National Council of Resistance of Iran
National Council of Resistance of Iran شورای ملی مقاومت ایران ( lion and sun) was adopted in 1993[1] | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | NCRI |
Spokesperson | Alireza Jafarzadeh[2] |
President-elect | Maryam Rajavi |
Founder | Massoud Rajavi and Abolhassan Banisadr[3] |
Founded | July 20, 1981 |
Headquarters | Paris, France[3] Tirana, Albania |
Mother Party | People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran |
Anthem | Ey Iran |
Party flag | |
Website | |
ncr-iran | |
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI;
.The NCRI is also recognized as the MEK's diplomatic wing.[8][9][10] In 2002, the NCRI exposed the existence of an undisclosed uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, leading to concerns about Iran's nuclear program.[11][12][13][14] It was listed as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997, but was removed from this list in 2012 by the U.S. government.[9][15]
Platform's core concepts
- Elections founded on the concept of "universal suffrage".
- Fostering a diverse political system with "respect for individual freedoms", "freedom of expression", and "free assembly".
- Eradicating the death penalty.
- Separating religious institutions (mosques) from the state, while forbidding religious discrimination.
- Complete gender equality for women in Iran.
- Modernizing the justice system in Iran, abolishing Sharia law, and introducing reforms that provide new legal protections.
- Committing to the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (and "autonomy for Iranian Kurdistan")
- Implementing measures that protect "investment and employment", "private property", and help bolster a market economy.
- Foreign policy grounded on the concept of "peaceful coexistence" with other nations.
- Rejecting the pursuit and development of nuclear weapons.
- Rejecting the possession and development of "weapons of mass destruction".[16][17]
History
Early years
President
The Foundation of the NCRI allowed Massoud Rajavi to "assume the position of chairman of the resistance to the Islamic Republic and provided an outlet for the Mojahedin to codify its ideological models for a future government to replace that of the mullahs."[22] Banisadr left the coalition in March 1983. In January 1983, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Tariq Aziz and NCRI President Massoud Rajavi signed a peace plan "based on an agreement of mutual recognition of borders as defined by the 1975 Algiers Agreement." According to James Piazza, this peace initiative became the NCRI's first diplomatic act as a "true government in exile.[23] In 1983, elements united with NCRI began to depart the alliance because of conflicts with the MEK.[24] On 24 March 1983, Banisadr officially left the council.[1][25]
In 1986, the French government closed down NCRI headquarters in Paris to improve relations with the Islamic Republic. Rajavi and the NCRI moved their main operations to Baghdad, Iraq.[26][21][27]
Under Maryam Rajavi leadership
In 1993, Maryam Rajavi, the spouse of Massoud Rajavi and then General Secretary of the MEK, became president-elect of the NCRI.[28]
In 1993, NCRI representative Mohammad Hossein Naghdi was killed in Italy by assassins. As a result, the European Parliament issued a condemnation of political murder against the Islamic Republic of Iran.[29][30][31]
In 2002 the NCRI exposed nuclear facilities in Natanz and Arak in Iran. Iran was then declared "in breach of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons", which began to limit the nuclear program in Iran.[32]
In 2003, French police rounded up 167 PMOI sympathizers and placed 24 people under formal investigation, including the NCRI president Maryam Rajavi. In 2014, after an 11-year probe, the French courts dropped the charges.[33]
The NCRI has in the past three decades recorded and reported human rights violations in Iran to UN Special Rapporteurs, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and other international human rights organisations.[34][35][36][37]
In June 2020, a majority of members of the US House of Representatives backed a "bipartisan resolution" supporting Maryam Rajavi and the NCRI's "call for a secular, democratic Iran" while "condemning Iranian state-sponsored terrorism". The resolution, backed by 221 lawmakers (including Louie Gohmert and Sheila Jackson Lee), gave support to the Rajavi's 10-point plan for Iran's future (which include "a universal right to vote, market economy, and a non-nuclear Iran") while calling on the prevention of "malign activities of the Iranian regime's diplomatic missions." A NCRI representative said that "The fact that out of ten diplomats or agents of the Iranian regime expelled or jailed in Europe and the U.S. for terror plots over the past two years, eight of them were tied to operations against our movement, is a vivid testimony that the NCRI is the alternative to this regime." The resolution also called on the U.S. to stand "with the people of Iran who are continuing to hold legitimate and peaceful protests" against the Iranian government.[38][39]
