It’s incredible to me that Rouhani, the “moderate,” the man who claims to be a moderate leader, in his three years in office is responsible for 2,500 executions, more than any other leader in Iran in the last 25 years. And can you imagine the U.N. sanctioned him for the execution of children? It doesn’t get much worse. And so your work, the work of Mrs. Rajavi, and the principles that you all stand for here are increasingly important.
In the face of violent extremism and an oppressive regime, you in the face of dogmatism stand for freedom. You stand for gender equality, Mrs. Rajavi, against a misogynist regime. You have suffered for that. I look out at the women here today and I am so proud to stand with the women of this movement, with the women in Camp Liberty. When I think of the rise of acid attacks against women in Iran, meant to intimidate and silence them, I say I am proud to be your voice and I stand with you.
You here today, those in Camp Liberty and in Ashraf before them, you are the future of Iran. You are the voice of Iran. Tehran hears you today and the world.
• Excerpted from remarks at the Free Iran Rally. Frances Townsend is a former Homeland Security adviser.
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