On the brutal repression against protesters in Iran

G.whereas the Islamic Republic of Iran’s destabilising actions, particularly those carried out by the IRGC, have extended beyond Iran’s borders and endangered regional stability;

H.whereas Parliament’s President decided to prohibit the staff and other officials of Iranian diplomatic missions from accessing Parliament’s premises;

I.whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency recently concluded that Iran has failed to comply with its nuclear safeguard obligations owing to its continued failure to cooperate fully, provide credible explanations with regard to undeclared nuclear material and grant the necessary access to inspectors;

Condemnation of the repression

1.Expresses its strong condemnation of and deep outrage at the brutal repression and mass killings perpetrated by the Iranian regime against protesters who have taken to the streets in dozens of cities over the past two weeks;

2.Considers that the scale of the protests, the demonstrators’ courage and the brutality of the repression further demonstrate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s weakness and the erosion of its legitimacy, as well as the deep political and administrative deadlock in which its inhumane regime, opposed as it is to religious, cultural and ethnic pluralism, finds itself;

3.Expresses its profound indignation at reports of attacks and intimidation carried out by oppressive security forces and members of the IRGC against the families and relatives of those killed during the protests;

4.Condemns the Iranian regime’s efforts to censor the protests by cutting internet access and telephone networks across the country;

5.Is alarmed that the killing of thousands of protesters signals a chilling shift in the Iranian regime’s policy of suppression, from deterrence to strategic elimination; deplores the fact that these widespread killings are not the result of sporadic clashes but of a widespread and systematic policy, and of a premeditated decision to eliminate any resistance and protests;

6.Recalls its numerous recent resolutions denouncing the Iranian regime’s unrestrained and escalating human rights violations, notably its systemic discrimination against women and young people and its persecution of human rights defenders and ethnic and religious communities, including through arbitrary detention, unfair trials and systematic harassment;

7.Demands that the Iranian authorities immediately and unconditionally release all persons imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in connection with the protests, and drop all charges against them;

8.Urges the UN Human Rights Council to establish an international investigative and accountability mechanism for human rights violations perpetrated by the Islamic Republic of Iran, which include violent repression, arbitrary arrests and the unlawful killing of peaceful protesters;

9.Calls on the Member States to hold Iranian officials who are proven to be directly involved in the ongoing repression accountable for their crimes under international law;

Situation in the country

10.Categorically rejects the Iranian authorities’ claims that the protests were instigated by foreign agents; notes that the protests stem from the profound discontent of large segments of Iranian society, particularly young people, women and minority groups, with the deep and multiple crises facing the country, and from a growing rejection of the increasingly authoritarian and oppressive political system;

11.Pays tribute to and expresses its strong support for the courageous Iranian people who, for weeks, have taken to the streets to protest against extremely difficult economic and social conditions and against the oppression of the regime; expresses particular admiration for the many young people, women and human rights defenders who continue to fight for their rights despite the personal repercussions and brutal repression they face;

12.Recognises in the vast wave of protests against the regime an unequivocal demand for change after years of oppression; extends its full solidarity to the Iranian diaspora, which plays a crucial role in demanding freedom and democracy and supporting the protests;

13.Recognises the crucial role played by the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement in instilling courage in the population and protesters and in exposing the regime’s weakness and detachment from the Iranian people; recalls that this movement too has been violently repressed, through the killing of more than 500 people and the arrest of over 22 000 individuals, demonstrating the entrenched nature of the Iranian regime’s brutality;

14.Condemns the Iranian regime’s links with and support for the former repressive dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen, and underlines Iran’s weakness and diminished regional influence;

15.Expresses concern at the multifaceted climate crisis afflicting the country, including the most severe water crisis in more than six decades, which is causing frequent water outages, informal rationing of drinking water and a deterioration in water quality; underlines the danger that Tehran, home to 10 million people, may have to be evacuated on account of water shortages; notes with concern that this situation is compounded by political ineffectiveness;

16.Expresses solidarity with all individuals in Iran persecuted for their beliefs or identity and recognises the courage of minority communities facing systemic discrimination; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all persons detained solely for exercising their freedom of religion or belief;

17.Observes that a combination of mismanagement, corruption, international sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear programme and the consequences of the war of June 2025 have caused rampant inflation and unemployment, steadily weakening the middle class and expanding the ranks of the struggling poor;

