PARIS — June 20, 2026 — Italian Parliamentarian Naike Gruppioni delivered a powerful endorsement of the Iranian Resistance at the Free Iran 2026 World Summit, declaring that the international community must end its era of diplomatic ambiguity. Addressing the sudden ban on the scheduled Paris solidarity march, Gruppioni insisted that “no ban can stop a people who have decided to rise up,” emphasizing that freedom will always find a path forward.
Gruppioni directed a significant portion of her speech to the pivotal role of women in the opposition, praising them for transforming systematic discrimination into an extraordinary battle for universal human dignity. She directly attributed the ongoing regional instabilities and domestic tragedies to the clerical regime, stating firmly that the theocracy does not represent Iran’s youth, women, or future.
Elevating the strategic role of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the Italian lawmaker recognized NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi as the most authoritative reference point for the democratic opposition. Gruppioni described Mrs. Rajavi’s platform as the most credible, secular alternative to the current dictatorship. Pledging concrete political action within Italian and European institutions, Gruppioni committed to pushing for harsher sanctions, demanding the release of political prisoners, and advocating for the NCRI’s democratic project.
A translated version of Naike Gruppioni’s speech follows:
Thank you. Madam President Rajavi, distinguished colleagues, dear friends of Ashraf 3.
Today, I speak with profound respect and with the sense of responsibility that this historic moment demands.
I am here to state a simple truth: the Iranian people’s desire for freedom is stronger than the fear the regime tries to impose.
The cause of freedom in Iran is not a distant issue, but a universal cause.
It is the battle of all those who believe in human dignity, democracy, and fundamental rights.
For this reason, I extend my greetings to the women and men of the Iranian Resistance and to all those who, inside and outside of Iran, continue to fight for a democratic future.
Even when, as unfortunately happens today, a demonstration is prevented, freedom always finds another way.
And today, here, we make a difference, and we are the proof of this.
#Italian MP @naike_gruppioni calls for global action against the #Iranian regime's crimes, urging sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and unwavering support for Iranian civil society. pic.twitter.com/JwddjjHcKn
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 1, 2024
No ban can stop a people who have decided to rise up. No repression can erase hope.
It is only the Iranian people who will write the future of Iran and end the religious dictatorship of the ayatollahs.
No people desire war, and neither do the Iranian people.
But let me say this clearly: this tragedy has a specific culprit, and it is the theocratic regime of the ayatollahs.
This regime represses women, persecutes dissidents, imprisons opponents, and continues to use the death penalty as an instrument of power.
This regime does not represent Iran. It does not represent its history, its youth, its women, or its future.
The real Iran is that of the brave women who defy oppression, of the young people who demand freedom, of those who continue to resist despite everything.
For this reason, we look with respect to the Iranian Resistance and to those who keep the hope of a democratic change alive.
A special tribute goes to Iranian women. You have transformed pain into strength, fear into courage, and discrimination into an extraordinary battle for freedom.
Your struggle truly concerns us all.
Italian MP @naike_gruppioni: "Thanks to the strength, courage, and determination of #Iranian women… I am certain that one day, #equality between women and men will be a reality, a historic reality even in that part of the world." pic.twitter.com/W8JFjCtm4Z
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 18, 2024
Today, I wish to pay a special tribute to Mrs. Rajavi, who in these difficult years has demonstrated courage, determination, and an extraordinary political vision.
When many of us chose silence, she continued to give voice to the voiceless.
When the regime tried to extinguish all hope, she continued to point to a possible path toward freedom.
Today, Maryam Rajavi represents the most authoritative point of reference for the Iranian democratic opposition and the most credible expression of a free, democratic, and secular alternative to the dictatorship of the ayatollahs.
For this reason, we all consider her commitment a political and moral asset for all those who believe in Iran’s freedom.
And for this reason, I will continue to support [her] action and promote [her] vision in Italian and European institutional venues. The international community must listen to this voice.
The time of ambiguity must end, and there can no longer be neutrality between those who oppress and those who fight for freedom.
There can be no silence in the face of executions, there can be no indifference in the face of repression.
And now, as an Italian parliamentarian, I would like to make a very specific political commitment.
I will continue to denounce the regime of the ayatollahs in every national and international institutional venue.
I will continue to call for sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations.
We will continue to demand the release of political prisoners and the immediate cessation of executions.
#Italian MP @naike_gruppioni: : "The immense courage of #Iranian women, who survive, fight, and resist violence, exclusions, discrimination, and the annihilation of individualities, already makes them citizens of a free and evolved world that must, at all costs, provide them with… pic.twitter.com/4QE8T8FfT9
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 9, 2024
We will continue to support the right of the Iranian people to freely choose their own future.
And, above all, I will continue to support the political action of President Rajavi and the democratic project she represents.
Neutrality in the face of injustice is complicity, and we cannot allow this.
Dear friends, I conclude with a wish.
No dictatorship is eternal. Every regime based on fear is destined to fall.
That day will also come for Iran, and it will come soon.
And when it arrives, the world must be able to say it was on the right side of history.
I have chosen which side to be on: on the side of freedom, on the side of the Iranian people, on the side of the women who rebel against oppression, on the side of Maryam Rajavi and of all those who work for a democratic, free, and sovereign Iran.
Long live the Iranian Resistance! Long live a free, democratic, and sovereign Iran!
Long live freedom! Thank you!