Why This Matters
We, the undersigned citizens and residents of the European Union, call on the European Parliament and EU institutions to take immediate, decisive, and principled action in response to the ongoing and escalating human rights crisis in Iran.

Over the past year, widespread protests have taken place across Iran, driven by severe economic hardship, political repression, and the systematic denial of fundamental freedoms. Peaceful demonstrators have been met with excessive and lethal force, mass arrests, torture, executions, and nationwide internet shutdowns.

These actions constitute grave, systematic, and ongoing violations of international human rights law and may amount to crimes under international law.

Despite repeated international statements of concern, repression continues unabated. Symbolic condemnation has failed. It has neither protected civilians nor deterred further abuses.

 
The EU Has the Tools — and the Responsibility
The European Union possesses not only a moral obligation, but also clear legal, political, and diplomatic tools to act — and must now use them.

 
What We Are Calling For
We therefore urgently call on the European Parliament, the European Commission, and EU Member States to:

• Adopt, expand, and rigorously enforce targeted EU sanctions against individuals and institutions directly responsible for human rights violations in Iran
• Acknowledge and engage with opposition figures and representatives who are widely referenced by protesters and the Iranian public, including Reza Pahlavi, whose stated positions emphasize a peaceful transition, democratic choice through free elections, secular governance, territorial integrity, and universal human rights
• Support the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization at the EU level
  Advance robust international accountability mechanisms, including independent investigations into killings, torture, enforced disappearances, and executions
• Actively protect internet freedom and secure access to communication for the Iranian people, including concrete measures to counter censorship and state-imposed shutdowns
• Ensure continued, strengthened, and harmonised protection for Iranian asylum seekers and refugees across all EU Member States
• Restrict diplomatic engagement and official relations with Iranian officials and institutions implicated in repression and serious human rights abuses
• Engage openly and transparently with Iranian democratic opposition figures and civil society representatives in exile who advocate for a peaceful transition, free elections, secular governance, territorial integrity, and full respect for human rights

 A Defining Moment for Europe
The people of Iran are risking their lives for dignity, freedom, and justice. The European Union has long defined itself as a defender of human rights, democratic values, and the rule of law.

This is a defining moment for the EU to demonstrate that those principles are not merely rhetorical commitments, but obligations that guide concrete action.

 
Our Final Appeal
We call on the European Parliament to place the situation in Iran at the center of EU foreign policy deliberations and to stand clearly, publicly, and unequivocally on the side of the Iranian people.

This moment will be remembered. Future generations will judge whether the European Union acted with principle and resolve when confronted with systematic oppression and grave human rights violations.

Now is the time for the EU to stand firmly on the right side of history and translate its core values into decisive action in support of the Iranian people’s legitimate demands for freedom, dignity, and justice.