On September 6, 2025, former UK Parliament Speaker John Bercow delivered a fiery address at the 2025 Free Iran rally in Brussels, where tens of thousands gathered to mark the 60th anniversary of the MEK. He praised the courage of Ashraf 3 residents and called the movement’s six-decade struggle “a record of service, sacrifice, and selfless struggle for liberty, democracy, and the rule of law.”
Bercow rejected Tehran’s narrative of strength, saying repression is “evidence of weakness,” and condemned the regime’s misrule: “Iran has been reduced to a worse state than at any time in living memory. The economy is on its knees. Public services have collapsed. The water supply is defective.”
He strongly denounced the idea of a return to monarchy, calling it “an abominable insult to the people of Iran.” In sharp words he added, “We don’t mean some baby Shah. We don’t mean some clown prince… Not needed, not wanted, not of any use whatsoever.”
Instead, he praised the NCRI and MEK Resistance Units as “greater in number, bigger in scale of activity, and superior in reach than at any time,” under the leadership of Maryam Rajavi. Closing, Bercow pledged: “For as long as I have breath in my lungs, I will support the cause of freedom for Iran.”
The full text of Mr. John Bercow follows:
Colleagues, friends, distinguished dignitaries and, above all, one of the bravest people on the face of the planet, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. It is my privilege to be invited today to be amongst your number. Tens of thousands of you voluntarily gathered together because of the indomitable power of the human spirit and your passion, which I share, for freedom for the people of Iran.
Let me mention at the outset the people of Ashraf 3, whose courage, whose commitment, and whose conviction are shining examples to supporters and champions of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law throughout the world. We must remember, first and foremost, we are here today to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the MEK. That people’s resistance movement has a six-decade record of service, of sacrifice, and of selfless struggle for the triumph of liberty, freedom, democracy, and the rule of law against all who despise it, whether they be monarchs or religious zealots and bigots.
Now, of course, in one sense, there will be people who say, “But the regime is still here. The regime in Tehran remains in place.” But the proposition I put to you, my friends, today is that we witness in Tehran repression as evidence not of strength, but repression as evidence of weakness. The dictators do what they do—killing people, torturing people, locking people up, suppressing dissent, denying the legitimate expression of any viewpoint other than their own—not because they are strong, but because they are weak. Not because they believe that their role is to serve the people, but because they mistakenly suppose that it’s the job of the people to serve them.
The despicable human rights record of the Iranian regime a central theme yesterday in Brussels and the visionary 10 point plan alternative of the opposition. Good to meet Guy Verhofstsdt, exPM of Belgium, John Bercow and Patrick Kennedy again & ex Eire Gerry Horkan pic.twitter.com/PW0x8AaR9H
— Mark Williams (@mark4ceredigion) September 7, 2025
Under that repressive, abominable, bestial state apparatus, Iran has been reduced to a worse state than at any time in living memory. The economy is on its knees. Public services have collapsed. The water supply is defective. It is an unmitigated disaster because the country is misruled by people who are there to serve themselves. The idea that there is no alternative to the dictatorship of the mullahs is an abominable insult to the people of Iran, and it’s an abominable, unpardonable, unforgivable insult to each and every one of you here today. You know that there is an alternative. The alternative is not to appease the regime. The alternative is not to go to war. The alternative is instead to choose freedom.
And I want to say to you, my friends, that we should not be under any illusions about what that freedom-loving, democracy-championing, rule of law-supporting alternative is. We don’t mean some baby Shah. We don’t mean some clown prince. We don’t mean someone who’s lived off the fat of the land for decades, a kind of playboy prince over the water, generously offering to come to the rescue of the people of Iran now. Not needed, not wanted, not of any use whatsoever.
My friends, I offer you the living embodiment of the contrast with the crown prince. The living embodiment of the contrast with the clown prince is the National Council of Resistance of Iran, [and] the MEK Resistance Units, which are greater in number, bigger in scale of activity, and superior in reach in their communities to that which has existed at any time. And at the pinnacle of the leadership of the democratic resistance is Mrs. Rajavi, who has devoted her whole adult life not to living on riches, not to serving herself, but to sacrificing everything to serve the cause of a free Iran: freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of religion, a secular, non-nuclear, environment-respecting republic.
In an exclusive interview with Simay Azadi's reporter @Ehsaneghbale at the #BrusselsFreeIranRally, the Rt. Hon. John Bercow laid out a clear vision for Iran's future.
His key points:
⚫️On Appeasement: He blasted it as a "policy of despair" and "submission to tyrants," stating… pic.twitter.com/XAgKJOfYtc— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) September 10, 2025
You don’t get freedom in Iran through external imposition, and you don’t get it by currying favor with the regime and hoping for tender mercies. You get freedom for the people of Iran by standing up to the maniacal mullahs and insisting on a constitution based on democratic principles. Votes for the people, so that you have in Iran a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
And the reason why I’m so proud to join you here today is simply this: I was privileged to be the Speaker of the UK House of Commons for just over a decade. I want for the long-suffering people of Iran the freedom, the democracy, and the rule of law that my country has so long enjoyed and which they have too long been denied. For as long as I have breath in my lungs, I will support the cause of freedom for Iran. And I look forward to the day, Mrs. Rajavi, when, with your permission, I can join other distinguished dignitaries in Tehran to laud and magnify and celebrate your democratic triumph.
Thank you. God bless, and good luck. We will win!