revolution that ultimately was captured by the predecessors of the current regime, delaying democracy for the people of Iran. But that time and that clock are running out.
Even Iran’s state-controlled media acknowledged on February 1st of this year that, quote, by sowing division among opposition groups, Pahlavi has provided the service to the Islamic Republic no other entity could, unquote.
So, ladies and gentlemen, decades of appeasement towards the Iranian regime have failed to produce moderation or stability. Instead, we’ve witnessed an expansion of the nuclear program, increased sponsorship of terrorism, and deeper regional conflicts.
So, a fundamental new approach is required, and the United States should maintain maximum pressure on the Iranian regime, ensuring no financial or political legitimization flows to the IRGC and its proxies.
We must clearly recognize and support the Iranian people’s right to resist their oppressors and determine their own future. I believe that the path this administration has publicly announced is correct.
Previous administrations have succumbed to the policy of appeasement, but I think those days are over. Mrs. Rajavi testified before a House hearing in February 2025. She stated unequivocally that the change in Iran does not require foreign boots on the ground or providing money or assistance under any pretext; the Iranian people and their organized Resistance have demonstrated remarkable courage and remarkable capacity.
Watch the speech of General James Jones, former US National Security Advisor at @OrgIAC Senate Luncheon on March 16, 2023 pic.twitter.com/kYwYXs0DNa
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 17, 2023
What they need is our moral and political support, recognition that they, not the mullahs, represent Iran’s legitimate future. So just as the ruling clerics do not moderate their behavior or change sides during over four decades of appeasement and concession, the IRGC is not going to do that either.
In fact, the main task of the IRGC is to keep the theocratic regime in power, and the only way to bring the regime down is to recognize the right of the Iranian people and their organized Resistance to confront the IRGC and the theocratic rule. Anything else is a mirage, and it will only help the regime prolong its rule.
So, ladies and gentlemen, the stakes are very, very high. A democratic Iran will eliminate the primary source of instability in the Middle East. It would remove a nuclear threat. It would halt state sponsorship of terrorism and create the possibility of genuine peace and multiple regional conflicts.
The crisis in the Middle East will only find a lasting resolution when there is a democratic, free, non-nuclear Republic of Iran. Supporting the Iranian people and their organized Resistance in achieving this goal is not just morally right. It aligns perfectly with America’s strategic interest.
Ladies and gentlemen, history has presented us with a clear choice. We can continue the failed policies of the past, or we can stand firmly with the Iranian people and their organized resistance as they strive for freedom and democracy.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran has demonstrated its commitment to democratic values and has passed the test of time, and it offers the most viable path forward.
And by recognizing and supporting the NCRI and Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point democratic platform, the United States can help usher in a new era of peace and stability in the region. Iranian people are ready for change. They have the will. They have the courage. They have the organization, and they have the leadership to achieve it. So let us ensure that they have America’s and America’s friends’ unwavering support in this noble cause.
Thank you very much.