View source for National Council of Resistance of Iran

{{Short description|Political alliance aiming to establish a democratic, secular Iranian republic}}
{{distinguish|National Resistance Movement of Iran|National Council of Iran}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = National Council of Resistance of Iran
| native_name      = {{native name|fa|شورای ملی مقاومت ایران }}<br/>{{native name|fr|Conseil national de la résistance iranienne}}
| colorcode        = {{party color|People's Mujahedin of Iran}}
| logo             = National Council of Resistance Logo.jpg
| caption          = The Golden [[Lion and Sun]] was adopted as the emblem of the NCRI in 1993<ref name="ic">{{citation|url=http://www.iranchamber.com/history/mojahedin_khalq/mojahedin_khalq_armed_cult14.php|title=Saddam's Private Army: How Rajavi changed Iran's Mojahedin from armed revolutionaries to an armed cult|author=Anne Singleton|publisher=Iran Chamber|date=2003|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-date=23 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223063203/http://www.iranchamber.com/history/mojahedin_khalq/mojahedin_khalq_armed_cult14.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
| abbreviation     = NCRI
| spokesperson     = [[Alireza Jafarzadeh]]{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}
| founder          = [[Massoud Rajavi]] and [[Abolhassan Banisadr]]<ref name="iranica"/>
| leader1_title    = {{nowrap|President-elect}}
| leader1_name     = [[Maryam Rajavi]]
| founded          = {{start date and age|1981|7|20}}
| dissolved        = <!-- {{end date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| headquarters     = [[Paris]], [[France]]<ref name="iranica">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Chronology of Iranian History Part 4|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]|publisher=Bibliotheca Persica Press|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/pages/chronology-4|editor-last=Yarshater|editor-first=Ehsan|editor-link=Ehsan Yarshater|access-date=August 1, 2016|archive-date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017043446/http://www.iranicaonline.org/pages/chronology-4|url-status=live}}</ref><br/>[[Tirana]], [[Albania]]
| affiliation1_title = 
| affiliation1     = [[People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran]]
| slogan           = 
| anthem           = [[Ey Iran]]
| flag             = NCRI_National_Council_of_Resistance_of_Iran_Lion_%26_Sun_Flag.jpg
| website          = {{URL|ncr-iran.org}}
| country          = Iran
}}
The '''National Council of Resistance of Iran''' ('''NCRI'''; {{langx|fa|شورای ملی مقاومت ایران|Šurā-ye melli-e moqāvemat-e Īrān}}) is an Iranian [[political organization]] based in [[France]] and [[Albania]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=
U.S. Senators Meet With Maryam Rajavi In Albania
|url=https://en.radiofarda.com/a/us-senators-meet-maryam-rajavi-albania-tirana/28674404.html|access-date=2025-06-23|website=radiofarda.com|date=14 August 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Trump's Ukraine envoy says world must reinstate 'maximum pressure' on Iran |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-ukraine-envoy-kellogg-attends-iran-opposition-event-paris-2025-01-11/|access-date=2025-06-23 |website=wwww.reuters.com|date=12 January 2025 |language=en|last1=Irish |first1=John }}</ref> It was founded by [[Massoud Rajavi]] and [[Abolhassan Banisadr]] in 1981, and is currently led by [[Maryam Rajavi]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Massoud Rajavi {{!}} Iranian revolutionary {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Massoud-Rajavi |access-date=2023-02-13 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=2023-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213091525/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Massoud-Rajavi |url-status=live }}</ref> The NCRI is a coalition of Iranian dissident groups, led by the [[People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran]] (MEK), which advocates for the overthrow of the [[Iran|Islamic Republic of Iran]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dissident leader abroad urges Iranians to bring down Khamenei|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/dissident-leader-abroad-urges-iranians-bring-down-khamenei-2025-06-24/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Reuters |language=en-US |last1=Irish |first1=John }}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20130622-france-exiled-iranian-opposition-group-paris-conference|title=Exiled Iranian opposition group in Paris for talks|date=22 June 2013|access-date=4 April 2020|archive-date=28 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828202901/https://www.france24.com/en/20130622-france-exiled-iranian-opposition-group-paris-conference|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/13/world/iranian-dissidents-albania/#.XoMYltMzZE4|title=Iranian dissidents plot a revolution from Albania|access-date=2020-04-04|archive-date=2020-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918090217/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/13/world/iranian-dissidents-albania/#.XoMYltMzZE4|url-status=dead}}</ref> It describes itself as an independent [[Government-in-exile|parliament-in-exile]] prepared to establish a democratic [[provisional government]] in Iran upon the fall of its current government.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who is Maryam Rajavi ? {{!}} Biography, Everything About Her Life, Values & Vision |url=https://www.maryam-rajavi.com/en/biography/ |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=Maryam Rajavi |language=en-US}}</ref> The organization is often described by academics and journalists as the political or diplomatic wing of the MEK.<ref name="wing">For sources which identify the NCRI as such, see:{{Bulleted list|{{Cite web|last=Flock |first=Elizabeth |date=6 July 2012 |title=Iranian Terrorist Group M.E.K. Pays Big to Make History Go Away |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/07/06/iranian-terrorist-group-mek-pays-big-to-make-history-go-away-iranian-group-mek-lobbies-hard-pledges-peace-as-it-pleads-case-to-be-delisted-dc-listening-terror-group-pays-to-make-history-go-awayseries?s_cid=rs |website=US News|quote=The M.E.K.'s political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran...}}|{{Cite web|last=Luce |first=Rhys Dubin, Dan De |date=2025-08-18 |title=Bolton’s Ascent Gives Iranian Group a New Lease on Life |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/30/bolton-iran-mek-terrorism-trump/ |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US|quote=...the MEK’s political wing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran...}}|{{Cite web|title=Iranian opposition group has few friends following Albanian police raid |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iran-mek-albania-police-raid-losing-influence-friends |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Middle East Eye|language=en|quote=...National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the umbrella organisation largely seen as a front for the Iranian opposition group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK).}}|{{Cite journal |last=Goulka |first=Jeremiah |last2=Hansell |first2=Lydia |last3=Wilke |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Larson |first4=Judith |title=The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG871.pdf |journal=RAND National Defense Research Institute |pages=xxiii|quote=...the National Council of Resistance of Iran (a MeK subsidiary)}}|{{Cite news |date=2025-06-18 |title=Who makes up Iran's fragmented opposition? |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/who-makes-up-irans-fragmented-opposition-2025-06-18/ |access-date=2025-08-17 |work=Reuters |language=en|quote=...[the MEK] is the main force behind the National Council of Resistance of Iran...}}|{{Cite web |title=National Council of Resistance of Iran, Petitioner, v. Department of State and Colin L. Powell, Secretary of State, Respondents, 373 F.3d 152 (D.C. Cir. 2004) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/373/152/474249/ |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Justia Law |language=en|quote=In 1999, and again in 2001, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) was determined by the Secretary of State to be an alias of MEK and was accordingly also designated an FTO.}}|{{Cite book |last=Harmon |first=Christopher C. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7864/j.ctt1vjqr1x |title=The Terrorist Argument: Modern Advocacy and Propaganda |last2=Bowdish |first2=Randall G. |date=2018 |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8157-3218-1 |doi=10.7864/j.ctt1vjqr1x?turn_away=true&seq=6|quote=There are many fronts, especially the main political entity, a long-running National Council of Resistance of Iran. It is an unusual front in that it does not avoid equation with the MEK.}}|{{Cite journal |date=2018 |title=The Mojahedin-e Khalq versus the Islamic Republic of Iran: from war to propaganda and the war on propaganda and diplomacy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48543823 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=1000–1014 |issn=0026-3206|quote=...the Mojahedin’s diplomatic wing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)...}}|{{Cite web |date=2017-02-05 |title=Trump Cabinet pick paid by controversial Iranian exile group |url=https://apnews.com/article/f8cd86c1a6de470781c8b5f37ef70f5f |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=AP News |language=en|quote=...the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political arm of the MEK...}}}}

