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Iranian Women Leading the Charge for Freedom, Says Senator Lieberman 

Senator Joseph Lieberman senate briefing 16032023

“This is a movement that has had the courage to take on absolute power and not be afraid of it,” said former U.S. Senator Joe Liberman during a luncheon in Senate on March 16. “And it’s more than that. It’s a movement that is based on a vision for the future: a secular, democratic, and non-nuclear republic of Iran.” 

The Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) hosted this Senate briefing on March 16, just before the Persian New Year. Esteemed senators and notable figures discussed U.S. policy on Iran during the seventh month of Iran’s nationwide uprising. The event focused on identifying measures to support the Iranian people against the oppressive regime and establish a democratic, non-nuclear, and secular Iran. The President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, delivered the keynote address, and American politicians praised her leadership and, ten-point plan for the future of Iran, and the bravery of the Iranian opposition, including the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) Resistance Units. 

Below is the full text of Senator Lieberman’s speech: 

 

Thank you. Well, thank you very much for that warm welcome. It’s great to be back in this great room for this great cause again at a meeting sponsored by the organization of Iranian American Communities on behalf of a cause that could not be more consistent with American values, and that is to liberate the people of Iran from the tyranny that they have lived under too long. We can do it.

I’m struck by the conversation and by the appreciation of the role that women are playing in this current moment of the uprising. Now, this doesn’t surprise me because I was blessed with a very strong mother. And as many of you know, because you’ve met my wife Hadassah, I have a strong wife. I used to say when I was in the Senate that while I might be the senator, I understood in our family that Hadassah was the commander in chief, and I’m sure all the men know what I’m talking about, and the women as well. Incidentally, it strikes me that there was a role model for this uprising in Iran today led by women, and it was a unique uprising over a unique model over the years. 

Senator Joseph Lieberman's speech at OIAC Senate Luncheon- March 16, 2023

And that was the leadership of Mrs. Mariam Rajavi, a woman, a towering figure of principle and effectiveness, who I think was a role model that came and shared, and I want to go back with you to last Nowruz when we were here in this room together, and we spoke of that same hope, and I must say, looking back at this year, the dreams we had really have been advanced, particularly in the uprising that occurred after the murder of Mahsa Amini. But more than that is happening. The brutal, predictably brutal reaction of the Iranian regime to this uprising has finally made it impossible for other countries of the world to wink or close their eyes at the tyrannical terrorist nature of the regime, and they’ve pulled back from supporting it in so many different ways and come out in opposition to the regime. Inside the country, the economy is in free fall as a result of sanctions imposed as a result of the illegal and brutal behavior of the government of Iran. 

Food prices are high, and unfortunately, the people of the country are suffering, but that increases their motivation to bring about a change. And I agree with what’s been said by those who have preceded me that I feel as we gather here today on this Nowruz that we are closer than ever since the revolution that brought this extremist government to power in 1979 to see its end. And now, the question really is, what can we do to make sure that the uprising of the brave people of Iran ends with the overthrow of this regime? Or, to use a famous quote from history, what can we do here in Washington to make sure that the regime in Tehran is not allowed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, which are closing on them now?

I would say first, as we think about what we should do today and tomorrow, we have to look back at yesterday, and we have to appreciate the events and the courage that brought us to this moment when freedom for the people of Iran is in reach. The immediate cause of this broadest-ever uprising against the government was, as we have said, the murder of Masa Amini. 

But really, the fight for freedom in Iran goes much further back than that decades in the courageous effort of so many people inside Iran with the support of the Iranian diaspora, both in the time of the Shah protesting that authoritarian and brutally repressive regime and of course, in the time of the Mullahs that since 79 have controlled this great country. And there is no organization, no movement that has done more courageously and with principle over that period of time than the MEK NCRI led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi.

This is a movement that has had the courage to take on absolute power and not be afraid of it. And it’s more than that. It’s a movement that is based on a vision for the future, a secular, democratic, non-nuclear republic of Iran. If you read Mrs. Rajavi’s ten-point plan, you think, in part, you’re reading the Bill of Rights from the American Constitution. And I think it’s important as we go forward to look back and say thank you to the MEK NCRI. Thank you for all your heroism, your persistence, your stamina, your resolve, and for the work that you have done to have a plan that gives the people of Iran and us the confidence that when the day comes, hopefully before next, Nowruz when this government falls, that there will not be chaos. 

There will be a smooth and inclusive transition to the next chapter of Iranian history, which will be free. I will say as the regime weakens and its demise seems closer; history tells us that something else is likely to happen, which is unfortunate, which is that different segments of the opposition to the regime will begin to criticize each other. And I notice that some of that criticism is directed toward the NCRI and MEK. That is wrong, that is unfortunate, that is divisive and weakening. And as all of us here today and my colleagues at this table three.

