[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 186 (Friday, October 22, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1136-E1138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO FREE IRAN SPEECH

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON BACON

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 22, 2021

  Mr. BACON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to include in the Record the 
following remarks by Michael R. Pompeo. former Secretary of State of 
the United States. Secretary Pompeo addressed the ``Support Free Iran, 
U.S. To Hold Ebrahim Raisi Accountable for the 1988 Massacre'' on 
Monday, September 20, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Below is Secretary 
Pompeo's speech.

       ``Thank you all so much. That's an amazing welcome I hope 
     you are as happy after my remarks. I think you will.
       Thank you, Amir, for that kind introduction. It is such a 
     blessing for me to be with you all today. It is a special 
     gathering that we can all be together to talk about an 
     enormous threat to the world and to freedom loving people. 
     It's truly an honor.
       Since I last spoke to you Ebrahim Raisi was formally 
     installed as Iran's latest so-called President. You are 
     rightly gathered at this conference with the theme of 
     demanding that he be held accountable for what happened in 
     1988, the massacre of political prisoners inside of Iran. And 
     I want each of you to know today that I join with you in your 
     cause!
       I came to know Raisi when I was the CIA Director. He should 
     be prosecuted; not tomorrow; not next week; not next year. 
     Prosecute him now.
       And of course, I will talk more about this. But I support a 
     free Iran! Bless you for staying in the fight.
       Make no mistake, Make no mistake. Ebrahim Raisi, himself is 
     personally responsible for the mass execution of thousands of 
     Iranian political prisoners, names of over 5,000 have been 
     published. The bodies of these brave men and women were 
     dumped in unmarked graves. And Because Iran has never, and 
     likely under this regime will never allow an investigation 
     into these killings, we do not know the true number of 
     Iranians who were murdered. But it is almost certainly more 
     than the 5,000 list of names that we have.
       Your actions, our actions supporting our love of the 
     Iranian people must begin by holding Ebrahim Raisi 
     accountable for his crimes against humanity. Remember he 
     wasn't an advisor; he wasn't a foot soldier. He was an 
     executioner.
       I know there are those in the audience who have family that 
     were killed in Raisi's massacre. Too, some of you have loved 
     one and friends currently imprisoned, in Evin and elsewhere 
     in Iran, and some, who have had loved ones simply disappeared 
     or worse. We will never forget any of them and will pray for 
     you and each of them.
       You know this character Ebrahim Raisi is exactly who 
     Khamenei wants as President--someone who will do his bidding. 
     Someone willing to brutalize and slaughter the Iranian people 
     at his command. This is not moving forward. It is moving 
     backwards.
       It is only those who are resisting, both inside and out, 
     who provide the hope for Iran. That is why this gathering and 
     the work you do today is so important.
       The contrast between a government that serves its people 
     rather than subjugates them is incredibly stark. We can see 
     it. That should be all of our inspiration for freedom for the 
     Iranian people.
       It's has been almost eight months since I left office as 
     the Secretary of State. When we left as Secretary of State, 
     Iran was more isolated and the regime as weak than ever. 
     However, I must say I've watched the events of the past weeks 
     and months and I worry that events in Afghanistan and the 
     posture of the current administration are allowing the regime 
     to get ``off the mat'' and re-strengthen. I know the Iranian 
     people do not want that. That is why we must keep pressure on 
     our representatives to forgo renegotiating the nuclear deal 
     and avoid paying Iran ransom to either re-enter that deal or 
     because they believe it would be a show of ``good will.'' 
     Good will is not something a terrorist regime understands. We 
     must also ensure that advancements in the Iranian nuclear 
     program are strictly monitored, and action taken whether 
     that's by the United States, other western nations or by the 
     IAEA to ensure that they don't just run out the clock on the 
     path not only to a nuclear weapon but to a full nuclear 
     program.
       I must say, over the last year or so of the pandemic the 
     Iranian regime has used the coronavirus to continue crackdown 
     on its own citizens. Its actions are not only ignorant but 
     malevolent. They have used the pandemic to extinguish 
     uprisings and subdue the Iranian people. This is totally 
     unacceptable.

[[Page E1137]]

       As Americans, we know supporting the general welfare of our 
     citizens is the duty of the government, and to subjugate them 
     is horrific.