In February 2021
Global reception
The NCRI received support from US Congress and US officials including
The NCRI, along with the MEK is regarded by the governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq as a
The
The Middle East department of the
In a meeting at the Council of Europe in April 2006, Maryam Rajavi elaborated on the movement's vision for a future Iran and presented a Ten Point Plan for Future Iran, according to the organisation's website.[59][34][60][61][62] The plan has been supported by British MPs,[34] some arguing that it is a potential programme that "would transform Iran" since it calls for the abolition of the death penalty, the creation of a modern legal system and the independence of judges.[34] At a debate on the human rights situation in Iran in the House of Lords on December 8, 2016, Lord Alton of Liverpool said, "The manifesto says: Cruel and degrading punishments will have no place in the future Iran. Madam Rajavi would end Tehran's funding of Hamas, Hezbollah and other militant groups and is committed to peaceful coexistence, relations with all countries and respect for the United Nations charter."[63]
According to a
References
- ^ a b Anne Singleton (2003), Saddam's Private Army: How Rajavi changed Iran's Mojahedin from armed revolutionaries to an armed cult, Iran Chamber, retrieved 14 December 2016
- ^ a b c Goulka et al. 2009.
- ^ a b Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). "Chronology of Iranian History Part 4". Encyclopædia Iranica. Bibliotheca Persica Press. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ^ "Massoud Rajavi | Iranian revolutionary | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
- ^ Exiled Iranian opposition group in Paris for talks, 22 June 2013
- ^ Senior US Senators Meet Iran Opposition Leader In Albania, 12 August 2017
- ^ Iranian dissidents plot a revolution from Albania, archived from the original on 2020-09-18, retrieved 2020-04-04
- S2CID 149542445
- ^ a b Kenneth Katzman, Document No.9 Iran:U.S. Concerns and Policy: Responses, CRS Report RL32048, in Kristen Boon, Aziz Z. Huq, Douglas Lovelace (eds.) Global Stability and U.S. National Security, Oxford University Press, 2012 pp.297-383 p.317.
- ^ Sasan Fayazmanesh, The United States and Iran: Sanctions, Wars and the Policy of Dual Containment, Routledge, 2008 pp.79,81.
- ^ Nuclear Safeguards, Security, and Nonproliferation: Achieving Security with Technology and Policy. Butterworth-Heinemann. 2019. pp. 115–120.
- ^ The Trajectory of Iran's Nuclear Program. Palgrave Macmillan. 2015. p. 148.
- ISBN 978-3-95489-521-2
- ^ "The National Council of Resistance of Iran: A Revolutionary Group in Exile". Civil Affairs Association. February 13, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ a b Shane, Scott (September 21, 2012). "Iranian Dissidents Convince U.S. to Drop Terror Label". New York Times.
- ^ Ilan Berman (2020). IThe Fight for Iran: Opposition Politics, Protest, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Nation. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 17–18.
- ^ ISIS: Defining the Enemy: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade. 2015.
- ^ Goulka et al. 2009, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Katzman 2001, p. 101.
- ^ Abrahamian 1989, p. 243.
- ^ a b c Keddie 2006, p. 253.
- ^ Piazza 1994, p. 13.
- ^ Piazza 1994, pp. 9–43.
- ISBN 978-1-317-04590-8
- ^ Abrahamian 1989, pp. 243–246.
- ^ Abrahamian 1989, p. 258.
- ^ Goulka et al. 2009, p. 68.
- ^ Cohen 2009, p. 12.
- S2CID 149542445.
- ^ Chicago Tribune wires, 'Iraq Denies Link with Death of Opposition Leader in Rome', Chicago Tribune (17 March 1993), p.4.
- ^ Safa Haeri, 'A bad month', Middle East International, No. 463 (19 November 1993), p.11.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
- ^ "France drops case against Iranian dissidents after 11-year probe". Reuters. September 17, 2014 – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ a b c d UK House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Committee publication, 10 June 2013,
- ^ "Iranian dissident and French lawmakers urge new policy on Iran". Reuters. 5 December 2012.
- ^ "Time to bring Iranian regime to justice". Arab News. 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Iranian exiles file rights abuse claim in UK against Raisi". France 24. 13 October 2021.
