In a landmark cross-party conference held at the UK Parliament on October 28, members of both Houses joined human rights advocates, and young Iranian activists to address Iran’s worsening human rights crisis. The event, described as one of the most united gatherings on Iran ever held in Westminster, focused on the regime’s escalating executions and called for a decisive international policy to hold Tehran accountable while backing the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations.
Lord Bellingham opened the session by hailing the conference as a historic moment and emphasized that the regime’s brutality shows its weakness, not strength. He urged the West to isolate the regime.
MP Bob Blackman echoed this, describing the regime’s 2,000 executions under President Masoud Pezeshkian as a desperate attempt to suppress dissent. He called for targeted sanctions on Khamenei, referral of human rights abuses to the UN Security Council, and proscription of the IRGC.
Baroness Redfern emphasized women’s leadership in the Iranian resistance, describing executions as the regime’s “weapon to crush opposition.”
Baroness O’Loan highlighted cases like Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old woman sentenced to death after a ten-minute trial, calling Iran’s judiciary “an instrument of repression.” She pressed the UK to act urgently and refer the regime’s crimes against humanity to the UN.
MP Jim Shannon drew biblical parallels to the fall of corrupt empires, warning that “the day of reckoning is coming” for Tehran. He linked current executions to the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, calling for UN prosecution of Iran’s judiciary and leaders.
Sir Roger Gale said the regime is in its “death throes,” while Lord Carlile, a King’s Counsel, condemned it as “a bunch of criminals” executing more people than the rest of the world combined.
“The women of Iran have become the backbone of resistance,” he noted.
Lord Cryer labeled the regime “clerical fascist,” blasting UK governments for failing to proscribe the IRGC, which he said operates criminally “on British streets.”
MP Rachael Maskel said she was “blown away” by testimonies from Iranians, pledging to help amplify their voices and push for sanctions.
MP Andy McDonald called the executions an “anathema” and urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hold perpetrators accountable.
MP Mary Glindon paid tribute to Iran’s women and said global peace “is impossible without freedom in Iran.”
Lord Hamilton and William Powell expressed optimism that the regime’s collapse is near. Powell urged decisive action, saying the IRGC proscription is not an option but a necessity.
The conference concluded with deeply moving testimonies from young Iranian activists, whose families have suffered under the regime.
Amir Hossein described uncles executed and buried alive by the Revolutionary Guards.
Neda Zabeti, Rosa Zarei, and Elia Zarei spoke of generations lost to executions yet unbroken in spirit.
Mehrnoosh, a 16-year-old student, declared: “We will speak for those silenced and will not stop until Iran is free.”
Their shared message resonated across the chamber: “To the international community—your silence is complicity.”