The West should recognise the path to a free Iran is in the hands of its people

Telegraph

8 hours ago

The uneasy truce between Israel and Iran casts a spotlight on the instability of Iran's ruling theocracy. But beyond the headlines of missiles and counter-strikes lies a quieter revolution – one being waged not from foreign capitals or war rooms, but from city squares and prison cells inside Iran itself.
The world should recognise this resistance for what it is: an organised, legitimate force with a credible democratic vision. Most importantly, it must understand that the path to a free Iran cannot be paved by foreign intervention but only by the hands of the Iranian people.
For years, the Islamic Republic has teetered on the edge of collapse, not because of sanctions alone, but due to its internal rot. Endemic corruption, economic mismanagement, and violent suppression of dissent have eroded the regime's foundations.
The nation has witnessed three major uprisings since 2017, each larger and more defiant than the last. The 2022 protests sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini were not just about the forced hijab – they were a rejection of a political system that rules through fear, not consent.
Now, as Iran's ruling clerics provoke war abroad, hoping to rally nationalist sentiment, their gambit is failing. The disconnect between the regime and the people is only growing. Many Iranians, especially the younger generation, see clearly that the regime's obsession with exporting ideology and resisting the West is the real cause of their global isolation and domestic suffering.
However, this resistance is not chaos – it is organised. At its helm is the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a coalition that has long worked toward building a secular, democratic republic.
Led by Maryam Rajavi, who recently addressed the European Parliament, the NCRI proposes a viable post-theocratic roadmap: free elections within six months, a new democratic constitution, and a firm commitment to gender equality and minority rights.
Its principal group, the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK), has been instrumental in mobilising and sustaining nationwide protests through its Resistance Units, whose activity inside the country is unmatched.
This isn't a fantasy. It's a movement with strategy, structure, and grassroots resilience. Its slogan – 'Down with the Dictator, be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader' – rejects both the clerical regime and a return to monarchy. That clarity should reassure Western observers concerned about a power vacuum. The groundwork for a democratic Iran is already being laid.
So what should the West do?
It must resist the seduction of top-down regime change. History is littered with such interventions that have produced more instability than liberty. Iranians are more than capable of toppling their oppressors – they've been doing the hard work already. What they need now is recognition. That means formal Western acknowledgement of their right to resist and of the NCRI as a legitimate alternative.
Military escalation may weaken the regime temporarily, but ultimately, regime change can only be brought about by the Iranian people and their democratic opposition movement.
Thus, the focus should remain on empowering Iranians to secure their own future.
The mullahs' days are numbered. How they fall and what rises in their place matters deeply.
The West has a choice: either support the Iranian people in their grass-roots fight for democracy, or risk repeating the mistakes of the past by imposing solutions from outside.
A free Iran will not be born in exile – it will be forged in the streets of Tehran, Shiraz, and Isfahan. Let those voices lead the way.