       And while we know that the Iranian regime does not value 
     freedom, we should at least expect the United States to value 
     that freedom. You have all watched these last few weeks. Our 
     credibility was called into question in our disgraceful exit 
     from Afghanistan and again questioned this past week when our 
     own Secretary of State took down a tweet of support for the 
     people of Hong Kong who were asking for freedom in their 
     struggle against the Chinese Communist Party.
       These demonstrations of the absence of resolve and lack of 
     support for freedom-loving people are the welcome by 
     terrorists and those oppressing the people of Iran.
       And yet we know that the more the government attempts to 
     strengthen its hold over the people of Iran, the weaker it 
     will become. This is certainly the case today. Protests 
     spurred by water shortages erupted in over half of the 
     country's provinces and protests have taken place in Ahvaz, 
     in Tabriz, in Tehran, and in Isfahan, and other cities all 
     across Iran. These protestors, these amazing freedom-loving 
     people have shown considerable resilience and bravery in 
     resisting the regime. And I know that in the end the Iranian 
     people will have a secular, democratic, and nonnuclear 
     republic.
       The actions in 1979 were of course a key turning point. To 
     understand Iran and its rightful place in history we must 
     unpack what happened in 1979. I think this is why Iran will 
     never return to rule by a dictatorial Shah or theocratic 
     regime. This fight is the real fight and it began in those 
     frightful first moments of the so-called revolution in 1979.
       The central fight is the one in the streets, and in the 
     mosques and in the minds of the Iranian people--it is the 
     divide between the people and the organized opposition 
     seeking freedom and democracy on one side, and the entirety 
     of the regime on the other.
       Look I have been at this, but not as long as some of you. 
     But I have been in this fight on the right side for over a 
     decade now, my entire life of decade of public service.
       Back in 2010 I spoke with many of you. I spoke of the 
     Iranian people and their history, their kindness and their 
     respect for reason, knowledge and respect for human life. The 
     Iranian people are tolerant people--They have been a homeland 
     for Arabs and Jews, Christians and Muslims right on Iranian 
     soil. This is the loveliness of the Iranian people.
       The Iranians want to prosper in their faith and protect 
     their families--this is as true in Tehran as it is in any 
     place here in the United States and don't ever forget that.
       There is a new leader, there's a new elected. I say that 
     word cautiously. The regime headed by the puppet Raisi and 
     the IRGC is no less radical than the one left by the previous 
     president It continues to be revolutionary in its zeal. It is 
     brutal. It is theocratic.
       It is also craven and fearful of the Iranian people. It's 
     kleptocratic. Its leaders will and have killed their own by 
     the thousands and then choose those who committed these 
     massive atrocities, like Raisi, to now lead their terror 
     organization and their regime. Its leaders can shoot down a 
     civilian airliner killing hundreds of civilians and think 
     nothing of denying responsibility and hiding the black box 
     that would unpack the clues and fingerprints of the regime's 
     leaders who caused the death of civilians. The leaders in 
     Iran seek not only to dominate their own country and their 
     own people, hut capitals from Baghdad to Tehran and from 
     Damascus to Beirut and to Sanaa. All for the petty desire to 
     maintain their grip on power.
       When I last spoke to you, I noted that we must dismiss the 
     Western conceit. I hear it even in this city which we are 
     sitting today. It's this western conceit commonly accepted in 
     Brussels, in Paris, in Bonn and in too many places here in 
     the United States that there are moderates inside of the 
     regime. I never met one, nor read of one. This is important. 
     The lie, that there are moderates inside of this regime. 
     There are too many countries that play footsie with this 
     terrorist regime. The elections of last month should provide 
     evidence that this claim of moderation is even possible 
     within this regime. We cannot have them fool us. These are 
     but tiny actors occupying roles in the same show of force.
       We know the characters. The Ayatollah plays the father, 
     keeper of the so-called revolutionary faith and is the elder 
     statesman ``protecting the revolution'' from every threat--
     including the threats from the heathen secular inside and 
     outside of Iran. Soleimani played the warrior-hero-role. 
     Deliverer of rights against made-up grievances from the near 
     abroad and afar. The newly installed Foreign Minister, 
     Hossein Amit-Abdollahian, was molded by Soleimani. This man, 
     despite of the fact that he is a diplomat, a Foreign 
     Minister, make no mistake who he is. He is a staunch 
     supporter of the ``Axis of Resistance,'' the array of 
     terrorists that Iran supports throughout the entire Middle 
     East. He is a terrorist himself who would kill his own people 
     to save the regime just as quickly as any other of the 
     Ayatollah's henchmen Don't let that title of diplomat fool 
     anyone.
