France should lead an international coalition committed to toppling Iran’s clerical leadership, former prime minister Gabriel Attal said Wednesday, as authorities continue to violently suppress mass protests that began late last year.
Attal, who leads Renaissance – the centrist party founded by President Emmanuel Macron – said participating states would strengthen sanctions, identify officials linked to repression and prepare for a possible political transition to avoid chaos.
“France must take the lead of a coalition of states ready to fully commit to bringing down the regime of the mullahs,” Attal told France Inter.
He said the proposed coalition would work to “strengthen sanctions wherever possible and make them truly effective” against Tehran.
Iran's exiled opposition fractures amid climate of fear online
Lists of regime operatives
Participating countries would also publish “extremely precise lists of all the regime’s operatives” so they could face prosecution in the future, Attal added.
The coalition would also prepare for “the aftermath”, aiming to avoid “chaos” if Iran’s leadership were to fall. Attal did not explain how such a change might happen.
The member of parliament repeated that if a state chose to intervene militarily in Iran, he would “be careful not to condemn it”.
US President Donald Trump issued repeated threats in January to intervene militarily in Iran in response to the repression of protests.
EU blacklists Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation
Protests spread across Iran
Large anti-government demonstrations began on 28 December over rising living costs in Iran before turning into a broader protest movement against the authorities.
On Tuesday, residents of the capital Tehran again chanted slogans against the Islamic regime, according to videos shared on social media.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based NGO monitoring rights violations in Iran, said it had confirmed 6,964 deaths, mostly protesters, and was investigating 11,730 additional cases.
(with AFP)