</ref><ref name="Fayazmanesh">Sasan Fayazmanesh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SMiTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 ''The United States and Iran: Sanctions, Wars and the Policy of Dual Containment,'']  [[Routledge]], 2008 pp.79,81.</ref>

In 2002, the NCRI exposed the existence of an undisclosed uranium enrichment facility in [[Natanz]], leading to concerns about [[Nuclear program of Iran|Iran's nuclear program]].<ref>{{cite book |pages=115–120|title=Nuclear Safeguards, Security, and Nonproliferation: Achieving Security with Technology and Policy |year=2019 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=148 |title=The Trajectory of Iran's Nuclear Program|year=2015 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0zW5BgAAQBAJ&q=national+council+resistance+iran&pg=PA47|title=Smart Security Council? Analyzing the effectiveness of targeted sanctions|isbn=978-3-95489-521-2|last1=Friedrichs|first1=Gordon|date=February 2014|publisher=Anchor Academic|access-date=2020-11-06|archive-date=2024-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208135557/https://books.google.com/books?id=0zW5BgAAQBAJ&q=national+council+resistance+iran&pg=PA47|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=February 13, 2013|title=The National Council of Resistance of Iran: A Revolutionary Group in Exile|url=https://www.civilaffairsassoc.org/post/the-national-council-of-resistance-of-iran-a-revolutionary-group-in-exile|website=Civil Affairs Association|access-date=November 17, 2023|archive-date=November 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117004602/https://www.civilaffairsassoc.org/post/the-national-council-of-resistance-of-iran-a-revolutionary-group-in-exile|url-status=live}}</ref> It was listed by the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997, but was removed from this list in 2012, along with the MEK.<ref name="Katzman2012">{{Cite book |last1=Boon |first1=Kristen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cfdMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA317 |title=Global Stability and U.S. National Security |last2=Huq |first2=Aziz Z. |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-991589-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Shane">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-opposition-group-mek-wins-removal-from-us-terrorist-list.html|work=New York Times|first=Scott|last=Shane|title=Iranian Dissidents Convince U.S. to Drop Terror Label|date=September 21, 2012|access-date=February 27, 2017|archive-date=November 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101193726/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-opposition-group-mek-wins-removal-from-us-terrorist-list.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Platform's core concepts ==