       Ebralum Raisi, a murderer of his own people, will now take 
     on the role as heir apparent to the faith and determined 
     negotiator who concurs America by getting the immoral 
     sanctions placed upon the people lifted and improving life 
     for all. This will be the theatre of Ebrahim Raisi. These 
     actors--each of them, all of them will keep this show going 
     despite the audience wanting their run to end and they are 
     prepared to use every power, to use the IRGC, to use the 
     Basij and any tool to keep their grip over the Iranian 
     people.
       There is nothing new about them. They are just the next 
     generation of the regime, perhaps even more radical than 
     their predecessors. Every one of them should be held 
     accountable, all of them should be held accountable, for the 
     tens of thousands of Iranians they have murdered.
       And world leaders, I hope you are listening, should band 
     together to reject Raisi; each of you, each of you should 
     reject Raisi. You should refuse to engage with him, to 
     acknowledge him as a democratically elected president by the 
     people--since he was no such thing. A good place to start 
     would be by this week at the United Nations General Assembly, 
     not too far from where we are all sitting, holding Raisi 
     accountable for his crimes against the people of Iran. It's 
     possible to do.
       Speaking of Raisi's actions, Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General 
     of Amnesty International (2018-2020), said in his remarks to 
     the Call for Justice: ``I served as the Secretary-General of 
     Amnesty International during which time a report was brought 
     out on this terrible tragedy and the tragedy of 1988 that we 
     saw took place in Iran. Let us be very clear, what happened 
     in 1988 was a totally brutal massacre of political prisoners, 
     which is a crime against humanity.'' This former leader of 
     Amnesty closed with this. ``And if you go with the 
     definition, notwithstanding the technicalities, it amounts to 
     genocide.'' We know a bit about this. We have to keep the 
     Iranian regime in a box.
       Contrast the current administration's posture toward the 
     regime with the one that the Trump administration had. Our 
     mission was really very simple. We laid down 12 very simple 
     demands, twelve requirements that made clear that if the 
     Iranian regime failed to do that we would apply every 
     American power and indeed we would build a coalition around 
     the world to deny the regime the power to kill its own people 
     and to foment terror around region and indeed around the 
     world. This seemed so straight forward to me. We formed 
     alliances to achieve these ends and supported Israel's 
     efforts to enhance our pressure campaign as well.
       This administration is returning to the roots of its past, 
     It's the Obama Policy 2.0. They are seeking to walk away from 
     the support we had provided to the Iranian people just as 
     they did in 2009, when the Iranian people demanded freedom 
     and the administration walked away from them.
       But here is the good news. The resistance forces in Iran, 
     these noble Iranian patriots, are as strong as they have ever 
     been, and they provide optimism for everyone around them who 
     supports them. You do that too.
       You can actually see the effects of the last years of our 
     work in their recent elections. Every more effort had to be 
     made. The regime became more desperate, the fraud had to be 
     increased and the Iranian people could see it as plain as 
     day. Since 1979, every election in Iran has served only to 
     give an appearance of republicanism to a corrupt, brutal 
     theocracy. The 2021 presidential election, however, was 
     different. It is vastly different from those before it, 
     primarily because it is taking place when the theocratic 
     regime is at its most precarious state since it took power in 
     1979, and the people of Iran know this. Its prospects of 
     survival are openly questioned by regime insiders and 
     challenged by a restive, freedom-seeking nation. In short, 
     you all know the math. Very few actually voted FOR Raisi. 
     Turnout was the lowest since 1979 marking a total rejection 
     of the regime and its candidate.
       Even the regime admitted for the first time in 40 years 
     that the majority of Iranian people stayed away from the 
     ballot box. It was, in fact, a boycott of the regime--and the 
     regime leader fear and know it.
       This boycott is evidence that the Iranian people pin no 
     hope on elections as a conduit for substantive change.
       The program that we implemented also served to lay bare the 
     regime's economic incompetence, systemic corruption, and 
     outright plunder of the country's wealth that have pushed 80% 
     of the population below the poverty line. They see the 
     corrupt ruling theocracy as their true enemy and the first 
     and foremost cause of the economic crises. One of the most 
     dominant slogans in the recent uprisings has been, ``Our 
     enemy is right here; they lie when they say it is America.'' 
     History is replete with protest movements. As with all 
     protest movements, flags were burned, right? This is what 
     people do, but now, the most common flag being burned was not 
     the Israeli or the American flag, but the flag of this evil 
     regime.
