WASHINGTON, D.C. – On September 10, 2024, a bipartisan congressional briefing titled “IRAN: Confronting the Threat and Securing a Solution” was held in the U.S. House of Representatives. The event, which brought together prominent members of Congress, military leaders, and national security experts, emphasized the need for a decisive response to Tehran’s destabilizing actions. House members called for support for the Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), its President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, and her Ten-Point Plan for the future of Iran.
The briefing featured Representatives Tom McClintock (R-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Nancy Mace (R-SC), who highlighted their support for a democratic, secular, non-nuclear republic in Iran and underscored bipartisan efforts in Congress to support this vision.
The event’s panel featured prominent military and national security figures who proposed steps for a coordinated response to the threat posed by Tehran. The panel included General James L. Jones (ret.), former U.S. National Security Advisor and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Tod D. Wolters (ret.), former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg Jr. (ret.), former National Security Advisor to the U.S. Vice President, and Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield Jr., former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs.
Rep. McClintock opened the session by emphasizing the broad bipartisan support for H.Res.100. “Republicans and Democrats are united behind the Iranian opposition, and especially the National Council of Resistance of Iran, under the leadership of Maryam Rajavi,” he said.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who attended the 2024 Free Iran World Summit in Paris, described the event as “extremely educational for leaders from the United States and around the world.” Mace, a co-sponsor of H.Res.1148, which supports Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-point plan, underscored her solidarity with Resistance Units inside Iran and the Iranian opposition in Ashraf-3, Albania. “I am proud to support Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-point plan for Iran’s future,” adding, “By being here today, we condemn the Shah’s oppressive dictatorship and stand in solidarity with the Iranian people.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) recalled his 28 years of collaboration with the NCRI to help “create an Iran that benefits the world, that is a democratic republic where people can have human rights.” He praised the Resistance’s contributions, “Let us not forget what they did for the world at the beginning of this century when they exposed in 2002 the Iranian nuclear program.”
The California lawmaker condemned the Iranian regime’s relentless pursuit of the MEK, Iran’s largest organized democratic opposition and a pivotal member of the NCRI coalition. “The Iranian government has done more to go after the MEK than any other project they’ve had in the world,” Sherman said, pointing out the MEK’s potential to bring about change.
General James Jones emphasized supporting the Iranian opposition and the NCRI. “The eventual democratization of Iran will happen in my lifetime, and it’s going to happen sooner than most people think,” Jones said. He called Mrs. Rajavi’s leadership “critically important” and described her Ten-point plan as “Jeffersonian democracy for the future of Iran.”
Jones also underscored the need for the U.S. to refocus its policies to counter the Iranian regime’s influence.
Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield Jr. challenged the long-standing accusations against the MEK, noting that they were falsely designated a terrorist organization as a political gesture to the Iranian regime in 1997. “At no time did any national security leader in America have information about terrorism by the MEK,” Bloomfield said. He pointed out that Iran’s regime has obsessively targeted the MEK because of its credibility as the leading opposition. “There’s been an average of one anti-MEK book per month for 40 years and an average of more than 100 anti-MEK articles from the regime every month over the last 20 years. The regime in Tehran is obsessed with the resistance because there’s no other credible opposition,” Bloomfield added.
Ambassador Bloomfield also cited the widespread global support for Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-point plan, noting that it had been endorsed by 125 former heads of state, 4,000 parliamentarians from legislatures in 40 countries, including 34 majorities and 75 Nobel laureates. “The numbers of those supporting the NCRI and its Ten-point plan have grown significantly in recent weeks,” he remarked.
General Tod D. Wolters emphasized the urgency of educating the public on the real threat posed by the Iranian regime. He praised Ambassador Bloomfield for shedding light on the facts about the opposition, calling him “a national treasure.” Gen. Wolters reiterated that one of the key priorities moving forward should be to counter Tehran’s disinformation campaigns. “They are the masters of disinformation, and we must educate our fellow citizens with the facts,” Wolters said.
Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg echoed the need for a more robust U.S. stance against Tehran, stressing that previous policies toward the regime had failed. “There must be a recognition that previous policies toward the Iranian regime have failed to achieve any of the declared goals,” Kellogg stated. He called for a new strategy that includes demanding compliance from the UN Security Council and developing credible deterrence measures against the regime. Kellogg also urged support for organized opposition within Iran, stating, “We need to empower the most important dissidents within Iran to somehow take control of that country.”
General James Jones closed the event with a powerful reminder of major Iran policy blunders of Washington, “for several administrations, we have seen time and time again, offering up the MEK and the NCRI as a terrorist organization with no basis in fact, to get the regime to come to the table and negotiate.”
The panelists concluded the briefing with a unified call for a stronger U.S. policy toward Iran. The briefing underscored the need for immediate and decisive action to confront the Iranian regime’s malign activities and support the Iranian opposition in its quest for a democratic future.