Berlin Conference Backs Iran Change Roadmap with Maryam Rajavi

A high-profile conference titled “Iran: Prospects for Change” was held in Berlin on Sunday, February 8, bringing together Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the Iranian Resistance, alongside members of Germany’s federal parliament and a broad group of European and U.S. political, diplomatic, and legal figures.

The conference featured prominent participants including Charles Michel, former President of the European Council and former Prime Minister of Belgium; Andreas Reinicke, head of the German Orient Institute and former EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process; Joachim Bitterlich, former foreign and European policy adviser to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl; Ambassador Joachim Rucker, former President of the UN Human Rights Council; Ambassador Robert Joseph, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security; Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs; Rudolf Adam, former deputy head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service; Gunther Nooke, former Special Representative of the German Chancellor for Africa; Franz Josef Jung, former German Defense Minister; as well as constitutional experts and former German lawmakers.

Rajavi: A turbulent moment and a point of no return

In her keynote address, Rajavi described the current phase as one of the most dangerous and stormy in Iran’s history, arguing that Iran and the wider Middle East are at the heart of a major transformation. She said the regime’s mass killing and harsh crackdown in January was a decisive indicator that the process of bringing the system down has reached a point of no return, describing the repression as systematic and pre-planned, aimed at maximizing fear through rapid violence in streets and neighborhoods—yet ultimately fueling the conditions for a larger uprising.

Rajavi stressed that the January uprising answered a central question—how change can happen in Iran—and pointed to the existence and expansion of Resistance Units as a key element of that answer. She argued that their increased activity in the past two years helped weaken the climate of repression, spread a culture of resistance among the new generation, and paved the way for broader public participation in protests.

She also said that designating the regime’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization was a necessary step away from appeasement, even if long overdue, and called for formal recognition of the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the regime and the fight of rebellious youth against the Guards.

On the post-regime roadmap, Rajavi outlined steps to be taken immediately after the regime’s fall, including forming a temporary government with a mandate not exceeding six months, whose main task would be organizing elections for a constituent assembly. She added that a democratic alternative can also serve as a unifying framework for diverse political forces, ethnic communities, and followers of different faiths around the shared goal of establishing a democratic society.

Rucker: Ten-point plan as a credible transition platform

Ambassador Joachim Rucker said the regime’s real end is increasingly visible both externally—through the weakening of its proxy militias in the region—and internally, where it has become clear that the system can maintain power only through unimaginable violence, a highly dangerous situation. He praised the Resistance’s ten-point plan as an excellent platform for an orderly transition toward a democratic republic based on the rule of law and the separation of religion and state, adding that he sees no better available platform today and that it deserves full support.

Rucker emphasized that the plan’s commitments—particularly on human rights, abolition of the death penalty, and women’s leadership—align with international standards, including key global frameworks on women’s rights and participation. He urged Germany to take additional steps beyond dialogue, including deeper engagement with the opposition, and called on the German government and parliament to make abolition of executions and the release of political prisoners conditions for any improvement in relations with Tehran.

Michel and others: A turning point and the need for action

Charles Michel said the regime’s strategy rests on domestic repression through fear, regional destabilization through exporting terrorism and using proxies, and ambitions for global terror. He noted that organized resistance has played a role in alerting the world and making the regime’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon increasingly difficult—calling it a major shift that deserves recognition.

Michel described recent developments as a turning point, saying that the decision to designate the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization represents a pivotal milestone and that more leaders at the highest levels, including in Germany, increasingly acknowledge that the regime’s days are numbered. He also warned against attempts to manufacture “fake alternatives” through extensive use of social media and AI-driven amplification, arguing that the decisive benchmark is democracy and free, fair elections—and that the ten-point plan offers a powerful political tool and a realistic roadmap from dictatorship to democracy.

Other speakers echoed calls for tougher measures, including stronger economic pressure, reductions in oil revenue channels, and stricter financial restrictions, alongside political recognition of the Iranian people’s right to determine their future.

The conference concluded with a broad message that Western policy should move beyond appeasement and focus on supporting a democratic alternative and a structured transition—grounded in elections, rule of law, and fundamental rights—while standing with the Iranian people’s right to political change.