* Elections founded on the concept of "universal suffrage".
* Fostering a diverse political system with "respect for individual freedoms", "freedom of expression", and "free assembly".
* Eradicating the death penalty.
* Separating religious institutions (mosques) from the state, while forbidding religious discrimination.
* Complete gender equality for women in Iran.
* Modernizing the justice system in Iran, abolishing ''Sharia law'', and introducing reforms that provide new legal protections.
* Committing to the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (and "autonomy for Iranian Kurdistan")
* Implementing measures that protect "investment and employment", "private property", and help bolster a market economy.
* Foreign policy grounded on the concept of "peaceful coexistence" with other nations.
* Rejecting the pursuit and development of nuclear weapons.
* Rejecting the possession and development of "weapons of mass destruction".<ref>{{cite book |title=IThe Fight for Iran: Opposition Politics, Protest, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Nation |year= 2020|author=[[Ilan Berman]] |publisher=  [[Rowman & Littlefield]]|pages=17–18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=ISIS: Defining the Enemy: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade |year=2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INSU4tbeRugC&q=ncri+Elections+based+on+the+principle+of+universal+suffrage&pg=PA41 |access-date=2020-11-06 |archive-date=2022-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104130142/https://books.google.com/books?id=INSU4tbeRugC&q=ncri+Elections+based+on+the+principle+of+universal+suffrage&pg=PA41 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran#History}}

===Early years===
President [[Abolhassan Banisadr]] was supportive of the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran|MEK]] and believed the clerics should not govern Iran directly. Consequently, [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] removed Banisadr from his presidency, while also preventing Massoud Rajavi and MEK members from participating in the elections. In June 1981, the [[Majles-e Shuraye Eslami|Majlis]] ousted president [[Abolhassan Banisadr]] through an [[impeachment]]. Both [[Massoud Rajavi]] and Banisdar escaped Iran in 1981 during a campaign by the Iranian government to eradicate the MEK from Iran. Rajavi and Banisadr exiled to Paris and founded the National Council of Resistance of Iran.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|pp=2-3}}{{sfn|Katzman|2001|p=101}}{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=243}}{{sfn|Keddie|2006|p=253}} The coalition was also joined by the [[National Democratic Front (Iran)|National Democratic Front]] and the [[Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran]].{{sfn|Keddie|2006|p=253}}

The Foundation of the NCRI allowed Massoud Rajavi to "assume the position of chairman of the resistance to the Islamic Republic and provided an outlet for the Mojahedin to codify its ideological models for a future government to replace that of the mullahs."{{sfn|Piazza|1994|p=13}} Banisadr left the coalition in March 1983. In January 1983, Deputy Prime Minister of [[Iraq]] [[Tariq Aziz]] and NCRI President [[Massoud Rajavi]] signed a peace plan "based on an agreement of mutual recognition of borders as defined by the 1975 Algiers Agreement." According to James Piazza, this peace initiative became the NCRI's first diplomatic act as a "true [[government-in-exile |government in exile]]".{{sfn|Piazza|1994|pp=9-43}} In 1983, elements united with NCRI began to depart the alliance because of conflicts with the MEK.<ref name="Terrornomics">{{citation|title=Terrornomics|editor=David Gold|page=70|isbn=978-1-317-04590-8|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|chapter=An Analysis of the Role of the Iranian Diaspora in the Financial Support System of the ''Mujahedin-e-Khalq''|author=Mark Edmond Clark}}</ref> On 24 March 1983, Banisadr officially left the council.<ref name="ic"/>{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|pp=243-246}}

In 1986, the French government closed down NCRI headquarters in Paris to improve relations with the Islamic Republic. Rajavi and the NCRI moved their main operations to [[Baghdad]], Iraq.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1989|p=258}}{{sfn|Keddie|2006|p=253}}{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009|p=68}}

===Under Maryam Rajavi leadership===
In 1993, [[Maryam Rajavi]], the spouse of Massoud Rajavi and then General Secretary of the MEK, became president-elect of the NCRI.{{sfn|Cohen|2009|p=12}}

