As an academic and a British woman of Iranian origin living in the UK, I have long observed the West’s approach to Iran with a mixture of hope and frustration. But today, when the barbaric regime in Iran wages repression at home and war abroad, Iranian women lead a historic movement for freedom.
The time has come for a moral reckoning. The UK must abandon the failed policy of appeasement and support what Iranian women have long demanded: a democratic republic, free from both the remnants of the Shah’s dictatorship and any fractions of the ruling theocracy.
Iranian women: the frontline of resistance
In January 2025, the UK parliament held a session dedicated to the role of Iranian women in the struggle for democracy. Lawmakers from across parties praised the courage of women who have risked everything from the streets of Tehran to the prisons of Evin, to demand freedom, equality, and justice.
As Baroness O’Loan stated: “This fight is not just about compulsory hijab; it is for freedom, democracy, and the eradication of religious tyranny.”
This is not rhetoric. It is reality. Iranian women have been tortured, raped, and executed for demanding basic rights. And yet, they continue to lead. They are the moral backbone of a nation in revolt.
The third option: a democratic republic led by the people
Since 2003, Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has proposed a third option: regime change by the Iranian people and their organised resistance, not through foreign military intervention, and not through appeasement.
Rajavi’s ‘ten-point plan’ envisions a secular, democratic republic based on gender equality, abolition of the death penalty, and a non-nuclear Iran.
This vision is not abstract. It is rooted in the lived experience of millions of Iranians, especially women, who in the 2022 uprisings chanted: “No to the Shah; No to the Supreme Leader; Yes to a Democratic Republic”. They rejected both the past dictatorship and the current theocracy. They want a future built on democratic values.
In her speech to the 18 June 2025 conference at the European parliament in Strasbourg, Rajavi said:
“The only viable solution remains the overthrow of this regime by the people of Iran and the Iranian resistance. Twenty-one years ago, I stood in this very parliament and declared that the solution for Iran lies neither in appeasement nor in war, but in a third option: regime change by the people of Iran and the organised resistance. I warned that the policy of appeasement encourages the clerical regime to persist in its policies and, ultimately, imposes war upon Western nations. I said let us not allow the Munich experience to be repeated with clerics armed with nuclear bombs.
“And today, we see that appeasement has indeed led to the imposition of war. Once again, I emphasise that lasting peace and security in this part of the world require regime change in Iran, brought about by the people of Iran and the Iranian resistance.”
The regime’s fear of women and truth
The Iranian regime knows that its greatest threat is not a foreign army, but the women and youth who defy it daily. That is why it invests heavily in disinformation, character assassination, and lobbying efforts across Europe, including in the UK, to discredit the main Iranian resistance organisation, namely the MEK (the People’s Mojahedin Organisation), and silence its supporters.
The UK’s own intelligence services have warned of the regime’s covert influence operations. In Germany, the Hamburg branch of the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) recently confirmed that the regime actively spies on Iranian dissidents, particularly those affiliated with the NCRI. These are part of a broader campaign to suppress the truth.
A new UK policy: from caution to conscience
The UK government has taken steps to counter foreign influence, placing Iran at the top tier of its Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. This is a welcome move. But it must go further.
The UK should:
- Recognise the NCRI as a legitimate democratic alternative.
- Sanction the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity.
- Support Iranian women activists and political prisoners.
- End all diplomatic gestures that legitimise a regime built on misogyny and violence.
As a British-Iranian woman, a scholar, who was born in Iran but lived most of her life in UK, I believe that our government in UK has a historic opportunity and responsibility to stand on the right side of history. Supporting the third option is not just a political choice: it is a human rights imperative.
The women of Iran have already chosen their path. The question is: will Britain walk beside them?
