During the conference “Support for Democratic Forces in Iran” held in the Italian Senate, Giulio Terzi delivered a keynote speech in which he highlighted the political meaning of the protests in many Iranian cities and the connections that Teheran has established across the world, and what Italy and the global community should do in the face of a possible historic turning point.
In a conversation with Emanuele Rossi of Formiche, Senator Giulio Terzi, said that the protests across Iran are not a cyclical crisis, but a sign of a possible point of no return for the mullahs’ regime. For more than ten days, Iran has been gripped by widespread and increasingly radical protests. Demonstrations that have flared up again in recent weeks, along with renewed repression by the regime. Economic collapse, violent reaction, a loss of control over the masses, and the cross-cutting mobilization of Iranian society evoke deep historical precedents but also open up new scenarios.
What is happening in Iran today, and why do these protests represent something different from the past?
For more than ten days, the Iranian people have been protesting in the streets across the country. Inflation has exceeded 42%, the rial has collapsed, and with it the entire economic system. But reducing everything to an economic crisis would be misleading: we are facing a structural crisis of the country-system.
What is the symbolic significance of the closure of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar?
In Tehran, a capital of ten million inhabitants, the Grand Bazaar has pulled down its shutters because there is no longer any merchandise to sell. It is a very powerful signal. In January 1979, too, the fall of the Shah began with the closure of the Grand Bazaar.
The comparison with 1979 is inevitable. What is the difference today?
Back then, those who took power were the Ayatollahs. Today we are here because we feel that a new hope is possible. But this hope must also be a warning: we must be wary of those who present themselves once again as the face of a democratic revolution when in reality it looks like a restoration.
Is the regime facing an irreversible breaking point?
History will tell. But it is legitimate to ask whether this is not finally that irrecoverable breaking point, that time of freedom for Iran that so many have awaited for decades.
How serious is the repression currently underway?
Never before has such a dramatic situation been reached. The regime’s repression is extremely violent: 130 cities in revolt, over a thousand arrests, and more than thirty deaths. The Pasdaran burst into student dormitories, into citizens’ homes, arbitrarily abducting people. It is a pervasive repression that strikes the entire society.
What does the closure of schools and universities mean?
It is the final act of a regime that for years has hanged its sons from cranes and raped its daughters in the name of Allah. Closing schools and universities means admitting that it no longer has a future to offer.
How do you assess the words of the President of the United States about the possible defense of the protesters?
When President Trump said that if Tehran shoots at peaceful demonstrators the United States would come to their aid, he spoke very harsh words—words that become even more significant when read in the context of developments in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his spouse.
What is the connection between Venezuela the Iranian regime?
For decades, Venezuela has offered safe haven to the Pasdaran and Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah. It has been a free zone used to cover terrorist networks, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering, and even the training of militiamen.
How deep is the economic and strategic bond between Tehran and Caracas?
For decades, Venezuela has provided safe haven to the Pasdaran and Iran’s proxies. Consider that Iran has invested between 7 and 10 billion dollars in Caracas and has purchased entire tracts of land in Venezuela. This is the direct threat to global security that, until a few days ago, Caracas represented.
The arrest of Maduro has dealt a severe blow to the regime, and the United States seeking to guide a complex transition process. How would you describe the nature of the Iranian regime and the political meaning of the ongoing protests?
It is a fundamentalist, messianic, and criminal regime, with hands dripping with blood not only within Iran’s borders but also abroad. In these hours the leadership appears increasingly isolated and fragile: Ayatollah Khamenei has been taken to a secure location, and rumors are circulating about a possible flight to Russia should the situation deteriorate, while he continues to promise subsidies and rescue plans that no longer convince anyone.
The central point is that the Iranian people are not protesting for bread or against hunger. They are protesting for the identity and the freedom that have been taken from them. As Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, has emphasized, the root of the problem lies in the system of “velayat-e faqih,” the liberticidal politico-religious doctrine established by Khomeini. Men and women, young people of every age and social class, are now in the streets: when a people return to the squares, history starts moving again.
What responsibilities does the international community have in the face of this repression?
First and foremost, it is important to express the strongest solidarity and closeness to the Iranian people, and at the same time to deliver a firm and united response from parliamentary and international institutions.
Those responsible for decades of repression and massacres must be brought to justice; the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps must be placed on international terrorist lists; and embassies complicit in the terrorist activities carried out by the regime must be closed immediately.
How is this affecting our country?
Italy is certainly exposed as well. Our country is not immune: Rome represents a crucial hub for recruitment, surveillance, propaganda, and sensitive trafficking activities by Iranian intelligence, often covered by diplomatic, cultural, and academic structures. We must not forget the 1993 ambush in Rome, when Mohammad Hossein Naqdi, representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Italy, was assassinated by Iranian agents who benefited precisely from these cover structures. Countering such infiltration means fighting concretely alongside the Iranian people, who are battling for their rights, their dignity, and their freedom.
What future do you envision for Iran, also in light of the events concerning Caracas?
We hope that the time has come for a turning point—for an Iran that is a protagonist of peace and regional security, rather than a global threat. In this perspective, the Ten-Point Plan for the future of Iran proposed by Rajavi points to a credible path toward a genuinely democratic alternative.