In 1993, NCRI representative [[Mohammad Hossein Naghdi]] was killed in [[Italy]] by assassins. As a result, the [[European Parliament]] issued a condemnation of political murder against the Islamic Republic of Iran.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1= Ronen|date= August 2018 |title= The Mojahedin-e Khalq versus the Islamic Republic of Iran: from war to propaganda and the war on propaganda and diplomacy|journal= Middle Eastern Studies |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages= 1000–1014|doi= 10.1080/00263206.2018.1478813|s2cid= 149542445}}</ref><ref>Chicago Tribune wires, 'Iraq Denies Link with Death of Opposition Leader in Rome', Chicago Tribune (17 March 1993), p.4.</ref><ref>Safa Haeri, 'A bad month', Middle East International, No. 463 (19 November 1993), p.11.</ref>

In 2002 the NCRI exposed nuclear facilities in [[Natanz]] and [[Arak, Iran|Arak]] in Iran. Iran was then declared "in breach of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons", which began to limit the nuclear program in Iran.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2005-08-08|title=Chronology of Iran's Nuclear Program|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/08/international/chronology-of-irans-nuclear-program.html|access-date=2020-09-23|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2020-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930191700/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/08/international/chronology-of-irans-nuclear-program.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2003, French police rounded up 167 PMOI sympathizers and placed 24 people under formal investigation, including the NCRI president Maryam Rajavi. In 2014, after an 11-year probe, the French courts dropped the charges.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-iran-ncri-idUSKBN0HC1OR20140917|title=France drops case against Iranian dissidents after 11-year probe|newspaper=Reuters|date=September 17, 2014|via=www.reuters.com|access-date=May 2, 2023|archive-date=December 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230002204/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-iran-ncri-idUSKBN0HC1OR20140917|url-status=live}}</ref>

The NCRI has in the past three decades recorded and reported human rights violations in Iran to UN Special Rapporteurs, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and other international human rights organisations.<ref name="publications.parliament.uk">[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmfaff/267/267vw15.htm UK House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Committee publication] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227060143/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmfaff/267/267vw15.htm |date=2016-12-27 }}, 10 June 2013,</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-opposition-idUKBRE8B419X20121205|title= Iranian dissident and French lawmakers urge new policy on Iran|website= Reuters|date= 5 December 2012|access-date= 30 May 2023|archive-date= 30 May 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230530150327/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-opposition-idUKBRE8B419X20121205|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1921986 |title=Time to bring Iranian regime to justice |website=Arab News |date=2 September 2021 |access-date=30 May 2023 |archive-date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530150327/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1921986 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211013-iranian-exiles-file-rights-abuse-claim-in-uk-against-raisi |title=Iranian exiles file rights abuse claim in UK against Raisi |website=France 24 |date=13 October 2021 |access-date=30 May 2023 |archive-date=3 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103080614/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211013-iranian-exiles-file-rights-abuse-claim-in-uk-against-raisi |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2020, a majority of members of the US House of Representatives backed a "bipartisan resolution" supporting Maryam Rajavi and the NCRI's "call for a secular, democratic Iran" while "condemning Iranian [[state-sponsored terrorism]]". The resolution, backed by 221 lawmakers (including [[Louie Gohmert]] and [[Sheila Jackson Lee]]), gave support to the Rajavi's 10-point plan for Iran's future (which include "a universal right to vote, market economy, and a non-nuclear Iran") while calling on the prevention of "malign activities of the Iranian regime's diplomatic missions." A NCRI representative said that "The fact that out of ten diplomats or agents of the Iranian regime expelled or jailed in Europe and the U.S. for terror plots over the past two years, eight of them were tied to operations against our movement, is a vivid testimony that the NCRI is the alternative to this regime." The resolution also called on the U.S. to stand "with the people of Iran who are continuing to hold legitimate and peaceful protests" against the Iranian government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/majority-house-members-back-resolution-supporting-iranian-opposition|title=Majority of House members back resolution supporting Iranian opposition, condemning regime's terror|website=[[Fox News]]|date=17 June 2020|access-date=19 June 2020|archive-date=15 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215163258/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/majority-house-members-back-resolution-supporting-iranian-opposition|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/the-world-is-watching-lawmakers-tout-bipartisan-resolution-condemning-iran|title='The world is watching': Lawmakers tout bipartisan resolution condemning Iran|date=17 June 2020|access-date=19 June 2020|archive-date=3 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103201104/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/the-world-is-watching-lawmakers-tout-bipartisan-resolution-condemning-iran|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2021 [[Belgium|Belgian]] court in [[Antwerp]] sentenced [[Assadollah Assadi]], who worked at the Iranian embassy in [[Vienna]], to 20-year jail term for plotting to bomb a rally of NCRI outside [[Paris]] in June 2018. He was arrested in [[Germany]] in June 2018. A Belgian couple of Iranian origin was also arrested with explosives and a detonator. A fourth man, Belgian-Iranian poet Merhad Arefani, was arrested in Paris and accused of being an accomplice. All three were convicted [[Iranian diplomat terror plot trial|in a Belgian court]] for taking part in the plot and given jail terms of 15 to 18 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55931633|title=France bomb plot: Iran diplomat Assadollah Assadi sentenced to 20 years|work=BBC News|date=4 February 2021|access-date=5 February 2021|archive-date=15 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315034922/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55931633|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Free Iran Summit ==
The NCRI holds annual rallies in support of its goals. The "Free Iran" summit in Paris, an annual gathering of over 1,000 former or current officials, dignitaries, and lawmakers, urges the adoption of "a more resolute policy" vis-a-vis Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://iranfreedom.org/en/free-iran-global-summit/ |title=Free Iran Global Summit |publisher=Iran Freedom}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Free Iran Global Summit  |publisher=[[The Washington Times]] |date=13 July 2020 |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/13/free-iran-global-summit/ |language=en-US |access-date=2023-03-11 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714124942/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/13/free-iran-global-summit/ }}</ref> Guests who have attended the summit since 2020 include heads of government, including [[Janez Janša]] and [[Stephen Harper]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rhetoric from 'Free Iran' summit strikes nerve, sparks regime's ire |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jul/11/free-iran-world-summit-2021-sparks-iran-regimes-ir/ |publisher=[[Washington Times]] |date=11 July 2021 |access-date=2023-03-11 |language=en-US}}</ref> prominent American and European ministers and secretaries, such as [[Mike Pompeo]] and [[Bernard Kouchner]], and lawmakers including [[Íngrid Betancourt]], [[Robert Menendez|Bob Menendez]], [[Ted Cruz]], [[Kevin McCarthy]] and [[Hakeem Jeffries]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rhetoric from 'Free Iran' summit strikes nerve, sparks regime's ire |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jul/11/free-iran-world-summit-2021-sparks-iran-regimes-ir/ |publisher=[[Washington Times]] |date=11 July 2021 |access-date=2023-03-11 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-07-10 |title=The Free Iran World Summit 2021 |url=https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/statement-iran-resistance/the-free-iran-world-summit-2021-statement-no-2/ |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=NCRI |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://iranfreedom.org/en/freeiran2022/ |title=Free Iran World Summit}}</ref>  

