Geneva, 1 March 2026 – In a first reaction to the elimination of the Supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell called on the European leaders to stop hiding behind diplomatic jargon and choose sides. Europe must stand with the brave people of Iran as they seek an end to the 47-year occupation of the repressive Islamic Republic. The international community can no longer resist the quest for freedom for the Iranian people as they seek to choose their own future through open and democratic elections.
Only a few weeks ago both the President of the European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz concluded that a regime that kills its own citizens cannot last and predicted that it would only take weeks before the Islamic Republic would fall. This is now happening.
Tomas Sandell comments, “The joint US-Israeli strike has opened a window of opportunity that must not be squandered. For Europe, the fall of the Islamic republic is not only in the interest of the Iranian people but also in our own strategic interests.”
In a joint statement on Saturday by France, Germany and UK, they said that “the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their own future. The E3 leaders have consistently urged the Iranian regime to end its nuclear program, curb its ballistic missile programs, refrain its destabilising activities in the region and in Europe and to cease the appalling violence and repression against its own people.”
In a statement in Brussels on Sunday morning the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola writes that “the end of the Ayatollah must signal the end of the age of dictators in Iran. After 47 years it must be time for freedom.”
Having concluded an international solidarity meeting for the people of Iran in Geneva on Saturday, ECI is returning to Brussels on Monday for more meetings at the European Parliament where the message is clear: Europe must support the people of Iran with all necessary means. The time for words is over. The time to act and stand with those who seek democracy and freedom in Iran and the whole Middle East is now.
