

"Pathway to Peace": Anglo-Iranian Professionals Association Meeting in Parliament. Wilson Room, Portcullis House Thursday, 14th November 2024, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
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SUMMARY
Meeting: Pathway to Peace: Standing with the Victims of Terrorism and Oppression in Iran, organised by the Anglo-Iranian Professionals Association, was held in the UK Parliament on Thursday, 14th November. The event was attended by members of the House of Commons, human rights defenders, councillors and representatives of the Anglo-Iranian community and associations.
The meeting addressed the escalating political repression and economic crisis in Iran, emphasising the regime’s systemic use of state resources to suppress dissent, control the economy, and escalate repression through mass executions.
The meeting especially highlighted the plight of the brave women of Iran and praised their courage to continue to protest and challenge the regime.
Participants concluded that an appropriate policy response by the UK and the West to the systematic human rights violations and the threats posed by the regime must be firm, focus on accountability and support the Iranian people and their democratic aspirations.
They urged the UK Government to adopt a firm policy by proscribing the IRGC and supporting the Iranian people’s protests and efforts to establish a democratic republic.
QUOTES FROM SPEAKERS
Rt Hon Sir Roger Gale, Conservative MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich, Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons:
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Jim Shannon, Democratic Unionist Party MP for Strangford:
“I am also particularly troubled by the alarming surge in executions. These latest killings bring the total number of executions under the regime's new president, Pezeshkian, to 461, including 15 women. This represents a 75% increase compared to Raisi’s last year. This speaks volumes and demonstrates that every faction of this brutal regime is unified in its use of the death penalty to suppress the Iranian people.
“I urge our Government to proscribe the IRGC immediately—a move it supported when it was in opposition.”
Naghmeh Rajabi, President of the Anglo-Iranian Professionals Association:
“The regime’s priorities—investing in domestic repression, regional destabilisation, and an illicit nuclear weapons programme—have taken precedence over the legitimate needs of the Iranian people.
“The regime's heavy reliance on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and religious institutions linked to the Supreme Leader Khamenei has turned Iran’s economy into a tool of oppression and terror, redirecting essential resources away from societal needs and into the hands of those who perpetuate this cycle of violence and corruption.
“This misallocation of resources … has pushed many of Iran’s brightest minds into exile or, tragically, to imprisonment for expressing dissent. Yet, even in the face of such overwhelming adversity, the professional class in Iran has remained steadfast. They are not calling for limited reforms, but for a complete and fundamental change
“The events of 2022 demonstrated the power of the Iranian people—across all walks of life—coming together in protest against the regime … This broad-based movement is not limited to the streets of Tehran; it is a nationwide effort, with organised resistance units and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) playing a key role in galvanising the push for a democratic, secular republic.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Detailed Overview and Key Recommendations from the Meeting
The meetings call on the UK Government to correct its failed policy and adopt a firm Iran policy: The UK Government’s current policy on Iran prioritising diplomatic relations with Tehran over proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation is misguided and dangerous for three main reasons.
1. IRGC’s involvement in the direct domestic threat of the regime's state terrorism to the UK.
2. The regime’s use of its diplomatic missions, diplomats and embassies to facilitate, plan and carry out terrorist attacks abroad.
3. It sends a message of impunity and incentivises the regime's warmongering and state terrorism.
Working with international allies and through platforms like the UN, the UK Government can help ensure that the Iranian people, including professionals, are successful in their struggle for justice and accountability and to establish a democratic, secular republic that would benefit not only Iran but the wider Middle East, Europe, and the world.
Recommendations for a firm policy
Proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation: make cooperation, collaboration and support for the IRGC a criminal offence.
Isolate the regime diplomatically: downgrade diplomatic relations with Tehran and close Iran’s embassy.
Isolate the regime economically: Impose punitive measures on the Supreme Leader, Khamenei, and other senior officials under UK’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
Actively implement the existing and new sanctions identifying and confiscating assets, money and holdings held by regime leaders and IRGC abroad.
Support Iranian people’s democratic aspirations, end impunity and secure justice: Work with the democratic opposition coalition, NCRI, which has an extensive social network and resistance units inside Iran, to explore ways to redirect confiscated funds and resources toward supporting Iranian professionals, protesters, and the general population.
Additionally, support the establishment of an international accountability mechanism, as recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran and the UN Fact-Finding Mission, to investigate and prosecute regime leaders and officials on the sanctions list for crimes against humanity.
Finally, recognise the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people and support their legitimate demands for change and fight to establish a democratic republic.
Note: The representative of the Academics in Exile Association attended the conference and highlighted the challenges faced by intellectuals and academics under Iran's oppressive policies.