By Dr. Annabel Ternds von Hatburg
On September 6, I was supposed to be in Brussels, beneath the Atomium, standing shoulder to shoulder with tens of thousands of Iranians and their supporters. They had traveled from across Europe to demand freedom in their homeland, to call for an end to executions, repression, and decades of failed Western appeasement. But illness kept me in Frankfurt.
So instead, I lit a candle in the Frauenfriedenskirche — the Women’s Peace Church. Built after World War I, it embodies the truth that peace is never granted — it is built, defended, and often advanced by women. That single flame became my way of joining those who marched in Brussels — a symbol of resistance, courage, and unyielding hope.
The Message from Brussels
The rally at the Atomium was more than a demonstration. It was a referendum on dignity. Tens of thousands made it clear: the solution to Iran’s crisis is neither foreign war nor Western appeasement, but what Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, calls the “Third Option” — regime change by the Iranian people and their organized opposition.
Rajavi’s words rang like a bell: “The answer to Iran’s crisis is the overthrow of the religious dictatorship. The people of Iran have never been more prepared. Delay means war — and this must never be allowed.”
This was no abstract speech. The urgency is written in blood: in August alone, 170 people were executed in Iran. The country is a volcano on the verge of eruption, and every day of delay costs lives.
International Solidarity — and Shame
The Brussels gathering united not only Iranians but also international leaders willing to speak plainly:
- Mike Pence, former U.S. Vice President, praised the Iranian Opposition as an “unyielding movement for freedom” and recalled the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. “To those who give voice to the voiceless and hope to the millions.” His call to Europe was blunt: “The time for hesitation is over. The time for action is now.”
- Guy Verhofstadt, former Prime Minister of Belgium, condemned decades of failed appeasement: “The survival of this regime is the failure of appeasement. We need a new strategy: sanctions, pressure on financial channels, and engagement with the democratic opposition.”
- John Bercow, former Speaker of the UK House of Commons, was even sharper: “To claim there is no alternative to the mullahs is an insult to the Iranian people. The alternative is freedom.”
- Patrick Kennedy, former U.S. Congressman, honored the endurance of the Iranian Resistance: “For years, they have been imprisoned, tortured, executed — and yet they rise again. Enough appeasement. Accountability is long overdue.”
- Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former Vice-President of the European Parliament, himself a survivor of an assassination attempt linked to the regime, described the march as “a living referendum for freedom and dignity.”
These voices of clarity stand in stark contrast to the hesitation of many Western governments still clinging to the illusion that time, dialogue, or trade might moderate Tehran. The result of these delays has been the same for decades: Iran continues its executions, prisons, and silencing of dissent — all while edging closer to nuclear capability.
A Movement with History
The timing of the Brussels rally was no accident. It marked the 60th anniversary of the Iranian Resistance, the backbone of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. From its founding, the Iranian Opposition stood against tyranny — first against the Shah’s dictatorship, then against the theocracy that replaced it.
Despite massacres, imprisonment, and relentless disinformation campaigns, the Iranian Resistance has endured, expanded, and today offers the only credible democratic alternative. As Maryam Rajavi reminded the world: “The Shah fell. The mullahs will fall. In sixty years, the Iranian Resistance has risen time and again from the ashes. Today, it is an independent alternative continuing the 120-year struggle of the Iranian people for freedom.”
The West’s Responsibility
The question is no longer whether Iran will change — but how long the West will avert its eyes. Every candle lit, every march held, every flag raised by Iranians is a call to the international community: neutrality is no longer an option.
Recognizing the National Council of Resistance of Iran and Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan is not foreign meddling — it is aligning with the only democratic alternative to dictatorship. Designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization is not symbolic — it is a concrete step that can cripple the regime’s machinery of repression and regional aggression. Enforcing UN Security Council resolutions on Iran’s nuclear program is not optional — it is essential to global security.
Further delay is no longer prudence. It is complicity with tyranny.
From Brussels to Frankfurt
As chants echoed in Brussels, my candle burned in Frankfurt. In that silence, I was reminded that resistance takes many forms — mass protests, political leadership, and sometimes the quiet defiance of a single flame in the dark.
Iran’s struggle for freedom is not a distant cause. It is a test of whether the international community still believes in the principles it claims to uphold.
Hope knows no borders. The day is near when Iranians will celebrate the fall of tyranny. And when that day comes, history will remember not only the crowds in Brussels but also the solitary flames lit across the world — all united in one truth: Freedom will prevail.