On the brutal repression against protesters in Iran

B100081/2026

European Parliament resolution on the brutal repression against protesters in Iran

(2026/2565(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on 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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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.