A group of former European heads of state and government has urged the European Union to take a much tougher line on Iran, calling for the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) to be designated as a terrorist organization and for explicit political backing of a “free, secular and democratic republic” in the country.
In an open letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas – and copied to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and EU heads of state and government – the signatories say they are “deeply concerned by the rapidly escalating situation in Iran.”
Nineteen days into what they describe as a nationwide uprising, the former leaders write that protests have spread to more than 200 cities in all 31 provinces. Triggered by the collapse of the national currency, the unrest has, in their words, “evolved into a broad, popular movement demanding an end to dictatorship in all its forms.”
Former Prime Minister of Estonia 🇪🇪 Mart Laar joins appeal to EU leaders to recognise the right of Iran’s people to “resist tyranny and establish a democratic republic” while rejecting a return to the Shah’s dictatorship.
CC: @vonderleyen @EP_President @kajakallas @eucopresident https://t.co/6nMr0Sfj4z pic.twitter.com/lWmS9VKh9V
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 16, 2026
Citing “credible reports,” the letter claims that more than 3,000 protesters have been killed, with thousands more injured or detained. The authors accuse security forces of entering hospitals to arrest the wounded and note that internet access has been repeatedly cut, calling these “grave violations of international human rights norms” that require “a clear and united European response.”
The former leaders also warn of what they call an active disinformation campaign by Iranian authorities. They state that the regime is labelling demonstrators as rioters and circulating doctored videos, including changing chants of “Down with the dictator” to “Long live the Shah,” to suggest support for a return to the Pahlavi monarchy. The letter stresses that inside Iran, protesters explicitly reject both systems, quoting the chant: “Down with the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader.”
Arguing that Iranians are seeking democracy rather than “the restoration of any past dictatorship,” the signatories urge the EU to recognize the people’s right to “resist tyranny and establish a democratic republic” and to support a future political order that rules out both the current theocratic system and a revived monarchy.
🚨 LETTER: 12 former 🇪🇺 leaders urge the EU to recognise the right of the people of Iran to “resist tyranny and establish a democratic republic”—adding that the Iranian people reject any return to the Shah’s dictatorship.
CC: @vonderleyen @EP_President @kajakallas @eucopresident pic.twitter.com/Z8bOjezWIt
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 15, 2026
At the same time, the letter distances itself from any call for Western military action. The authors endorse a statement by Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), emphasizing that “there is no need for foreign military intervention” and that change “relies solely on the Iranian people and the democratic opposition’s network inside the country.”
Their most concrete policy demand is directed at the IRGC, described as “the regime’s main instrument of repression and terror.” The EU, they argue, should formally blacklist the Guards as a terrorist organization, aligning policy with the bloc’s longstanding commitment to human dignity and democratic values. “Today, those values are being defended on the streets of Iran,” the letter states. “The EU should stand unequivocally with the Iranian people.”
As Iranians rise up for a democratic republic, it's great to see Members of the European Parliament supporting them.
Thank you to @Europarl_EN for supporting a Free Iran ✌️
CC: @EP_President @RobertaMetsola @pinapic @ManfredWeber @davidmcallister @MounirSatouri https://t.co/BXKoQCrN6S pic.twitter.com/vZSaDeaJQe
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 20, 2026
The appeal is coordinated under the banner of the Free Iran Alliance, which counts among its members several former prime ministers and presidents from Europe and beyond. The open letter itself is signed by 16 prominent figures, including former Belgian prime ministers Yves Leterme, Guy Verhofstadt and Elio Di Rupo, former Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras, former Irish prime minister Enda Kenny, former Austrian chancellor Christian Kern, former Slovenian prime minister Janez Janša, former Estonian prime minister Mart Laar, former Slovak leaders Andrej Kiska and Iveta Radičová, and former presidents or prime ministers from Romania, Lithuania, Malta and others.
Together, they call on the EU to match its rhetoric on human rights and democracy with concrete measures in response to the bloodshed and repression in Iran, and to send a clear signal that Europe backs the country’s citizens – not its rulers – at what they depict as a decisive moment in Iran’s modern history.