WASHINGTON DC – Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) mourns the loss of a great American hero, patriot and a friend of Iranian people and all of us who yearn for a free Iran.
We have witnessed how Chairman McCain consistently stood up to the dictatorships in the Middle East such as Syria and Iran, calling them out for their gross human rights abuses and urging U.S. support for the pro-democracy movements taking shape among their own people.
In 2009, while honoring Neda Agha Soltan, Senator McCain described her slaying as another example of “the brutal repression throughout history” and “a living example, in a dying example, of martyrdom.”
The Iranian American Communities will never forget how valiantly Senator McCain stood by his pledge to safeguard the lives of Iran’s beloved freedom fighters, our families and friends when they were under siege by the terrorist Iranian regime in Iraq, and to bring about their safe transfer to Albania.
In April 2017, Senator McCain visited Albania to meet with Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). In praising the MEK, Senator McCain said: “Thank you for being an example, an example to the whole world, that those people who are willing to fight and sacrifice for freedom will achieve it.”
In December 2017, Senator McCain declared his support for Iran’s uprising and said “For too long, the Iranian people have been oppressed by their government, which cares more about sowing instability abroad than its own citizens. The U.S. stands with the brave protesters who yearn for freedom, peace, and an end to corruption in Iran.”
Mrs. Rajavi shared her “most profound condolences” with the McCain family and said: “People of Iran will always remember Senator John McCain, for his advocacy of freedom, support for the uprising of the Iranian people against the mullahs’ regime and their desire for a free republic based on separation of religion and state and gender equality.”
Senator McCain will be deeply missed but his influence and impact will live forever.