==Global reception==

The NCRI has received support from US officials including [[Tom Ridge]], [[Howard Dean]], [[Michael Mukasey]], [[Louis Freeh]], [[Hugh Shelton]], [[John Bolton]], [[Bill Richardson]], [[James L. Jones]], [[Rudy Giuliani]], [[Joe Lieberman]], [[Edward G. Rendell]], [[Brian Binley]], and [[Thomas McInerney]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newsweek.com/iran-protests-who-are-opposition-and-who-will-rule-if-regime-falls-772045 |work=News Week |title=Who are the Iranian opposition and who will rule if the regime falls? |date=5 January 2018 |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521001447/https://www.newsweek.com/iran-protests-who-are-opposition-and-who-will-rule-if-regime-falls-772045 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Justin |last=Guskin |title = The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers |publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2007 |page = 90 |isbn = 978-1-58367-155-9 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=bvEz0bT2WWcC&q=national+council+resistance+iran&pg=PA90}}</ref> Some of its supporters have been paid to speak at NCRI events.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-02-05 |title=Trump Cabinet pick paid by controversial Iranian exile group |url=https://apnews.com/article/f8cd86c1a6de470781c8b5f37ef70f5f |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-17 |title=Giuliani's work for Iranian group with bloody past could lead to more legal woes |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/giuliani-s-work-iranian-group-bloody-past-could-lead-more-n1067766 |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Shane |first=Scott |date=2012-09-21 |title=Iranian Dissidents Convince U.S. to Drop Terror Label |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-opposition-group-mek-wins-removal-from-us-terrorist-list.html |access-date=2025-06-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The group actively lobbies in the US Congress and the EU parliament,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wax |first=Eddy |date=19 June 2025 |title=The European Parliament's Iran lobby |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/the-capitals-the-european-parliaments-iran-lobby/ |website=[[Euractiv]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Shane |first=Scott |date=2012-09-21 |title=Iranian Dissidents Convince U.S. to Drop Terror Label |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/middleeast/iranian-opposition-group-mek-wins-removal-from-us-terrorist-list.html |access-date=2025-06-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National Council of Resistance of Iran Lobbyists |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/lobbyists?cycle=2025&id=D000097591 |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=OpenSecrets |language=en}}</ref> despite official denial.<ref>{{cite book |first=Darren |last=Tomblay |title = Political Influence Operations: How Foreign Actors Seek to Shape U.S. Policy Making |publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2001 |isbn = 978-1-5381-0331-9 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=euhPDwAAQBAJ&q=ncri&pg=PA63 }}</ref>

