What changed between the resolution motion and the resolution motion joint

Removed:B100069/2026

European Parliament resolution on the brutal repression against protesters in Iran

(2026/2565(RSP))

The European Parliament,

Removed:– having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

Removed:– having regard to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,

Changed:– having regard to theits Universalresolution Declarationof 13 November 2025 on addressing transnational repression of Humanhuman Rights,rights defenders,

Removed:– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

Added:– having regard to the statements by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Kaja Kallas, following the violent crackdown in January 2026,

Removed:– having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) on Iran Nuclear Issue,

Added:– having regard to the awarding of the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran,

Added:– having regard to the decision by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to ban all diplomatic staff and representatives of the Iranian regime from all Parliament premises,

Added:– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

Added:– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,

Added:– having regard to the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime,

Added:– having regard to the EU guidelines on violence against women and girls and combating all forms of discrimination against them,

Added:– having regard to the joint statement of 13 January 2026 by UN Special Rapporteurs and independent experts,

Added:– having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

Added:– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

– having regard to the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,

Change 1

Removed:– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

Added:– having regard to the press release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 10 January 2026, entitled ‘Iran: UN Fact-Finding Mission calls for immediate restoration of internet access and adherence to international human rights law’,

Removed:A. whereas since 28 December 2025, a wave of nationwide protests has engulfed the Islamic Republic of Iran;

Added:– having regard to Rules 136(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

Removed:B. whereas the protests initially started as a response to the collapse of the Iranian currency against the dollar, and discontent of merchants whose activities and profits were threatened, including by government economic reform;

Added:A. whereas on 28 December 2025, demonstrations broke out in Iran and quickly developed into nationwide protests, with tens of thousands of Iranians pouring onto the streets across different cities and provinces as of 8 January 2026, rising to hundreds of thousands in the following days; whereas the demonstrations were initiated by bazaar merchants who closed their shops to protest against Iran’s faltering economy, their marginalisation within it, the collapse of the currency and the erosion of living standards, and they evolved into larger anti-government protests representing a wide spectrum of Iranian society, with demonstrators calling for fundamental political change and an end to the current regime;

Removed:C. whereas strike actions had been under way previously, for example, by drivers and workers in the oil industry;

Added:B. whereas the demonstrations were initially spurred by deep-seated grievances over the disastrous state of the country’s economy, skyrocketing food prices, rising inflation and widespread corruption; whereas the Iranian regime has consistently failed to meet the basic needs of its population;

Removed:D. whereas these protests quickly broadened, expressing widespread discontent and criticism of the government, political repression and corruption;

Added:C. whereas the Iranian security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the police, have carried out a systematic violent nationwide crackdown on protesters, using lethal force enabled by Chinese equipment and surveillance technology, and murdering and detaining thousands of peaceful demonstrators; whereas there are reports that the Iranian security forces have used chemical weapons to supress the protests; whereas the number of people killed is currently underestimated because an internet blackout is impeding communication; whereas according to the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, credible reports indicate that the Supreme National Security Council issued a statement ordering the security forces to wage a ‘decisive’ crackdown to end the protests; whereas according to the UN Fact-Finding Mission state violence was particularly brutal in ethnic minority regions; whereas the Iranian authorities have carried out mass arbitrary arrests, detaining thousands of protesters, activists, journalists and human rights defenders, without due process and on the basis of false charges relating to national security; whereas the Iranian judiciary has accelerated summary proceedings against detained protesters in unfair trials, and has imposed the death penalty; whereas during the protests the Iranian judiciary carried out death sentences based on prior convictions;

Removed:E. whereas on 8 January 2026, the Iranian authorities responded to the unrest by shutting down the internet before launching a violent crackdown involving mass arrests and the use of deadly force;

Added:D. whereas these actions constitute serious violations of international human rights law, including obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party;

Removed:F. whereas the Islamic Republic concentrates political and religious authority in the hands of a number of parallel institutions thereby undermining the republic’s democratic institutions;

Added:E. whereas Iran continues to apply the death penalty as a key instrument of repression to intimidate protesters and silence dissent;

Removed:G. whereas the Islamic Republic has a long-standing record of systematic repression, including arbitrary arrests, executions, censorship and violent crackdowns on peaceful protests, particularly against women, students, workers and human rights defenders;

Added:F. whereas since 8 January 2026, the Iranian authorities have imposed a country-wide communications blackout, cutting off internet access and shutting down mobile phone and landline networks in one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated blackouts in global history, hindering the ability of the Iranian people to communicate, organise and inform the outside world amid a brutal crackdown, with the aim of obscuring the true extent of the protests and the brutality of the crackdown and of undermining medical assistance; whereas Iran is a major perpetrator of internet shutdowns and has a long history of blocking internet and telecommunication access during times of unrest to silence dissent and crack down on protests;

G. whereas the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association is protected by Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Change 2

Removed:I. whereas UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that he was shocked by reports of violence and excessive use of force by the Iranian authorities against protesters in multiple locations;

Added:H. whereas the regime’s leadership continues to be oblivious to the legitimate demands of the protesters; whereas according to the United Nations Statistics Division nearly 60 % of Iran’s population is under the age of 39, and most of the population was born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution;

