What changed

B100081/2026

B100095/2026

European Parliament resolution on the brutal repression against protesters in Iran

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,Iran;

– having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2025 on addressing transnational repression of human rights defenders,

– having regard to the statement of 9 January 2026 by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, on behalf of the EU on the current protests in Iran,

– having regard to the decision by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to ban all diplomatic staff and representatives of the Iranian regime from all Parliament premises,

– having regard to the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 28 December 2025 large protests erupted in Tehran and quickly spread to 180 cities and towns in all of Iran’s 31 provinces, including areas traditionally considered strongholds of the regime;

A. whereas thousands of people are reported to have been killed following Iran’s brutal crackdown on the anti-regime protests that began over two weeks ago; whereas more than 10 000 people are estimated to have been arrested;

B. whereas the demonstrations were initially spurred by deep-seated grievances over the disastrous state of the country’s economy, skyrocketing food prices, rising inflation and widespread corruption; whereas the Iranian regime has consistently failed to meet the basic needs of its population;

B. whereas despite internet shutdowns and communication blockages, there have been international reports of terrible levels of death and destruction;

C. whereas since the outbreak of the demonstrations the Iranian authorities have brutally clamped down on the protests, including through ‘shoot to kill’ orders, and killing and detaining thousands of peaceful demonstrators;

C. whereas Iran’s last nationwide uprising – the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement of September 2022, sparked by the killing of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini by the country’s morality police – also met with brutal repression, targeting women with shotgun fire to their faces, breasts and genitals;

D. whereas on 8 January 2026, in an attempt to quell the protests, the authorities imposed a total internet and telecommunications blackout in order to delete any traces of human rights violations and prevent information from reaching the international community; whereas the blackout has severely affected retail, payments and satellite-based services, largely isolating Iran from any external communication;

D. whereas according to the United Nations Statistics Division, nearly 60 % of Iran’s population is under the age of 39, and most of the population was born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution;

E. whereas the regime’s leadership continues to be oblivious to the legitimate demands of the protesters and to disregard the democratic aspirations and cries for freedom of the Iranian people;

E. whereas Parliament has consistently and unequivocally condemned the Iranian regime’s oppression and violence against its own people, including the use of executions, the imposition of death sentences following unfair trials, inhumane detention conditions, and the systematic targeting of political activists and of ethnic and religious communities; whereas executions in 2025 reached a level not seen in Iran since 1989;

F. whereas the Iranian authorities have publicly threatened to further crack down on the protests and harshly punish those involved, shamefully accusing them of perpetrating acts of terror;

F. whereas Parliament has repeatedly called for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be designated a terrorist organisation;

G. whereas the recent wave of demonstrations is the culmination of a long series of mass protests followed by terrible crackdowns, including the ‘Green Movement’ upheaval in 2009 and the brutal killing of Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022;

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 the European Parliament awarded its 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran as a tribute to all the brave women, men and young people in Iran who, under enormous pressure, have kept up the fight for their rights and for change;

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 immense courage and resolve of the brave women of Iran, who have met the regime’s cowardly tactics with fearlessness and defiance, has been crucial to the resistance against this brutal regime;

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;

J. whereas since 1979 Iran has played a highly destabilising role within the Middle East and the broader region, including by propping up terrorist proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza and Shia militias in Iraq, and establishing an axis of terror stretching throughout the entire region; whereas Iran’s pernicious influence is not limited to the Middle East, as it continues to pose an enormous risk to European security and to democracies around the world, including by abetting Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine and supporting the Venezuelan dictatorship; whereas Iran’s role in the atrocious terrorist attack against the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires in 1994 is merely one of several examples of the global reach of the regime’s agenda of terror;

Condemnation of the repression

1. Unequivocally condemns the Iranian regime’s brutal repression of the ongoing demonstrations and reaffirms its firm solidarity with and steadfast commitment to the people of Iran;

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. Demands that the Iranian authorities, under the rule of dictator Ali Khamenei, unconditionally end the use of violence against peaceful protesters, immediately halt all executions and cease the killing and repression of civilians exercising their fundamental rights; demands that these rights, in particular the freedoms of expression and assembly, be upheld unconditionally and at all times;

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. Calls for the immediate release of all imprisoned demonstrators and political prisoners; is appalled by the horrifically high death toll and the large number of protesters unlawfully detained;

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. Expresses its profoundest condolences to all those families whose relatives have been brutally killed over the past days and weeks; commends the courage and determination of the brave Iranian citizens who have taken to the streets at enormous personal risk;

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

5. Deplores the arbitrary and disproportionate use of force by the Iranian authorities against non-violent protesters merely exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly; stresses that such atrocious actions are unacceptable and firmly condemns the direct targeting of protesters by security forces; calls for the perpetrators of these vicious acts to be held accountable;