18.Condemns the Islamic Republic of Iran’s systemic discrimination against women and other vulnerable groups through laws and regulations that severely restrict freedoms and rights, including the degrading compulsory veiling law and its abusive enforcement, severe restrictions on women’s sexual and reproductive health rights, and violations of women’s political, social, economic, cultural and personal rights;

EU action

19.Calls on the EU institutions to exert the strongest possible diplomatic influence in support of the protests; calls on the Commission and the Member States to further isolate the regime and to urge Iran’s neighbouring countries and partners to work immediately on diplomatic solutions that promote freedom and democracy in Iran;

20.Calls on the European External Action Service to produce regular reports on the situation in Iran; suggests establishing or identifying a domain in which the names of all victims of the recent massacres can be registered, in order to document and preserve records of those killed or harmed;

21.Welcomes the commitment of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) to implement further restrictive measures against Iran; calls on the Council and the Member States to swiftly expand existing restrictive measures in order to respond urgently and appropriately to the ongoing repression; deplores some Member States’ abiding opposition to strengthening restrictive measures against Iran’s regime;

22.Reiterates its call for the Council to designate the IRGC a terrorist organisation and to extend EU sanctions to all IRGC members; stresses that this decision is long overdue;

23.Calls for targeted personal sanctions against regime officials responsible for repression and human rights violations;

24.Highlights the numerous cases of IRGC-led assassinations and attempted assassinations on European soil in recent years; urges the Member States to take immediate legal action against the IRGC at national level;

25.Demands tighter controls on the export of technologies and other dual-use items that could be used for surveillance or internal repression; urges the Commission and the Member States to take diplomatic and technical measures to help circumvent internet shutdowns in Iran and to actively support the visibility and dissemination of information from Iranian civil society and protesters when access to free communication is denied;

26.Recalls that a substantial part of Iran’s economy is under IRGC control and that any policy of engagement or financial facilitation effectively strengthens an institution that poses a direct threat to European and allied security interests;

27.Calls for Member States’ domestic intelligence services to be strengthened to avert potential threats emanating from Iran, including those directed against the Iranian exile community;

28.Encourages the Commission to expand technical and financial assistance to Iranian civil society; calls on the Member States to facilitate visa, asylum and emergency grant procedures for those forced to flee Iran, particularly trade unionists, human and women’s rights activists, journalists, civil society members and representatives of minorities;

29.Urges Iran to grant the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran full and unrestricted access to the country; calls for the EU and the Member States to fully support the UN Special Rapporteur and to advocate for the extension of the Fact-Finding Mission beyond April 2026;

30.Reiterates its condemnation of Iran’s hostage diplomacy; urges the EU to develop a strategy to counter hostage-taking, including the creation of a dedicated task force to identify areas in which it can leverage influence against the Iranian regime, assist detainees’ families and prevent further hostage-taking; calls on Iran to immediately and unconditionally release all EU nationals who remain in detention in the country;

31.Calls on the Member States’ intelligence services and the StratCom Task Force to cooperate actively in countering online disinformation, cyber operations and intimidation directed against the Iranian diaspora;

32.Notes that Iran and Russia have increasingly shared critical intelligence and cooperated on evading sanctions through front companies, banking links and oil transfers with tracking devices turned off; calls for better enforcement of EU sanctions, an urgent upgrade of automatic identification systems to counter sanctions and embargo evasion, and increased surveillance and inspections of suspected Iranian vessels;

33.Invites the VP/HR to initiate an inclusive dialogue with the full spectrum of the Iranian opposition, with the aim of promoting a democratic, free and pluralistic future for Iran;

34.Highlights the significant potential of Iranian society, given its educated and globally connected population and the country’s vast natural resources; is convinced that promoting the country’s diverse communities and fundamental regional, cultural and ethnic diversity is key to securing a democratic and peaceful future for Iran;

35.Reaffirms its solidarity with the Iranian people and its support for the goal of establishing a free Iran in which universal human rights and equality prevail, shaped peacefully and by the sovereign will of the Iranian people themselves, without external interference;

°

° °

36.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the Government and Parliament of Iran, and asks for this resolution to be translated into Persian.