The NCRI, along with the MEK is regarded by the governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the [[Iraq|Republic of Iraq]] as a [[terrorist organization]],<ref name="United Nations Committee against Torture 2008">{{citation|author=United Nations Committee against Torture|editor=Jose Antonio Ocampo|editor-link=Jose Antonio Ocampo|volume=1|title=Selected Decisions of the Committee Against Torture: Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman Or Degrading Treatment Or Punishment|publisher=United Nations Publications|year=2008|at=p. 212, Communication N 2582004 section 7.2|isbn=978-92-1-154185-4|quote=The MEK has been involved in terrorist activities and is therefore a less legitimate replacement for the current regime.|id=E 08 XIV4; HR/CAT/PUB/1}}</ref> and was classified as a [[U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|Foreign Terrorist Organization]] by the [[United States]], alleging that the NCRI "is not a separate organization, but is instead, and has been, an integral part of the MEK at all relevant times" and that the NCRI is "the political branch" of the MEK.<ref name="fasfbi">{{cite web| title =DC Court of Appeals Rules Against NCRI Petition for Review of "Foreign Terrorist Organization" Designation| publisher =[[United States Court of Appeals]], [[District of Columbia]]| date =July 9, 2004| url =http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/mek-usca070904.pdf| access-date =2006-12-28| archive-date =2009-03-27| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090327094740/http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/mek-usca070904.pdf| url-status =live}}</ref> On September 28, 2012, the US State Department formally removed MEK from its list of terrorist organizations in a decision made by then-Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]], ahead of an October 1 deadline set by a US appeals court.<ref name="Shane" />

[[Dick Armey]] suggested that the State Department wrongly included MEK in the terrorist list from the beginning.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thehill.com/op-eds/empowering-the-democratic-opposition-in-iran-2007-07-24.html |title=Empowering the democratic opposition in Iran |work=The Hill |date=July 24, 2007 |access-date=2012-12-04 |archive-date=2008-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207134929/http://www.thehill.com/op-eds/empowering-the-democratic-opposition-in-iran-2007-07-24.html  }}</ref> [[Alireza Jafarzadeh]] was its official representative in the US until the Washington office was closed by the US State Department in 2002 on the grounds that it was only a front group for the MEK by then listed as a [[terrorism|terrorist organisation]] in the US.<ref name="glw22feb06">{{cite web|url=http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2006/657/657p16.htm|title=IRAN: US relies on terrorists for nuke 'intelligence'|access-date=2006-05-01|work=Green Left Weekly|author=Lorimer, Doug|date=February 22, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060308093955/http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2006/657/657p16.htm|archive-date=March 8, 2006}}</ref> It has been alleged that the inclusion of NCRI and MEK in the list was a token offered to the Iranian government rather than based on the facts of the matter. According to the ''Wall Street Journal''<ref name="WSJ">{{Citation|title=Iranian Imbroglio Gives New Boost To Odd Exile Group|date=2006-11-29|work=Wall Street Journal|author=Andrew Higgins and Jay Solomon}}</ref> "Senior diplomats in the Clinton administration say the MEK figured prominently as a bargaining chip in a bridge-building effort with Tehran." The Journal added that: In 1997, the State Department added the MEK to a list of global terrorist organizations as "a signal" of the US's desire for rapprochement with Tehran's reformists, said [[Martin Indyk]], who at the time was assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs. [[President Khatami]]'s government "considered it a pretty big deal," Indyk said.