We’re here to stand with you today as we have for years in support of the NCRI because of all its members have done inside Iran and throughout the world in the global diaspora. Take this very gathering. Who’s sponsoring it? It’s not a foreign organization. It is the organization of Iranian American communities, patriotic Americans of Iranian descent who want their brothers and sisters in Iran to enjoy the same freedom there that they and we do here. I am proud to stand with you today, and I will stand with you until we stand together in a free Tehran. And may it come soon.  

I want to assure all of you from the Iranian American communities that what you do has an effect. It has an effect on members of Congress. The most recent evidence is House Resolution number 100, expressing support for the Iranian people’s desire for freedom. Quite remarkably, and this is a kind of tribute to the NCRI, once this resolution was introduced, supporting not only freedom but Mrs. Rajavi’s ten-point plan and began to gain support; Raisi from Tehran and his foreign minister attacked members of Congress for supporting this resolution. Why do they do that?

Because they fear the NCRI MEK more than any other opposition group. And what was the response of members of Congress approached by members of the Iranian American communities and others who support your cause? Well, in less than two months, that resolution now has bipartisan support from a majority of the members of the House of Representatives. And that isn’t easy these days in Washington.  

Now, I think we’ve also seen in the last year, since last Nowruz, a kind of clarity that the fight for freedom in Iran is part of a larger battle that the US is involved in against forces that resent our system of government and our power and respect in the world. 

Today, beginning yesterday in the Gulf of Oman, Russia, China, and Iran are conducting joint naval exercises. This relationship between Russia and Iran is nothing new. The Russians and Iranians have supported the brutal government of Assad in Syria, which has resulted in the murder of more than half a million Syrians and the displacement of millions more. The Russians have been supporting Iran with weapons, and now the Iranians are supporting, as John said earlier the Russians. So let us not deceive ourselves. This is a new axis of evil Iran, Russia, and China. And when freedom returns to Tehran and Iran, it will be a body blow to these enemies of the United States of America.  

I want to say how struck I am that the support that you received on the House resolution and also the senators that came today is bipartisan. And that’s been the history of our policy toward Iran until the JCPOA of 2015, which broke that. But it’s coming back together again, thanks in large part to what those of you in this organization have done. And that’s good for America and good for Iran as well. I want to mention five quick points that I think we can act on with that bipartisan support and the help of the administration.

It’s about time that the US government declares that the JCPOA is dead. It’s over. Mrs. Rajavi said in her opening video that it’s just a tactic to be involved by Iran, by the regime. It’s really a trap. Let’s finally walk away from those negotiations. We could invoke the so-called Snapback sanctions under UN Security Council Resolution 22 31, and that will restore the conventional arms embargo on Iran, as well as ensure restrictions on their missile program. 

Second, the US should work with our allies in Europe to ensure that the Supreme Leader and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran are personally sanctioned for human rights abuses and support of terrorism. Third. The US. Should work with all of our allies to sanction the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Some of our European friends have not done that yet. Fourth, we should strictly enforce US sanctions, including sanctions against all vessels involved in transporting Iranian petroleum and petroleum products. And fifth, we should sanction all Chinese importers of Iranian oil.

United Against Nuclear Iran, which is a group that supportive group, obviously, that Ambassador Bolton and I are involved in, came out with a report a while ago that measured the increase in illegal Chinese purchases of Iranian oil since 2021, when the Biden administration, unfortunately, lessened, and in some cases, removed those sanctions. It went from about $6 billion in 2020 sales from Iran to China to almost $24 billion. And what do we think that money is being used for? So I hope that those five actions if adopted by the US government and our allies in Europe particularly, will hasten the end of the regime and liberty for the people of Iran. 

Let me say, finally, that I hope and pray that when we return here next Nowruz that we really can say that we have ended the darkness of the regime that has punished the people of Iran so much and brought about a new spring of human rights, the rule of law and economic opportunity.  

It is within reach. Look back to last Nowruz and think of how far we have come thanks to the bravery of the people in Iran. Incidentally, when we meet here, and word and pictures of our meetings get sent back to the people of Iran, particularly to the heroes who are imprisoned in Iran because they protested the government terrorized, it gives them hope. 

 I cite as evidence of this my dear friend John McCain, who told me that when he was locked up in a Vietnamese prison for five and a half years at the darkest and most difficult moments when he heard that people elsewhere in the world, particularly back home here in the US were talking about him and committed to his liberation, it gave him the hope that kept him alive. And make no mistake, that is exactly the message that we are sending from this room. 

Let me say to you that I end with confidence that there is no limit to what the people in this room and whom you represent. No limit to what the members of Congress on this hill and no limit to what the government that resides in this great capital city of the most powerful and principal nation in the world can do. If we work together, we can bring freedom to the people of Iran. And with God’s help, I am confident we will go before next Nowruz. Thank you very, very much.