The UN and EU's Horrific Appeasement of the Iranian Regime's Tyranny, Betrayal of the Iranian People
 The number of executions in Iran has surged dramatically in 2026, accompanied by widespread human rights violations: torture, sham trials, and the systematic repression of dissent. Iranian authorities have carried out hundreds of executions so far, and it is only August. There were more than 100 in June, with the total climbing past 420 by late July, according to Iran Human Rights and other monitors. Recently a gallows was erected in Isfahan's public square. Many of these executions appear to be politically motivated, targeting participants in the January 2026 protests that challenged the regime. The regime is murdering its youth, including two young men who were only offering help to fleeing protesters. At least 26 people linked to those protests have been hanged after trials marked by torture and forced confessions, while dozens more – in a terror state determined to instill fear – remain at urgent risk. The only countries taking meaningful action, or even expressing disapproval of this regime and its atrocities, are the United States and Israel. The United Nations and the European Union, which endlessly lecture the world about human rights and vilify Israel for defending not only itself but them, have offered effectively no objections. Their inaction, of course, assures Iran's regime that mass killings of its own people and support for global terrorism carry no real cost. On July 28, authorities publicly hanged Amir Hossein Safari and Abolfazl Sepahi in Esfahan's Alikhani Square. Amnesty International described the proceedings as grossly unfair, with allegations of torture and no proper access to defense. Two others from the same case had already been executed on July 19. In one of the first significant public displays of defiance in months, crowds gathered near the site and chanted "shameless" and "without honor" before security forces forcibly dispersed them. Inside Iranian prisons, courageous resistance continues. At Ghezel Hesar, Iran's largest prison, roughly 1,500 death-row inmates have been on hunger strike for weeks against the rising executions. Some, holding placards reading "No to Executions," have sewn their lips shut. The "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign has spread to nearly 60 prisons across Iran, marking over 130 consecutive weeks of protest. The prisoners know the risks of protesting — further isolation, denial of medical care, or accelerated hangings — nonetheless they refuse to stay silent. Beyond its domestic brutality, Iran's regime is still actively fueling wars abroad. It supplies Russia with drones, missiles, and related technology to use against Ukraine. Iran has long provided Shahed drones and ballistic missiles to inflict crushing destruction on Ukrainian cities and civilians. This is the same Iranian regime that the EU and UN treat with diplomatic obsequiousness. Contrast this to the swift, fierce international outcry whenever Israel defends itself and Western civilization against barbarities. You will find an unfailing avalanche of pompous statements, condemnations and resolutions. When Iran executes protesters in public squares, tortures prisoners, and arms Russia's war machine, the response consists of muted expressions of "grave concern." The UN issues calls for moratoriums, which Iran, of course, ignores. In 2025, EU-Iran goods trade totaled approximately €3.7 billion, with EU exports around €3 billion and imports €750 million. Germany led with over €1.1 billion in bilateral trade, followed by Italy and the Netherlands. Even as Iran has supported aggression against Ukraine, mass-murdered protesters in January and then accelerated executions, robust trade with the EU persisted. Iranian embassies and consulates remain open across Europe; European diplomats continue operating in Tehran. Diplomatic relations proceed as if the regime were a normal partner rather than an outsized human rights abuser and massive state sponsor of terrorism. Iran, as European leaders well knows, has a documented history of terror attacks and assassination plots in Europe. These terrorist acts target dissidents, journalists, Jewish communities, as well as senior officials. Plots involving diplomats and proxies have been foiled, such as the 2018 plot to bomb the Free Iran rally, organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, near Paris. The gathering drew tens of thousands of people, including high-profile attendees such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and countless European parliamentarians and officials. An Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, was later convicted in Belgium of masterminding the plot. He had smuggled explosives into Europe and handed them to operatives to detonate in the crowd. The plot was thwarted thanks to intelligence cooperation, including from Israel's Mossad, but it revealed once again how Iran uses its diplomatic presence for terrorism. Iranian embassies have long served as platforms to enable Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and intelligence services. The United States and Israel have confronted Iran's nuclear ambitions, regional aggression, and support for terror groups. The EU has largely stood aside. This will be remembered as one of the EU's most shameful periods from among shameful periods that have become too numerous to count. Institutions that once could claim the moral high ground on human rights have refused to act against a regime that executes, tortures, and destabilizes the West. Appeasement, as they well know from the 1930s, only emboldens aggressors. Concrete action requires, first, expelling all Iranian diplomats and closing down all Iranian embassies and consulates in Europe. These facilities, which simply function as operational bases for the IRGC and intelligence networks, must be shut down. Second, European countries should simultaneously close their own embassies in Iran and impose a complete halt to trade with Iran. A civilized country does not do business with a tyranny that publicly hangs protesters, runs show trials, and tortures prisoners. Third, provide full support — particularly military and economic where needed — to the United States and Israel in confronting Iran's regime. This is not merely a regional dispute; Iran is dedicated to bringing down democracy, freedom, and international peace. Iran's regime exports nothing but a theocratic dictatorship, terror and death. The Iranian people have shown extraordinary courage in the streets and in the prisons. They deserve more than empty statements. The UN and EU, so quick to lecture and to criticize those who actually confront Iran's regime, must stop empowering it through inaction and continued ties. Unless Europe finally severs diplomatic and trade relations, supports those who are fighting the regime, and treats the Iranian regime as the terrorist entity it is, this chapter will stand as a lasting stain. The people of Iran will remember.
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