The revolution in Iran started with the people and it will end with the people and their ultimate victory over the Islamic Republic. Whatever twists and turns the diplomatic process takes, the fundamentals of the Islamic regime have not changed. Not from the standpoint of ninety million Iranians who have lived under this tyranny for 47 years. This is a regime that murdered 45,000 innocent protesters in just two days on January 8th and 9th of this year. A regime that is executing young protesters as we speak. A regime that has lost every shred of legitimacy it ever claimed to hold. No ceasefire, no agreement, no formula with the remnants of this regime changes that reality. The military operations of recent weeks have weakened the regime's repressive machinery and fractured its command structure. The playing field is more level than it has been in decades. The people of Iran welcome this. It is what they called for on the streets of Iran and in the streets of cities around the world, in their millions. They want to see the regime's capacity for repression degraded further. The Iranian people are determined to bring this regime down. They have had enough. They have always known that ultimately, while they welcome and appreciate international help, they would need to finish the job themselves. Because they will never accept this rump regime, the very same regime and same thugs that slaughtered them in the streets just two months ago. Ali Khamenei is dead but the regime has not changed, because its nature and its DNA are unchangeable. We see it clearly at this very moment. This criminal cabal is still firing rockets at and violating the sovereignty of our neighbors. It is still threatening the United States and Europe. It is still inviting terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Hashd-al Shabi and others onto our soil to terrorize Iranians and prevent popular protests. It is still holding the people of Iran hostage with an Internet blackout that has lasted for more than one whole month, because it is still afraid of the people of Iran. It is still afraid of their righteous rage, their demand for dignity, and their fight for freedom. They are afraid because they know the people’s fight will not cease. Nor should the world’s resolve. This regime, weakened as it is, is not a reliable partner for any lasting arrangement. A wounded animal lashes out. It becomes more dangerous. That is what this regime will do. It is not sitting at the negotiation table out of good will. It is there, yet again, to buy time, to seek concessions, and to strengthen its hand to inflict more terror on Iranians and on the world. It won’t be tamed at the negotiation table, it can only be empowered and emboldened. The right course is to see this through to its conclusion, to continue to set the conditions for the people of Iran to wage the final battle for liberation. To ensure that when Iranians again come to the streets, the regime is not able to crack down. But even if further help does not come, Iranians will fight on. The regime will fall. That is a certainty. The only question is when, and how much more terror, blackmail, and suffering the world is prepared to tolerate in the meantime. A free, democratic Iran restored to its civilizational roots is the only path to stability across the entire region. A country the international community can work with. An end to decades of proxy wars, gas price terrorism, nuclear brinksmanship, and hostage blackmail. Iranians will not quit. They will not surrender. Mark my words: Iranians cannot be hidden from history. They are making history. Iranians will reclaim their liberty and their nation. As I have told my compatriots: I hear you. I am with you. The world may be distracted today by the back and forth of diplomatic compromises, but your courage, your sacrifice, and your cries for liberty continue to be seen and heard. And they will not go unrewarded. You will not be forced to accept the remnants of this regime clinging to power. This battle will only end with your liberation. You, like the other heroes of our history, will be recorded as great men and women who defied an illegitimate, tyrannical regime and reclaimed Iran for future generations. I am with you until our ultimate victory. Until we reclaim Iran and we rebuild our beloved nation, hand in hand. The struggle continues. We will see it through.