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. Demands that all protesters, human rights defenders and journalists currently held under arrest in Iran be freed unconditionally; demands that the authorities inform all families of the location of their detained relatives; calls for lawyers and international observers to be granted unhindered access to all those detained during the protests and for the international community to be informed of the identity of detainees; calls for the immediate release and safe repatriation of all EU nationals currently imprisoned in Iran and strongly condemns the regime’s shameless use of hostage diplomacy;

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. Stresses the deeply illegitimate and violent nature of the Mullah regime, which is based solely on terror, fear and intimidation; underlines the unsustainability of this system and calls for a free and democratic transition in Iran;

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. Calls on the Council, in accordance with the Council Common Position of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism, Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001, Directive (EU) 2017/541 and the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, to proceed with the full designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation; calls for such designation to be reflected in the EU’s restrictive measures regime, including the placement of all relevant IRGC components and individuals on the EU terrorist list and the application of asset freezes, travel bans and other appropriate restrictive measures; emphasises that the IRGC, including all of its branches and affiliated entities, plays a central role in the violent repression of peaceful demonstrators, and in serious human rights violations, extrajudicial killings and state-sponsored terrorism, both at national and regional level;

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 for all bans on online-based communications and services within Iran to be lifted immediately; calls for the EU, its Member States and the United States to provide cybersecurity support and free and accessible virtual private networks and other circumvention tools to civil society and the opposition in Iran;

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;

10. Highlights the fact that for decades the Iranian regime has persistently engaged in the systematic targeting of human rights activists, political dissidents, minorities and women, in particular through vicious patterns of repression; deplores the fact that these practices have similarly been directed against religious minorities, including Kurds, Baluchis, Baha’is and Christians, who continue to face persecution even after conversion to Islam, ethnic and religious discrimination, arrest and gross violations of their fundamental rights;

Situation in the country

11. Condemns the massive nationwide crackdowns and relentless harassment of women by the Iranian authorities; deplores the despicable hijab laws in place in Iran and the outrageous actions taken by the ‘morality police’ and other law enforcement authorities; expresses its full solidarity with the women of Iran and their cries for freedom and self-determination;

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;

12. Decries once again the appallingly high number of executions carried out in the past two years, particularly since the outbreak of the recent demonstrations in late December, as a symbol of the regime’s utter disregard for human life and dignity;

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;

13. Recalls that Iran has the highest death sentence rate per capita in the world and that since the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in 2022, the Iranian authorities have embarked on a relentless execution spree, including against dissidents, women, journalists and minorities; decries the fact that in 2025 alone the regime executed 1 500 people; calls for the immediate abolition of the death penalty;

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;

14. Expresses its full support for the Iranian opposition as a whole and calls for more substantial financial, material and political support to be provided to all Iranians striving for a democratic, free and open Iran; calls for the different actors in the democratic opposition to work together, paving the way for a just, inclusive and democratic process that succeeds in restoring the freedom and dignity of all Iranian citizens irrespective of their ethnicity, religion and gender; calls for the EU and its Member States to cooperate closely with the United States to support a democratic transition for the benefit of the Iranian people;

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;

15. Underlines once again how the Mullah regime has actively sown chaos and destruction across the region for decades, while engaging in brutal patterns of internal and transnational repression; stresses that Iran continues to constitute the largest and most substantial threat to the security and stability of the broader region and the most significant obstacle to peace; reiterates its firm condemnation of Iran’s malign activities and interference across the region and beyond, most prominently in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and the Palestinian Territories; recalls, in this context, Iran’s vicious attacks on Israel in early October 2024 and June 2025;

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;

16. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in coordination with the Member States, to intensify diplomatic engagement in support of the Iranian people by exploring the establishment of an enhanced EU diplomatic presence or representation capable of providing protection, humanitarian assistance and consular support to individuals at risk for exercising their fundamental rights, including peaceful protesters; stresses the need to consider measures that could provide points of refuge, information and assistance in line with international law and relevant legal precedents of EU Member States, with the objective of improving the EU’s capacity to monitor, report and respond to serious human rights violations on the ground;

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;

17. Calls strongly for the adoption of further coercive measures under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime and the imposition of wide-reaching sanctions on all those directly and indirectly responsible for the human rights violations perpetrated over the past weeks;

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;

18. Welcomes the decision by its President, Roberta Metsola, to bar all diplomatic staff and representatives of the Iranian regime from all Parliament premises; calls on its Member States to follow suit and adopt similar restrictions, including revoking the diplomatic status of the staff of Iran’s diplomatic and consular missions across the EU;

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;

19. Regrets the deafening silence of some political groups and their failure to stand up for the democratic aspirations and cries for freedom of the Iranian people;

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;

20. 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, the Member States, and the Office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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.