This week’s plenary session of the European Parliament once again focused on the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and, crucially, the role Europe should play.
The Iranian regime is attempting to export its domestic playbook: from repressing its own people – through threats, imprisonment, internet shutdowns, torture, and executions – to blackmailing the international community via the Strait of Hormuz. In doing so, it is putting freedom of navigation, global markets, and energy security at risk.
I also spoke about this in an interview with Al Araby TV, which you can watch here in Arabic.
At the same time, voices in Europe – including Friedrich Merz –are calling for sanctions relief in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. We must not give in to this pressure.
These sanctions were imposed in response to grave human rights violations. They must remain in place until those violations end. No deals. No symbolic gestures. No easing of sanctions while people are being oppressed, imprisoned, and executed. And these abuses are ongoing.
My Speech:
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More InformationPublic debate and media coverage often paint a misleading picture. In an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau I stressed that while the regime may appear stable from the outside, a large majority of Iranians no longer support their leadership. Politically and morally, the system is exhausted. Many people in Iran no longer believe in reform – they want this regime gone.
At the same time, the situation of people in Iran is increasingly being pushed out of the spotlight. That is why I raised a point of order at the very start of the week: Nasrin Sotoudeh has been forcibly disappeared by the Iranian regime. Her whereabouts have been unknown for weeks. She spoke out against executions, protested compulsory veiling, and defended those standing up to the regime. For this, she was arrested.
Nasrin Sotoudeh is one of many political prisoners in Iran. That is exactly why we must not stay silent. I called on the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to speak out clearly and demand her immediate release – as well as the release of all political prisoners in Iran.
My Speech:
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