The [[European Union]] in May 2004 implied that NCRI is part of the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]] and excluded the NCRI itself from a list of organisations considered to be terrorist organisations, including the People's Mujahedin of Iran "minus the National Council of Resistance of Iran" on its list of terrorist organisations.<ref>{{cite web| title =Council Common Position 2004/500/CESP of 17 May 2004| publisher =[[Council of the European Union]]| date =May 17, 2004| url =http://europa.eu/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2004/l_196/l_19620040603en00120016.pdf| access-date =2006-12-28| archive-date =2020-05-09| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20200509082241/http://europa.eu/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2004/l_196/l_19620040603en00120016.pdf| url-status =live}}</ref>
On January 26, 2009, [[Council of the European Union|EU Council of Ministers]] agreed to remove the MEK from the EU terror list. The group said it was the outcome of a "seven-year-long legal and political battle".<ref>{{cite web |last=Runner |first=Philippa |url=http://euobserver.com/9/27472 |title=/ Foreign Affairs / EU ministers drop Iran group from terror list |publisher=Euobserver.com |date=2012-11-20 |access-date=2012-12-04 |archive-date=2013-01-03 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103130029/http://euobserver.com/foreign/27472 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/01/26/EU_removes_PMOI_from_terrorist_list/UPI-44751232989491/ |title=EU removes PMOI from terrorist list |publisher=UPI.com |date=2009-01-26 |access-date=2012-12-04 |archive-date=2013-01-03 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103130321/http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/01/26/EU_removes_PMOI_from_terrorist_list/UPI-44751232989491/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUKLQ200287 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203081847/http://uk.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUKLQ200287 |archive-date=3 February 2009 |work=Reuters|first=Mark|last=John|title=EU takes Iran opposition group off terror list|date=January 26, 2009}}</ref><ref name="euroncriterrorist">{{cite web|title=Council Common Position 2004/500/CESP of 17 May 2004|publisher=[[Council of the European Union]]|date=May 17, 2004|url=http://europa.eu/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2004/l_196/l_19620040603en00120016.pdf|access-date=2006-12-28|archive-date=2020-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509082241/http://europa.eu/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2004/l_196/l_19620040603en00120016.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[European Union]] had previously listed the MEK on its list but excluded the NCRI itself from the list of organizations considered to be terrorist organizations.<ref name=EUJournal>{{cite journal|title=COUNCIL DECISION|journal=Official Journal of the European Union|date=28 June 2007|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2007/l_169/l_16920070629en00580062.pdf|access-date=8 November 2013|archive-date=28 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928121124/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2007/l_169/l_16920070629en00580062.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> According to some sources, it has an active global network.<ref>[[Anthony H. Cordesman]], Adam C. Seitz [https://books.google.com/books?id=vK8WU7OWKpwC&pg=PA327&lpg=PA327&  ''Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Birth of a Regional Nuclear Arms Race?.'']
[[Praeger Publishing|Praeger Security International Series]]  [[ABC-CLIO]], 2009  p.327.</ref>{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://elpais.com/politica/2019/01/11/actualidad/1547224673_461197.html |title=El País: El exilio iraní financió el 80% de la campaña de Vox de 2014 |newspaper=El País |date=13 January 2019 |access-date=2023-12-10 |archive-date=2023-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116230647/https://elpais.com/politica/2019/01/11/actualidad/1547224673_461197.html |url-status=live |last1=Gil |first1=Joaquín |last2=Irujo |first2=José María }}</ref>{{Clarify|date=June 2025}} 
	
The Middle East department of the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] (FCO) in the [[United Kingdom]] stated in early 2006 that it is widely understood that "Iran's [nuclear] program, which was kept secret from the [[IAEA]] for 18 years, became public knowledge largely because of revelations of the NCRI, and this led to heightened international concern."<ref name=MediaLine>{{cite web|title=RESISTANCE GROUP CLAIMS EVIDENCE OF IRANIAN BOMB AMBITIONS|url=http://www.themedialine.org/news/print_news_detail.asp?NewsID=12384|publisher=The Media Line|access-date=8 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005210718/http://www.themedialine.org/news/print_news_detail.asp?NewsID=12384|archive-date=5 October 2006}}</ref> At the same time [[Michael Axworthy]], former head of the Iran section at the FCO, claimed that the NCRI is a "tightly disciplined [[front organization]] for the MEK" and deemed them unreliable.<ref name="axworthy">{{cite web| last =Kliger| first =Rachelle| title =Resistance group claims evidence of Iranian bomb ambitions| publisher =The Media Line| date =January 11, 2006| url =http://www.nci.org/06nci/01/02.htm| access-date =2006-12-28| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100119012003/http://www.nci.org/06nci/01/02.htm| archive-date =January 19, 2010}}</ref>

