Race to openness and prosperity

OPINION:

Thank you for allowing me to take just a moment to share my support for the leadership that you have shown, particularly Mrs. Rajavi has shown, in continuing to stand up to the dictatorship in Tehran, to stand for the right of the people of Iran to have a freely elected government of their own choice, and to have a chance at a better future, a prosperous future, a free and democratic future.

I think we have the strange moment in history where, on the one hand, the dictatorship is clearly getting weaker, the sanctions are beginning to have a deep effect, the drop in the price of oil had a deep effect. There are many things going on that I think are convincing people. You see this in demonstrations, concerns, and the degree to which the regime feels it is under pressure. On the other hand, the more pressure put on the dictatorship leads it to be more aggressive internationally, more aggressive in Syria and in Lebanon, more aggressive in trying to find ways to get to weapons that will enable it to threaten its neighbors and to blackmail the region. So, I think we are in a race between those of us who believe in freedom and believe that the Iranian people have every right to be free, and those who would ultimately use some kind of a war or a military adventure to try to arouse nationalism to save what is a decaying, weaker, and, I think, steadily more in danger dictatorship.

I want to thank each of you for staying involved. I am sorry I could not be with you for this great meeting, but I know that it will be remarkable as always and that it will have a great number of people involved. And I want you to know that for me, as a private person, I am totally committed to doing everything I can to help the people of Iran have the kind of freedom, the kind of openness, the kind of decent society, and the kind of positive, healthy economy we want them to have. So, I hope you have a great meeting, and I want you to know that you have my support for continuing to do everything we can to help the Iranian people achieve the future they deserve.