A grand July 9 rally in Paris became a major platform calling on the international community to begin shifting its Iran policy.  The regime of Tehran has no place in the future of Iran and the Middle East, and the West’s flawed appeasement policy vis-à-vis the mullahs has failed, leading to Iran’s expansionism across the region.  Imperative now is unity among Middle East countries against Tehran and in support of the organized Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its president-elect, Maryam Rajavi.

The Paris event demonstrated the serious steps taken to render such an alliance.  Prominent political figures and M.P.s from all over the world and especially various countries in the Middle East displayed a colorful array of support for the Iranian opposition.  Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, the former head of Saudi intelligence, was among the special guests in this event.  His voice symbolized the intention of Arab states to adopt a new perspective for change in Iran, establishing peace in the Middle East, and condemning Tehran’s notorious meddling in the entire region.

The keynote speaker of the rally was Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, a leading advocate of unity among Arab and Islamic nations.

The year-old nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers has done little to deter the Iranian regime’s menacing activities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, and other countries in the region.  This has left no question why many regional governments have severed ties with Tehran.

Rajavi criticized the West for its failed attempts to curb Iran through appeasement, stressing that the results have so far been the reverse of expectations.

“In the year since the nuclear accord,” Rajavi said, “many of the sanctions were lifted and oil exports increased.  But the generated revenues were poured into the Syria war inferno.”

Concerns among regional countries over ongoing crises in the Middle East preventing peace in the region is regarding Iran’s continuing expansionism and focusing efforts to shore up the Bashar Assad regime, meddling in Iraq and the continued war in Yemen.  The West’s silence in the face of Tehran’s meddling is enabling the mullahs commit further genocide throughout the region.  This has rendered a similar modus operandi adopted by Iran and Daesh (ISIS) in reading from the same script and abusing the teachings of Islam to commit barbarity and savagery.

In his speech, Prince Turki bin Faisal denounced the Iranian regime’s role in destabilizing the Middle East and called for strong international ties to be made with the Iranian Resistance.

“Your fight and struggle against the Iranian regime will triumph soon, and this is a matter of when, not if,” he said.  “I want regime change, too,” Prince Faisal responded to the crowd’s slogans for the overthrow of the Iranian regime.  “We in the Islamic world will support you from the depth of our hearts,” he emphasized.

As the Middle East continues to burn in turmoil, the international community is learning more than ever before of Iran’s leading role in fueling this blaze.  Iran is allocating billions to safeguard its own interests across the region, coming at the cost of innocent lives and vast destruction in Syria, in Iraq, and beyond.

The innocent people of the region remain victims of the support provided by Tehran for the regime of Bashar Assad and financing its armed militia groups in Iraq.  The Iranian opposition has become a leading voice loathing the mullahs’ campaign of dispatching tens of thousands of troops to various countries under the close watch of Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani.

This regime represents a challenge that can be properly addressed only through firm action, such as the measures seen taken against its support for the Houthis in Yemen.

After a virtually endless string of failures in taming the Iranian regime through concessions and leniency, the world community now has before it the opportunity to adopt a firm policy of supporting the Iranian people and the organized NCRI opposition alternative to deliver a strong message to the mullahs in Tehran.

“We offer a solution that is the only effective option, and the most indispensable and attainable answer,”  Mrs. Rajavi said in her speech, “the right of the Iranian people to overthrow the religious dictatorship and attain freedom and democracy must be recognized.”