- ^ "Majority of House members back resolution supporting Iranian opposition, condemning regime's terror". Fox News. 17 June 2020.
- ^ "'The world is watching': Lawmakers tout bipartisan resolution condemning Iran". 17 June 2020.
- ^ "France bomb plot: Iran diplomat Assadollah Assadi sentenced to 20 years". BBC News. 4 February 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-5381-0331-9.
- ^ "Who are the Iranian opposition and who will rule if the regime falls?". News Week. 5 January 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-58367-155-9.
- ISBN 978-92-1-154185-4, E 08 XIV4; HR/CAT/PUB/1,
The MEK has been involved in terrorist activities and is therefore a less legitimate replacement for the current regime.
- District of Columbia. July 9, 2004. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ "Empowering the democratic opposition in Iran". The Hill. July 24, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
- ^ Lorimer, Doug (February 22, 2006). "IRAN: US relies on terrorists for nuke 'intelligence'". Green Left Weekly. Archived from the original on March 8, 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
- ^ Andrew Higgins and Jay Solomon (2006-11-29), "Iranian Imbroglio Gives New Boost To Odd Exile Group", Wall Street Journal
- ^ "Council Common Position 2004/500/CESP of 17 May 2004" (PDF). Council of the European Union. May 17, 2004. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ Runner, Philippa (2012-11-20). "/ Foreign Affairs / EU ministers drop Iran group from terror list". Euobserver.com. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
- ^ "EU removes PMOI from terrorist list". UPI.com. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
- ^ John, Mark (January 26, 2009). "EU takes Iran opposition group off terror list". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009.
- ^ "Council Common Position 2004/500/CESP of 17 May 2004" (PDF). Council of the European Union. May 17, 2004. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ "COUNCIL DECISION" (PDF). Official Journal of the European Union. 28 June 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
- Anthony H. Cordesman, Adam C. Seitz Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Birth of a Regional Nuclear Arms Race?.ABC-CLIO, 2009 p.327.
- ^ El País: El exilio iraní financió el 80% de la campaña de Vox de 2014
- ^ "RESISTANCE GROUP CLAIMS EVIDENCE OF IRANIAN BOMB AMBITIONS". The Media Line. Archived from the original on 5 October 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
- ^ Kliger, Rachelle (January 11, 2006). "Resistance group claims evidence of Iranian bomb ambitions". The Media Line. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ NCRI Website: Maryam Rajavi's Ten Point Plan for Future Iran
- ^ "Iran Rebels See Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as Chance to Bring Down Regime". NewsWeek. 9 July 2021.
- ^ "US Congress introduces resolution in support of push for democracy and freedom in Iran". Arab News. 8 February 2023.
- ^ Berman, Ilan (5 July 2019). "Making Sense of The MeK". National Interest.
- ^ House of Lords Hansard Volume 777, Lords Chamber, Iran: Human Rights, 08 December 2016
- ^ Goulka et al. 2009, p. 59. "In another survival shift for Rajavi, the NCRI hid the MeK's Marxist-Islamic philosophy from European and American view and instead promoted a new platform espousing such political values as secular government, democratic elections, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, human rights, and a free-market economy, only some of which the MeK had previously endorsed."
- ^ Goulka et al. 2009, p. 72.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-1-85043-077-3.
- Clark, Mark Edmond (2016). "An Analysis of the Role of the Iranian Diaspora in the Financial Support System of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq". In Gold, David (ed.). Terrornomics. ISBN 978-1-317-04590-8.
- ISBN 978-1-84519-270-9.
- Goulka, Jeremiah; Hansell, Lydia; Wilke, Elizabeth; Larson, Judith (2009). The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum (PDF) (Report). RAND corporation. Archived(PDF) from the original on 22 February 2016.
- Katzman, Kenneth (2001). "Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran". In Benliot, Albert V. (ed.). Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country?. ISBN 978-1-56072-954-9.
- ISBN 978-0-300-12105-6.
- Piazza, James A. (October 1994). "The Democratic Islamic Republic of Iran in Exile". Digest of Middle East Studies. 3 (4): 9–43. .
External links
- Quotations related to National Council of Resistance of Iran at Wikiquote
- Media related to National Council of Resistance of Iran at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website