Brussels, January 14, 2026 – The Islamic Republic has lost all its legitimacy and the EU member states must draw the conclusions by severing their diplomatic relations with the Islamic regime and instead sit down with those Iranian leaders who represent the future. After the Iranian opposition has been fragmented for many years, they are now increasingly uniting behind Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi as a transitional leader. In numerous interviews to international media outlets in recent days he has spoken for an orderly regime change while preserving stability and institutional continuity. His plans now need international recognition and support.
These were some of the conclusions as ECI Founding director Tomas Sandell and Latvian MEP Rihards Kols discussed the current uprising in Iran with program host Yossi Lempkowicz in the latest edition of the European Report which was recorded in the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday night as the Iranian uprising reaches its third consecutive week.
Earlier in the day the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola had taken the unprecedented measure of banning all Iranian diplomats and government officials from entering the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. These measures were applauded by both Kols and Sandell. At the same time they recognised that the European Parliament cannot do more as it has no real power over foreign policy which is instead coordinated by the European Council consisting of the Foreign Ministers of the 27 EU member states.
ECI’s message to the European Union Foreign Ministers was clear: the time for words is over, now we need concrete action. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC must immediately be designated as a terrorist organisation and the EU member states must suspend their diplomatic relations with the illegitimate Islamic Republic and expel its diplomats from European soil. These demands have already been called for by several MEP’s, among them the chair of the European Parliament delegations to Iran, MEP Hannah Neumann as well as MEP Charlie Weimers of Sweden.
Asked by program host Yossi Lempkowicz what the panellists’ message to the Iranian people would be at this critical moment, Kols answered that the Iranian people must remember to document each transgression by the regime carefully so that the perpetrators can face justice. Sandell repeated the words of Pope John Paul II prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain, “Do not fear.” Sandell continued, “The people of Iran deserve the right to live in freedom. As people of faith we join your battle in prayer and action. You shall overcome.”