       So, what is ahead? So how do we all move forward together? 
     What is the path that we move down to?
       The regime is at its weakest point in its now 40 plus years 
     of existence Iranians from every corner of the nation are 
     seeing with their own eyes, the failure of the regime to 
     deliver on the very promises that it made. The epic 
     incompetence in handling COVID-19 is on-going--vaccination in 
     Iran is at among the lowest rates in the entire world not 
     because the vaccine is not available, but because the regime 
     refuses to accept vaccines from those prepared to give them 
     to them. Indeed, they rejected it from the Trump 
     administration. This epic incompetence and quest for nuclear 
     power has made it pariah,

[[Page E1138]]

     has made Iran, the regime, pariah, even to its fellow Muslim 
     countries in the region.
       It's epic incompetence in simply ruining the nation has 
     resulted in has made food and gas and the most basic staples 
     unaffordable and the nation's ability to respond to natural 
     disasters like floods and earthquakes virtually nonexistent. 
     The Iranian people are wise. They can see that Iran is not 
     working The people know it.
       As for President Raisi, he is the not he President of the 
     people of Iran. He is the President for the Ayatollah. His 
     mission is clear. Inflict pain Frighten, continue to loot and 
     plunder. Protect the clerics and protect the Republican 
     Guards. He was chosen by the Ayatollah now because he is only 
     60 years old and thus could lead for the next two to three 
     decades. I don't believe that's the fate of the Iranian 
     people. These years will give him the time he needs to get 
     his own people into place and demonstrate that the Supreme 
     Leader wants him to have time to prepare for the next phase 
     of the of the so-called revolution. He will use the IRGC and 
     his Qods Force to generate conflict externally to deflect 
     attention and to maintain the narrative of the oppressed.
       The path forward calls This calls for a clear response--the 
     United States must lead the world, starting today, on this 
     occasion, to hold him accountable for crimes against humanity 
     that he committed. Any dealings with Raisi, would he 
     tantamount to dealing with a mass murderer. This is not only 
     immoral but counterproductive. All of us should make this 
     crystal clear to our allies in Europe and Asia as well and 
     hold them accountable if they deal with this man that sent 
     thousands of his country to execution in 1988.
       It is worth noting that the apologists for the regime 
     suggest that Raisi's election and the power now in the hands 
     of ``hardliners'' is a result of the American pressure on the 
     regime. This is nonsense. Utter nonsense. The latter notion 
     that of hardliners versus reformers or moderates is not 
     remotely reflective of the total control of the Ayatollah 
     over everything that so that nothing moves without his 
     blessing inside of that country. As for whether pressure 
     drives Iran to continue it authoritarian ways, it is obvious 
     that Iran's leadership has been static or trending right for 
     two decades.
       The world often overstates its influence on domestic 
     politics. It is the people of Iran who have the power. The 
     Ayatollah has been very intent. Raisi demonstrates that IRGC 
     generation is replacing the Revolutionary generation. 
     Moreover, while Raisi and others have criticized this nuclear 
     deal, it touches none of their equities. Thus, they get to 
     use the deal politically and reap the benefits from the 
     resources received to protect the Ayatollah and his henchmen. 
     So, he will complain about the deal, he will use it to gain 
     more concessions from a deal-hungry U.S., but won't, in the 
     end, block it.
       I worry, too, that the situation on the Iranian border with 
     Afghanistan will only strengthen the Iranian regime's hand. 
     The Iranians watched as the United States projected weakness 
     and chaos as it withdrew from Afghanistan. And we know that 
     the Iranians thrive on weakness. We also know that it always 
     emboldens our adversaries.
       The truth is that the present administration inherited an 
     orderly plan for a drawdown in Afghanistan based on firm 
     conditions to keep our people safe. And the people of our 
     allies who were fighting in Afghanistan and alongside of us 
     as well.
       The Administration ripped up that plan and turned it into a 
     chaotic rush for exit. And thirteen brave Americans paid with 
     their lives.
       I worry that same weakness will enable a blood thirsty 
     Iranian regime to be even more harsh on its own people who 
     oppose the regime, and the American weakness will embolden 
     the ``Axis of Resistance'' to spark increased terrorism in 
     the Middle East and, indeed, all around the world.
       In fact, in the wake of our Afghanistan withdrawal, here is 
     what Raisi said, ``America's military defeat and its 
     withdrawal must become an opportunity to restore life, 
     security and durable peace in Afghanistan Iran backs efforts 
     to restore stability in Afghanistan and, as a neighboring and 
     brother nation, Iran invites all groups in Afghanistan to 
     reach a national agreement'' Let me translate that for you. 
