On May 31, at the second session of the 2025 Free Iran Conference near Paris, Dr. Ben-Oni Ardelean, former Deputy Speaker of the Romanian Parliament, drew a powerful comparison between Iran’s theocratic regime and past totalitarian systems. Reflecting on his own experience growing up under dictatorship, Ardelean recalled the fear, repression, and eventual collapse of a regime that once seemed immovable—emphasizing that what seems impossible can change when people rise up and dictators panic.
Ardelean described the current state of the Iranian regime as globally isolated, repressive, and panicked. He warned that it remains the world’s most dangerous exporter of terrorism and called for an end to appeasement.
He urged Western governments to stop engaging with Tehran diplomatically or economically, declaring that the downfall of the regime is closely tied to international isolation and moral clarity. “Don’t fear this regime,” he said. “Don’t do any deals with this regime. Don’t give up the fight.”
The former MP closed with hope that by next year, the international community would be able to gather not in exile, but in a free Tehran.
The full text of Ben-Oni Ardelean’s speech follows. Portions have been lightly edited for clarity and flow.
.@BenArdelean: Don’t fear. Don’t do deals with this regime. It will fall—just like Ceausescu’s. A free Tehran is coming.#FreeIran2025https://t.co/tRsNuwlMtW
— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) May 31, 2025
Dear Madam President, dear friends around the world,
I come from a former communist country—one of the harshest, most repressive regimes in the world. As mentioned before, the Black Book of Communism reveals that over 80 million people were killed during communist regimes across the globe.
So many were imprisoned. So many had to suffer. I remember those times clearly.
I was just a child, in school, but I remember when they brought me in front of my classmates to say that because of my beliefs, I was not seen as a “good citizen” by the regime.
Back then, the world was watching what was happening in Eastern Europe.
In 1989, I witnessed regime after regime fall—one after another. But one stood firm: the Romanian communist regime.
It took a bloody revolution to bring it down.
And I’m telling you this because that regime then was as stubborn as the terrorist regime in Iran is now.
There was no hope. Only fear. Only worry. “What if…?” we kept asking.
Then one day, the dictator made a terrible mistake: he faced the people.
But the people had changed. He didn’t recognize them—they were shouting against him.
He panicked. He was afraid. And because of that fear, he failed to use all the security systems he had.
Recently, I visited his former office with the Minister of Interior. He showed me the security controls available at the time—but the dictator was too scared to use them.
He fled to the roof—I’ve been there many times myself. He took a helicopter trying to escape.
But he didn’t escape. He was judged and executed on December 25, 1989.
His time had come. But he didn’t see the signs. He had kept the country in total fear and isolation. Even among communist countries, Romania was alone.
It’s exactly the same story unfolding now in Iran.
A regime that is isolated, stubborn, and paranoid. The most dangerous terrorist regime in the world today—exporting terror across the globe.
This regime must end.
And the end of this regime is directly connected to what our countries do.
If our countries isolate this regime,
If our countries fight this regime,
If our politicians understand that we must never make deals with this regime,
Then this regime will fall.
So, my appeal is this:
Don’t fear this regime.
Don’t do any deals with this regime.
Don’t give up the fight.
Hope that soon, this regime will fall—just like every other dictatorship did.
And hopefully, next year, we will meet in a free Tehran.
Thank you.