Majority in US House of Representatives back bipartisan resolution demanding regime change in Iran
-
Salma Hossein
- . March 10, 2023
- . Update: March 11, 2023 10:11 pm
222 of the 435 members of the US House of Representatives have declared their support for a bipartisan resolution, which was introduced in February, calling for the establishment of a democratic, secular, and nuclear-free Iranian republic and condemning human rights violations by the regime in Tehran.
Iranian opposition activists hosted a meeting in the Capitol to announce that a majority of the 435-member House now back the resolution.
During the event on Thursday, a number of Republican and Democrat co-sponsors of the resolution expressed their support for the people of Iran and their desire for the theocratic Iranian regime to be replaced by a democratic government.
The resolution, however, has no legal authority and is more of a symbolic show of support for the Iranian people and opposition to certain controversial actions of the regime. It has highlighted the severe human rights violations by the regime during the ongoing nationwide protests that began last year following the mysterious death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Read | Rawan Mahdi Movies And TV Shows 2023 | Rawan Mahdi Biography
The woman was arrested by the country’s notorious morality police, who accused her of not properly wearing her hijab, a mandatory head covering under Iran’s strict rules.
The resolution also calls for the administration of US President Joe Biden to work with the United Nations and human rights organisations across the world in their efforts to hold the regime in Tehran responsible for its serious violations of human rights.
At the event, Republican representative Randy Weber, from Texas, said Iran “cannot have nuclear weapons” and even showed his support for the use of military force to achieve this goal.
Democratic representative Sheila Jackson Lee, also from Texas, defended the rights of Iranian women and applauded Iranian-American communities in the US for their efforts to support change in Iran.
Although the bipartisan resolution has yet to face a formal vote in Congress, it is expected to pass easily since it now has an absolute majority of support.
