– Ahead of a major demonstration in Munich backing Iran’s 2026 uprising, a press conference held near the rally site brought together Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Rt Hon John Bercow, former Speaker of the UK House of Commons, and Shahin Gobadi, a spokesperson for the MEK/PMOI.
The press conference took place as Munich hosts the Munich Security Conference (February 13–15, 2026).
In his remarks, Mr. Mohaddessin described Iran as facing a historic national crisis, arguing the country is “at the heart of a profound transformation,” driven by the regime’s regional setbacks and what he called the “great January uprising.”
He said the street killings in January were “unprecedented in the history of this regime,” asserting that “thousands were killed on the orders of Ali Khamenei and by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).” He added that the protests spread nationwide: “masses of people rose up [in] 400 cities across all 31 provinces,” and in Tehran “clashes erupted in more than 100 locations,” with demonstrators “openly demand[ing] the overthrow of Khamenei.”
Mr. Mohaddessin also presented casualty and arrest figures attributed to the MEK/PMOI’s internal network, stating it had identified 2,411 victims, including 259 women and at least 174 children and teenagers under 18, while “no fewer than 50,000 people have been arrested.”
A central issue of his statement was that the crackdown was premeditated, not improvised. “We possess credible documents from within the regime proving that this massacre had been premeditated,” he said, citing “highly classified directives” issued through the regime’s security bodies, “personally approved by Khamenei,” and carried out “precisely in accordance with those directives.”
He further pointed to a series of purported audio recordings from regime security meetings in 2025 as evidence of official anxiety—particularly about the MEK and Resistance Units—highlighting discussions on April 11, June 2, and July 9, 2025, which he said revealed fear of “fire-focused operations” and the expansion of organized resistance.
Mr. Mohaddessin warned that, alongside violent repression, the uprising faced what he described as an external narrative-engineering effort to present Reza Pahlavi (son of the former Shah) as an alternative. He said that “certain circles and media outlets abroad” had attempted “through engineered narratives, online manipulation, and fraudulent amplification” to elevate the Shah’s son—arguing that the IRGC and intelligence services “actively participated” because “promoting a return to the past obstructs genuine regime change and ultimately benefits the current dictatorship.”
He cautioned against the replacement of anti-regime slogans with pro-monarchy chants, stating this dynamic was designed to “muddy the waters” and discourage broad participation.
John Bercow’s remarks focused sharply on legitimacy, democratic credibility, and a dangerous misreading of Iran’s opposition landscape.
He said it was “a crying shame” and “a damning indictment” that the Munich Security Conference had chosen to invite Reza Pahlavi, calling it—at minimum—“an extraordinary error of judgment.” Referencing the invite, he contrasted “credible, deep-rooted, on-the-ground… democratic opposition” with “small-scale if noisy opposition” from someone “known… for one thing alone and that is his name.”
Mr. Bercow argued that Reza Pahlavi’s profile does not match the reality of sustained domestic opposition, stressing: “He has been outside of the country these last 47 years… known for being the son of the Shah.” He added that the Shah’s son had not clearly condemned the dictatorship of his father, saying he had instead urged people to “await the verdict of historians.”
Turning to the protests themselves, Mr. Bercow emphasized that the current uprising differs from earlier waves because it is “vastly larger,” spanning “over 400 cities and all 31 provinces,” with young people and women participating at an unprecedented scale. He underscored a key message: protesters, he said, are united in rejecting all forms of dictatorship—“no autocracy, no theocracy and no monarchy.”
He also echoed that pro-monarchy signs and chants represent a calculated regime tactic: a “deliberate calculated weapon of the regime to put its agents in those demonstrations calling for the return of the Shah,” aimed at manufacturing a false binary between clerical rule and monarchy.
Mr. Bercow concluded by urging journalists not to “fall for” the “preposterous notion” that the alternative to the current dictatorship is a monarchical figure, calling that idea “anachronistic… and antediluvian,” and pointing instead to the NCRI and Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan as the democratic route forward.
Mr. Mohaddessin ended with a set of policy demands, calling on governments to recognize the Iranian people’s struggle, act through the UN to halt executions, ensure access to uncensored internet, pursue accountability for “crimes against humanity,” shut down regime embassies used for intelligence operations, and cut off the regime’s financial lifelines.
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