Europe should oppose diplomatic, trade relations with Iran until executions end: British MEP Anthea McIntyre

Europe should openly oppose any diplomatic and trade relations with the Iran until the executions end, and people are given more freedom in every aspect of their lives, Mrs. Anthea McIntyre, British member of the European Parliament, said on Wednesday at a meeting at the European Parliament entitled, "EU policy on Iran after Nuclear Accord".

“This is what Mrs Maryam Rajavi [president-elect of Iranian Resistance] said on the first day Hassan Rouhani came to power. Europe should listen to these remarks and put them into action. We should stand behind Mrs Rajavi as she is being an inspiration to the Iranian people who want democracy,” she added.

Below is text of remarks by Mrs. Anthea McIntyre, member of the European Parliament on 2 March 2016: 

Thank you very much. First of all, I would like to say a very warm welcome to Maryam Rajavi today. It is great that you could come here and we obviously have a terrific audience here to listen to you. I wanted to start by saying I’m speaking today as a woman, a free woman, a woman who can choose what to wear, shoes, where to walk, choose who to marry, and make my own political views heard. I have freedom of speech. And I believe that human rights and especially women’s rights should be a main benchmark for Europe, when we decide on the policy of the EU, the Iranian regime.

Under the current regime, some 2300 people have been executed. And I think 63 of those are women. And the exhibition downstairs and the level one I visited earlier on, and we looked at the women who sadly were executed for some trumped-up pretense. It is just awful. And I think that speaking as a woman, I find it very distressing, that such trumped-up charges can be brought against fellow women. And I absolutely appall the whole situation. So in fact, the number of executed under the current regime is much higher than under Ahmadinejad. Arbitrary arrests for political reasons have dramatically risen. So the human rights situation has evidently not improved but in fact, has tremendously deteriorated.

And certainly, it has not met with the standards that we uphold and expect in Europe. So how is this going to affect our relationship with Iran? And how is this going to guide us towards a right foreign policy with Iran? In my view, we can only judge the regime by what we see, not by the words of the regime, but by their actions. So no change with a small or significant should be trusted as long as these executions are going on in Iran, while women and youth are suppressed, when national and religious minorities are terrorized. And in fact, anybody who doesn’t comply the mullahs and the supreme religious leader have a total lack of freedom of speech, and other freedoms.

Let’s not forget that we have a religious theocracy and a supreme leader, who know very well that if they introduce any real reforms or lift restrictions against women, they’ll actually cause a crack in their system. And ultimately, that system will collapse. So the mullahs are prepared to make business deals, but they’re very careful not to open up any freedoms in the domestic life of their people. But of course, the Iranian regime desperately needs the west to survive.

And we should use this tool, not just follow a one-way appeasement policy and just talk about business, but we should openly oppose any diplomatic and trade relations with Iran until the executions end, and people are given more freedom in every aspect of their lives.

Now of course, this is what Mrs Rajavi said on the first day Rouhani came to power. Europe should listen to these remarks and put them into action. We should stand behind Mrs Rajavi as she is being an inspiration to the Iranian people who want democracy. I have enormous respect for Maryam Rajavi and her supporters. Maryam, you are a very brave lady, and we thank you and we support you.