MEPs line up Iran opposition invites, Reza Pahlavi tops the list

The selection of eight people – still subject to internal approval – will be formally discussed and potentially approved by political groups on Wednesday.

While an invitation to speak in Parliament is no guarantee of a swift ascent to power, the chosen names offer a snapshot of those that politicians across the EU deem credible to take power in Iran following days of bombing by US and Israeli forces and the death of Ayatollah Khomeini.

Pahlavi is the most internationally-known name, having cultivated ties with the US administration. He appears to command some support inside Iran, where protesters have chanted his name amid a brutal regime crackdown. Pahlavi has styled himself as a secular, democratic alternative to the mullahs’ regime, and at mass protests around Europe this year – from Brussels to Munich – he has emerged as a favourite figure among parts of the Iranian diaspora.

The list of names also includes Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi; Mustafa Hijri, leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI); Saeed Bashirtash, leader of the Aban Front; Abdullah Mohtadi, secretary general of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan; and Navid Shomali of the Tudeh Party of Iran.

The Association for the Promotion of Open Society (APOS) on Iran is also represented, with another seat to be left empty to symbolise those persecuted inside the country.

“For a transition to succeed, it needs everyone on board,” said Hannah Neumann, a German Green and long-time Iran specialist, of the shortlist. “This is a balanced representation of civil society and opposition in the diaspora.”

The omissions are also telling.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), also known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) – originally an Islamic-Marxist organisation – did not make it onto the list despite extensive lobbying by some MEPs.

The group has shown it can attract EU bigwigs like former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt to its events. In the US, it has the loud support of former Trump allies Mike Pompeo and Mike Pence, who flew to Brussels for an NCRI rally last year.

Rudy Giuliani, a longtime supporter, has attacked Pahlavi as “dangerous” but some in Europe support him.

“He’s going to give the choice to the people to decide what kind of form the new state of Iran is going to have,” said Sebastian Tynkkynen, a Finnish European Conservatives and Reformists Group lawmaker who has campaigned for Pahlavi to be invited. Tynkkynen thinks Pahlavi would accept. “International visibility and recognition are the important things that Reza Pahlavi needs,” he said.

In Brussels, the likes of Renew’s Petras Auštrevičius and the European People’s Party’s Milan Zver are pushing to give NCRI a seat at the table.

(jp)