I see myself as a campaigner with a mission; and my mission is not over. What motivates me is a sense of injustice, wanting to make the world a better place. Even when I was in Iran, as a young journalist, I gravitated towards human stories where my words could have an impact in persuading politicians to be proactive in defending human rights. The “Woman, Life, Freedom” revolution in Iran is still ongoing even though the level of protests has fallen off sharply after the massive government crackdown, which led to the deaths of more than 500 people with another 22,000 imprisoned. The revolution showed the depth of anger towards the clerical regime and how eager ordinary Iranians are in demanding women rights. 

These days safety is a luxury for any Iranian woman who dares to fight for her rights. My plight is the same as women inside Iran. Those inside face guns and bullets, arrests and torture and public humiliation. It is shocking to me that the Islamic Republic has made two attempts against me on U.S. soil and four of their agents are in jail. The first time that the FBI invited me to their offices to reveal that Iranian intelligence agents were following me in New York, I had a hard time believing them. But it was very real. My campaigns for women’s rights were making an impact, but it was only then that I realized how much the clerics hated the idea of women having the same freedoms as enjoyed by men. I am aware that other journalists like Rouhollah Zam, have been kidnapped and taken to Tehran and hanged after a sham trial. From the very beginning, I decided that I was not going to live in fear and that nothing was going to stop me from continuing my campaigns. I am not going to allow the threats and plots to determine my actions.

Did you know Iran jailed three times the number of writers and journalists last year than it in 2021? I presented a draft resolution condemning transnational repression and the targeting of journalists during United Nation’s observance of World Press Freedom Day and called upon the UK to sponsor the resolution. That’s because last February, journalists in London at Iran International TV were forced to close their bureau and relocate to Washington after being warned that authorities could no longer protect them from threats originating from the Iranian agents. The resolution was my way of calling out the UK and other Western democracies for standing up for the common beliefs and values. The resolution is being discussed, but to be honest, we need more democracies to commit to it. We need the EU to pass a resolution defending free press and freedom of expression and provide support for transnational activists and journalists. 

For more than three decades, the EU and various administrations in Washington have engaged in diplomatic outreach with the Islamic Republic. These attempts have been futile and have yielded little progress. Islamic Republic’s nuclear program is moving ahead towards achieving a nuclear weapon capability, while its human rights record is a travesty. The Tehran regime conducts terror campaigns against dissidents and journalists knowing that if its operatives were caught, they’d be exchanged for a batch of hostages. We need a new strategy of imposing and enforcing sanctions for human rights violations. We need sanctions that count and isolate the regime politically. The EU and the Biden administration should move to isolate the regime and shame them on the public arena.