Some 200 European officials are calling for Iran’s hardline Islamic government to be dissolved and for the country to allow international inspectors to take inventory of all Iranian sites suspected of housing an illicit nuclear weapons program, according to a letter sent to European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday.
The delegation, comprised of 221 members of the European Parliament from 28 EU member states, slams Iran’s "destructive meddling" throughout the region and criticizes its human rights record, which is ranked among the worst in the world.
The delegation also backs regime change aimed to bring down Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his hardline inner circle of allies, according to the letter, which was spearheaded by Friends of a Free Iran (FoFI), a European Parliament group formed in 2003.
This regime change would include Iran becoming "a democratic pluralistic republic based on universal suffrage, freedom of expression, abolition of torture and death penalty, separation of church and state, a non-nuclear Iran, an independent judicial system, rights for minorities, peaceful coexistence in the region, gender equality and commitment to Universal Declaration of Human Rights," the letter reads.
While the leaders did not take an explicit stance on the ongoing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, they demanded the country immediately allow inspectors to take inventory of its military sites.
Iranian leaders have rejected this demand multiple times in recent months.
"Iran needs to adhere to all UN Security Council resolutions with regard to its nuclear program and it should respond to all outstanding [International Atomic Energy Agency] questions while allowing intrusive inspections of all its military and non-military sites, whether declared or undeclared," the letter states.
The European leaders also condemn Iran’s support for terrorism in the region, including in Iran, Yemen, Syria, and elsewhere.
"The destructive meddling of Iran in the region is of growing concern," they write. "Amnesty International has disclosed many details on the war atrocities in Iraq of the Shia militias affiliated to Iran. Iran is at the heart of the crisis in this region and not part of the solution. If fundamentalism and extremism is to be uprooted in this region, Iran’s destructive influence and interference should end."
The leaders also single out Iran Quds Force for contributing to atrocities in Syria.
"The active participation of the [Quds] Force, Hezbollah and other Iranian backed militias in the defense of [Bashar al-]Assad dictatorship has so far led to the death of 300,000," the letter states. "Concurrently, Iran has expanded its dominion over Yemen."
In addition to Iran’s expansion outward, it stepped up efforts within the country to silence democratic activists.
An Iranian artist, for instance, was sentenced to 12 years in prison this week for drawing cartoons lampooning members of the Iranian parliament.
It also sentenced to death a blogger accused of insulting the prophet in his writings.
Executions in Iran also have hit record levels under President Hassan Rouhani.
"The situation of human rights in Iran needs to be heeded in all relations with this country," the European officials write. "Iran should end the executions, free political prisoners, stop the repression of women and respect the rights and freedoms of the Iranian people."