In a meeting at the Council of Europe in April 2006, Maryam Rajavi elaborated on the movement's vision for a future Iran and presented a Ten Point Plan for Future Iran, according to the organisation's website.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ncr-iran.org/en/ten-point-plan |title=NCRI Website: Maryam Rajavi's Ten Point Plan for Future Iran |access-date=2016-12-26 |archive-date=2016-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227125511/http://ncr-iran.org/en/ten-point-plan |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="publications.parliament.uk"/><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.newsweek.com/iran-raisi-mek-tehran-ncri-1608250|title= Iran Rebels See Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as Chance to Bring Down Regime|website= NewsWeek|date= 9 July 2021|access-date= 30 May 2023|archive-date= 30 August 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220830115841/https://www.newsweek.com/iran-raisi-mek-tehran-ncri-1608250|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.arabnews.com/node/2247466/middle-east|title= US Congress introduces resolution in support of push for democracy and freedom in Iran|website= Arab News|date= 8 February 2023|access-date= 30 May 2023|archive-date= 30 May 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230530151833/https://www.arabnews.com/node/2247466/middle-east|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Making Sense of The MeK|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/making-sense-mek-65496|work=National Interest|first=Ilan|last=Berman|date=5 July 2019|access-date=9 July 2019|archive-date=11 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911133600/https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/making-sense-mek-65496|url-status=live}}</ref> The plan has been supported by British MPs,<ref name="publications.parliament.uk"/> some arguing that it is a potential programme that "would transform Iran" since it calls for the abolition of the death penalty, the creation of a modern legal system and the independence of judges.<ref name="publications.parliament.uk"/> At a debate on the human rights situation in Iran in the House of Lords on December 8, 2016, [[David Alton|Lord Alton of Liverpool]] said, "The manifesto says: Cruel and degrading punishments will have no place in the future Iran. Madam Rajavi would end Tehran's funding of Hamas, Hezbollah and other militant groups and is committed to peaceful coexistence, relations with all countries and respect for the United Nations charter."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2016-12-08/debates/1117FCF0-EE8C-4A7A-BED2-DE9108AD65DC/IranHumanRights |title=House of Lords Hansard Volume 777, Lords Chamber, Iran: Human Rights, 08 December 2016 |access-date=2016-12-26 |archive-date=2016-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227060438/https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2016-12-08/debates/1117FCF0-EE8C-4A7A-BED2-DE9108AD65DC/IranHumanRights |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a [[RAND Corporation|RAND]] report, the NCRI styles itself as a parliament-in-exile<ref>{{cite book |first=Marianna |last=Charountaki |title = The Kurds and US Foreign Policy: International Relations in the Middle East since 1945 (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics) 1st Edición |publisher = Routledge |year=2010 |page = 63 |isbn = 978-0415587532 |url =https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Kurds_and_US_Foreign_Policy/TQfGBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ncri+%22parliament+in+exile%22&pg=RA1-PT36&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> representing the Iranian opposition, with Maryam Rajavi serving as its president-elect and advocating for the creation of a democratic Islamic republic in Iran. Also according to the RAND report, the organization launched campaigns to highlight human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic and provided intelligence on state activities to Western governments. It communicated its positions through dedicated media outlets, including newspapers and a radio station.{{sfn|Goulka|Hansell|Wilke|Larson|2009}}

On 31 July 2025, Maryam Rajavi proposed the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and the establishment of a democratic, non-nuclear state during a rally in Rome organized by the [[National Council of Resistance of Iran]]. The event drew support from notable Western political figures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran opposition group pledges Islamic Republic's overthrow at Rome rally|url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/202507313480|publisher=Iranintl}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Iranian opposition]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first=Ervand |last=Abrahamian |author-link=Ervand Abrahamian |title=Radical Islam: The Iranian Mojahedin |year=1989 |publisher=[[I. B. Tauris]] |isbn=978-1-85043-077-3}}
* {{cite book |title=Terrornomics |editor-first=David |editor-last=Gold |pages=66–76 |isbn=978-1-317-04590-8 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2016 |chapter=An Analysis of the Role of the Iranian Diaspora in the Financial Support System of the ''Mujahedin-e-Khalq'' |first=Mark Edmond |last=Clark |doi=10.4324/9781315612140}}
* {{cite book |first=Ronen |last=Cohen |author-link=Ronen A. Cohen |title=The Rise and Fall of the Mojahedin Khalq, 1987-1997: Their Survival After the Islamic Revolution and Resistance to the Islamic Republic of Iran |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-84519-270-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=juEUAQAAIAAJ |access-date=2024-02-18 |archive-date=2023-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529113125/https://books.google.com/books?id=juEUAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite report |last1=Goulka |first1=Jeremiah |last2=Hansell |first2=Lydia |last3=Wilke |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Larson |first4=Judith |year=2009 |title=The Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iraq: A Policy Conundrum |publisher=[[RAND corporation]] |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG871.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222043501/http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG871.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2016 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Katzman |chapter=Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran |title=Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country? |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |year=2001 |editor-first=Albert V. |editor-last=Benliot |isbn=978-1-56072-954-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x1a6c2J49j4C |access-date=2024-02-18 |archive-date=2023-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609193827/https://books.google.com/books?id=x1a6c2J49j4C |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|first=Nikki R.|last=Keddie|author-link=Nikki Keddie|title=Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution|year=2006|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-12105-6}}
* {{cite journal |first=James A. |last=Piazza |title=The Democratic Islamic Republic of Iran in Exile |date=October 1994 |journal=Digest of Middle East Studies |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=9–43 |doi=10.1111/j.1949-3606.1994.tb00535.x}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Official website|https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/}}

{{People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran|state=expanded}}
{{Iranian exiled parties}}
{{Iran–United States relations}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Council Of Resistance Of Iran}}
[[Category:National Council of Resistance of Iran| ]]
[[Category:Governments in exile]]
[[Category:Political party alliances in Iran]]
[[Category:People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran]]
[[Category:Organizations formerly designated as terrorist by the United States]]
[[Category:1981 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Organisations designated as terrorist by Iran]]
[[Category:Banned political parties in Iran]]
[[Category:Political organisations based in France]]
[[Category:Iran–United States relations]]
[[Category:France–Iran relations]]
[[Category:Political opposition alliances]]
[[Category:Nuclear program of Iran]]