OPINION – Impending Atrocity Crimes: Iranian Opposition Leaders’ Open Letter to Guterres

June 29, 2025

His Excellency António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations
United Nations Headquarters, New York

Urgent Appeal to Invoke the Responsibility to Protect in Light of Impending Atrocity Crimes in Iran

Your Excellency,

We, members of the Iranian opposition and allied pro-democracy organizations, write to you with grave concern for the safety and fundamental rights of the Iranian people. In the aftermath of the Islamic Republic’s recent military confrontation and resulting humiliation at the hands of Israel and the United States, we have received credible reports indicating that the regime has launched a widespread campaign of mass arrests across the country.

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Those being targeted include citizens who have voiced even the mildest dissatisfaction with the regime policies—many of whom are now being summoned via SMS to appear before revolutionary tribunals. The scope and rapid escalation of these arrests signal an alarming deterioration of the human rights situation and an ominous precursor to systematic and large-scale violence.

Given the Islamic Republic’s well-documented history of using mass executions to suppress dissent—particularly during moments of internal crisis—we fear that the Islamic Republic is on the brink of repeating its darkest chapter. During the early 1980s, thousands were summarily executed in the wake of domestic unrest and war. Most notably, in the summer of 1988, nearly 5,000 political prisoners—many of them serving out the final months of their sentences—were executed by direct order of Ayatollah Khomeini. These atrocities, still unaddressed by international accountability mechanisms, remain a painful scar in the memory of the Iranian nation.

The regime has demonstrated a consistent pattern: following military setbacks or internal instability, it turns inward with lethal force to reassert dominance. Today, we stand at such a juncture. The machinery of repression is again mobilizing, and the consequences could be catastrophic if the international community fails to respond.

Your Excellency, we respectfully and urgently appeal to you to activate all the instruments at your disposal under the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) framework to prevent the commission of atrocity crimes in Iran. This includes:

• Calling for immediate monitoring and reporting of potential mass human rights violations;
• Urging Member States and the UN bodies to place the Iranian situation on the agenda of the Security Council and Human Rights Council;
• Encouraging states to use diplomatic, legal, and protective measures to dissuade the Iranian regime from carrying out mass executions.

The Iranian people—already deprived of their fundamental freedoms, must not once again fall victim to impunity and silence. The time for preventive diplomacy is now.

With profound respect and urgency,

Akbar Moarefy
Director of International Affairs, The New Iran

Iman Foroutan
Chairman of the Board, The New Iran

List of Signatory Organizations: