The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI; Persian: شورای ملی مقاومت ایران, romanized: Šurā-ye melli-e moqāvemat-e Īrān) is an Iranian political organization based in France and Albania. It was founded by Massoud Rajavi and Abolhassan Banisadr in 1981, and is currently led by Maryam Rajavi. It is the longest active political alliance in Iranian history. The NCRI is a coalition of Iranian dissident groups led by the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), which advocates for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It describes itself as an independent parliament-in-exile prepared to establish a democratic provisional government in Iran upon the fall of its current government. The organization is often described by academics and journalists as the political or diplomatic wing of the MEK. In 2002, the NCRI exposed the existence of an undisclosed uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, leading to concerns about Iran's nuclear program. It was listed by the U.S. government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997, but was removed from this list in 2012, along with the MEK.
Political platform
Elections founded on the concept of "universal suffrage". Fostering a diverse political system with "respect for individual freedoms", "freedom of expression", and "free assembly". Eradicating the death penalty. Separating religious institutions (mosques) from the state, while forbidding religious discrimination. Complete gender equality for women in Iran. Modernizing the justice system in Iran, abolishing Sharia law, and introducing reforms that provide new legal protections. Committing to the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (and "autonomy for Iranian Kurdistan") Implementing measures that protect "investment and employment", "private property", and help bolster a market economy. Foreign policy grounded on the concept of "peaceful coexistence" with other nations. Rejecting the pursuit and development of nuclear weapons. Rejecting the possession and development of "weapons of mass destruction".
History
Early years
Abolhassan Banisadr rose to the Iranian presidency with the support of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. Banisadr believed the clerics should not govern Iran directly, and became embroiled in a power struggle with Islamic hardliners, and was subsequently impeached by the Majlis on June 17, 1981. Protests against Banisadr's impeachment, such as those on 20 June 1981, were met with violence, and Banisadr, along with his allies in the MEK, including Massoud Rajavi, fled to Paris on 29 June 1981. Khomeini's regime had surpassed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's dictatorship in several ways, including the dismantling of women's and minority rights, media censorship, and ban on opposition papers. Exiled in Paris, Massoud Rajavi and Banisadr founded the NCRI. The coalition was also joined by the National Democratic Front and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran and the Minority Fedaian. The founding of the NCRI allowed Massoud Rajavi to assume leadership within the anti-Islamic Republic faction, and put the MEK in a leading position to build ideological structures for a prospective future government to replace the Islamic Republic. In January 1983, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq Tariq Aziz and NCRI President Massoud Rajavi signed a peace plan "based on an agreement of mutual recognition of borders as defined by the 1975 Algiers Agreement". According to James Piazza, this peace initiative became the NCRI's first diplomatic act as a "true government in exile". In 1983, elements united with NCRI began to depart the alliance because of conflicts with the MEK, particularly its alliance with Iraq. On 24 March 1983, Banisadr officially left the council. In 1986, the French government closed down NCRI headquarters in Paris to improve relations with the Islamic Republic. Rajavi and the NCRI moved their main operations to Baghdad, Iraq.
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