     Iran welcomes Afghanistan as another tool in the terrorist 
     hub of the ``Axis of Resistance.''
       They don't want good things for the Afghan people any more 
     than they want good things for their own people. They want 
     the very power that they have so dearly clutched onto for 
     these decades at the expense of the Iranian people. It is 
     worth us all remembering today that this is not the first 
     connection to external terror. The Ayatollah already hosts 
     the most senior Al Qaeda leadership in his country. Let me 
     say that again: Al Qaeda international, the headquarters for 
     Al Qaeda's operational leaders that builds up plots across 
     the world is not in Afghanistan is NOT in Afghanistan, it is 
     not in the Afghan border, it is not Pakistan--we know they 
     are being hosted, protected, and operating today from Iran.
       And don't forget this. The Ayatollah did not truly conduct 
     a revolution, although he will claim that. No, revolutions 
     move their people towards modernity and reason and to light, 
     this was not a revolution, but a devolution of the basic 
     standards of human rights that the rich of history of Iran 
     had promoted for decades and decades.
       There is not far from here, think tanks and salons and some 
     of the nicer parties where there is this idea that there is 
     no solution if the regime is overthrown. The Ayatollah--and 
     many will tell you that you are better off with the devil you 
     know. The Iranian people don't believe that for a second 
     because it is fundamentally untrue. There are many paths 
     forward and all of them are better for the Iranian people 
     than the status quo.
       And preparing, as we are doing, preparing the transition to 
     a New Iran is a task for today. We should start by securing 
     the humanitarian well-being of the Iranian people as they 
     make this transition. Over the years, it has been 
     demonstrated that the Iranian culture makes toppling 
     governments a part of the national spirit. You should know 
     that nearly 100% of ordinary Iranians believe the regime's 
     days are numbered. I believe that too.
       I am also deeply heartened by the fact that the Iranian 
     people have made it abundantly clear that they are 
     increasingly unafraid of the regime. Rather than punish Iran 
     for its continued aggression against us and our partners in 
     the Middle East, sadly, the Biden Administration is trying to 
     get back to the nuclear deal with a much weaker hand.
       As was the case with the Trump Administration, human rights 
     and counter terrorism should be at the forefront of our 
     policy, not appeasing the Iranian regime.
       We worked tirelessly to keep Iran from having a nuclear 
     weapon and a nuclear program. We have to apply pressure until 
     they change, or until reforms which move Iran toward a 
     democratic form of government take place. We cannot shower 
     the Ayatollah with money and economic benefits in the hopes 
     that they won't be used to inflict terror and oppression. We 
     have seen this sad story before. This thinking is foolish and 
     backwards. The program of sanctions and pressure that was 
     employed by the Trump Administration needs to remain the 
     model if we want to ensure the security of the American 
     people and the freedom of the people of Iran.
       I pray that the United States will not increase the 
     resources the Ayatollah has at his disposal to do empower the 
     theocracy. Engagement with the regime will lengthen the time 
     that Iran and the regime has to behave as it has for these 
     past decades denying basic human dignity
       Remember, the Ayatollah's power grab was not so much a 
     revolution but a devolution. It's important to remember that. 
     It was a lesson for me that I learned. And I must say I am 
     hopeful. I am hopeful that the world has learned much about 
     the theocracy in Iran these past few years. And it's not that 
     we didn't know it before; you have all seen it before. Around 
     the world, you can see that even in Europe the tide of 
     tolerance for the regime is slipping. This is a good thing.
       We must continue to support the Iranian people as they 
     fight for a freer and more democratic Iran in any way that 
     they can. There is so much good work to do, and you all are 
     doing today.
       In the end the Iranian people will have a secular, 
     democratic, non-nuclear Republic. I pray that this day will 
     come soon. It is a such a joy to be with you all today. I 
     pray that these days will come soon with the Iranian people 
     with the support of Iranians living all around the world--and 
     those who resist from within, they are noble people--that day 
     will come sooner. I am committed to this cause; I know you 
     everyone in this room is as well. May your mission be 
     blessed, and the Iranian people protected and provided for 
     always. It is a hopeful time, a deeply hopeful time, and a 
     time to redouble our efforts.
       Thank you for having me here today. God bless you, and may 
     God bless the Iranian people.''