Added:I. whereas the Iranian authorities have publicly threatened to further crack down on the protests and harshly punish those involved; whereas on 14 January 2026 Iran’s Justice Minister reportedly stated that anyone arrested after 8 January was a criminal and terrorist, effectively criminalising peaceful protest and further repressing freedom of expression and assembly; whereas Parliament has consistently and unequivocally condemned the Iranian regime’s oppression and violence against its own people, including the use of executions, the imposition of death sentences following unfair trials, inhumane detention conditions, and the systematic targeting of political activists and of ethnic and religious communities; whereas Parliament has repeatedly called for the IRGC to be designated a terrorist organisation;

J. whereas seven UN human rights experts called upon the Iranian authorities to break the cycle of violence, respect the people’s fundamental right to be able to voice dissent and participate in peaceful protests without fear of reprisals, and address the people’s demands regarding civil, political, economic and cultural rights;

Change 3

Removed:K. whereas the internet shutdown greatly complicated access to reliable sources and information on the extent of human rights violations on the ground;

Added:K. whereas the recent wave of demonstrations is the culmination of a long series of mass protests followed by terrible crackdowns; whereas Iran’s last nationwide uprisings – the ‘Green Movement’ upheaval in 2009 and the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement of September 2022, sparked by the killing of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini by the country’s morality police – also met with brutal repression, targeting women with shotgun fire to their faces, breasts and genitals;

Removed:L. whereas nevertheless even Iran’s Supreme Leader has now admitted ‘thousands of deaths’, and a US-based human rights group reported at least 3 090 confirmed deaths, including 2 885 protesters, 165 members of government security forces, and 21 non-protesting civilians; whereas recent reports by Reuters suggest that at least 4 500 protesters have been killed by state security forces;

Added:L. whereas the European Parliament awarded its 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran as a tribute to all the brave women, men and young people in Iran who, under enormous pressure, have kept up the fight for their rights and for change;

Removed:M. whereas widespread protests were also sparked off in 2017 by the government’s economic policies; whereas in 2019 nationwide civil protests were triggered by a 50 to 200 % increase in fuel prices;

Added:M. whereas state policies have enabled the routine enforcement of mandatory dress regulations through morality patrols, surveillance technologies and administrative penalties, resulting in arrests, fines, denial of access to education and employment, and custodial sentences for women and girls who do not comply; whereas there are documented cases of physical abuse and deaths in custody linked to such enforcement; whereas the immense courage and resolve of the brave women of Iran, who have met the regime’s cowardly tactics with fearlessness and defiance, have been crucial to the resistance against this brutal regime;

Removed:N. whereas the 2009 Green Movement contested the presidential election results and demanded democratic reforms, women’s rights and human rights, but was repressed;

Added:N. whereas the Islamic Republic of Iran has played a highly destabilising role within the Middle East and the broader region, including by propping up terrorist proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza and Shia militias in Iraq, and establishing an axis of terror stretching throughout the entire region; whereas Iran’s pernicious influence is not limited to the Middle East, as it continues to pose an enormous risk to European security and democracies around the world through hybrid threats and malign cyber activities, including by abetting Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine, for example by supplying armed drones, missiles and ammunition and providing technology and training that has allowed Russia to ramp up its production, and supporting the Venezuelan dictatorship;

Removed:O. whereas the latest protests therefore seem to be part of a longer history of social and political struggles by the Iranian people;

Added:O. whereas credible evidence indicates that Iranian diplomatic missions in several Member States have been involved in propaganda, disinformation and intimidation targeting Iranian diaspora communities in Europe, in breach of international law and the principles governing diplomatic relations;

Removed:P. whereas protests in recent years, notably those following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, have shown the power of social movements and their ability to achieve results and bring about change in Iran;

Added:P. whereas the EU has adopted three sanctions regimes against Iran: one in response to serious human rights violations in the country, renewed annually and last extended until 13 April 2026, one in relation to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the third in response to Iran’s military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and for armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region; whereas via these regimes more than 230 individuals and 40 entities in Iran, including the IRGC, are currently under sanction;

Removed:Q. whereas the 2024 report of a UN fact-finding mission stated that the state bore responsibility for the unlawful death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022 after being arrested for allegedly wearing ‘improper’ hijab which triggered the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement that brought to the fore demands to eliminate entrenched discrimination against women and girls, embodied by the country’s legislation on the mandatory hijab laws;

Added:Q. whereas, in January 2026, Parliament, through a decision by its President, prohibited all diplomatic staff and representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran from entering any Parliament premises in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg in response to the Iranian authorities’ violent crackdown on nationwide protests and their refusal to respect fundamental freedoms, with Iranian passport holders subject to screening and denial of entry if identified as acting on behalf of the regime;

Removed:R. whereas the widespread ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement resulted, for example, in the Iranian Government’s announcing the abolition of the Guidance Patrol, also known as the morality police, and a reduction in the physical monitoring and enforcement of dress code provisions, notably in large cities; whereas while no legislative measure has been adopted to formally repeal the requirement, the mandatory wearing of the veil is in many places no longer enforced;

Added:R. whereas in recent years the Iranian authorities have intensified the persecution and punishment of ethnic and religious communities, notably Christians, with national courts handing down lengthy prison sentences on charges related solely to their faith or religious activities;

Removed:S. whereas there can be no doubt about the legitimacy of the genuine grievances of the Iranian people and their struggle for civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, and their right to peaceful assembly and protest;

Added:1. Expresses its unequivocal condemnation of and outrage at the brutal repression and mass murders perpetrated by the Iranian regime against protesters who have taken to the streets in dozens of cities over the past two weeks; expresses its full solidarity with the people of Iran and its brave and legitimate protest movement which is demanding dignity, safety and respect for the rights of the Iranian people;