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Speakers at the Berlin Conference held on July 24, 2025, in Berlin, Germany
At a conference in Berlin on July 24, 2025, international security experts and former officials from Germany and the United States called for the immediate activation of the snapback sanctions mechanism against the clerical dictatorship in Iran. With the clock ticking toward the October deadline, speakers emphasized that Tehran’s growing nuclear ambitions, regional destabilization through proxies, and open defiance of international commitments present an urgent threat to global peace. The conference also underscored the legitimacy of the Iranian opposition and the need for a democratic alternative to the regime.
Leo Dautsenberg, former German MP and chair of the German Solidarity Committee for a Free Iran, opened the conference by highlighting the pivotal role of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in uncovering Tehran’s secret nuclear facilities. “It was the National Council of Resistance of Iran that, as early as 2002, exposed the secret nuclear facilities in Natanz and Arak, revealing the true military intentions of the Iranian regime,” he said. “Since then, they have published over one hundred revelations about Iran’s clandestine nuclear and missile programs aimed clearly at developing weapons of mass destruction.”
Dautsenberg emphasized that the time for European action was running out: “The time window for activating the snapback mechanism is closing rapidly. This question—whether the European states should act and what is politically at stake—concerns not only the Middle East but the security of Europe and the entire world.” He reaffirmed his support for the democratic opposition and urged European governments to adopt a firm, strategic posture toward the clerical dictatorship’s expanding nuclear threat.
Amb. Robert Joseph, former undersecretary of state for arms control and international at the #Berlin #Iran Conference:
“Negotiations with the Iranian regime will get nowhere. 20—plus years of negotiation have not had positive results. They have only given the regime valuable time… pic.twitter.com/1v1XDmDJ91
— Javad Dabiran (@JavadDabiran) July 24, 2025
Dr. Franz Josef Jung, former German Minister of Defense, denounced the clerical dictatorship’s support for terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, its supply of drones to Russia in the war on Ukraine, and its ongoing uranium enrichment program. “Iran’s nuclear weapons program, in my view, represents an immediate threat to world peace,” Dr. Jung declared. “With ballistic missiles reaching up to 3,000 kilometers, this is no longer just a danger for the Middle East—it directly targets all of Europe.”
He described the snapback sanctions mechanism as a powerful legal instrument to reimpose international pressure without requiring consensus in the UN Security Council. But he stressed that sanctions alone are not enough. “The real solution for global peace lies in regime change in Iran—not through war, but through the organized resistance and the will of the Iranian people,” he said, pointing to NCRI President Maryam Rajavi’s “Third Option” for non-violent democratic transformation.
Dr. Jung warned that Tehran’s escalating crackdown on dissent reveals its internal weakness: “The regime wants the world to believe there is no democratic alternative. But the growing support for the resistance inside Iran proves the opposite.” He urged European governments to stand with the Iranian people and help secure lasting peace through democratic change.
On the eve of E3 talks with Tehran, former German DM Dr. @jungfj , Amb. Robert Joseph, Dr. Rudolf Adam & NCRI’s @amsafavi urged Europe to trigger snapback sanctions & support democratic change in Iran. “Appeasement has failed—support the Iranian people.”#FreeIran2025 #Iran https://t.co/Pf3AByD7hY pic.twitter.com/ir5YaUM4Fc
— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) July 24, 2025
Ambassador Robert Joseph, former U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, urged the E3 (Germany, France, and the UK) to immediately trigger snapback sanctions, citing Iran’s flagrant violations of its nuclear commitments, including uranium enrichment to 60% and continued obstruction of IAEA inspections. “Iran is in blatant violation of its obligations—not only by enriching uranium to 60%, but by refusing to cooperate with the IAEA on suspected weaponization activities,” he stated.
“Yet the West continues to give the regime chance after chance—by my count, this is chance number 17 or 18. Enough.” Amb. Joseph strongly criticized the failed strategy of endless negotiations and rejected what he called a false dichotomy between war and diplomacy. “The third option is not war, and it’s not endless negotiations. It’s recognizing and morally supporting the Iranian people’s right to freedom, to a secular, democratic, non-nuclear state,” he said.
Emphasizing that this approach requires neither military intervention nor regime change from abroad, Amb. Joseph called on Western governments to stop providing lifelines—whether political or economic—to a regime he described as incapable of reform and fundamentally hostile to both its own people and global norms.
#Berlin Conference: #Iran ’s Nuclear Program – Snapback, E3 Strategy
July 24, 11:30 a.m.
Speakers include Franz J. Jung, former German Minister of Defense, Robert Joseph, former U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Securityhttps://t.co/mTkAgbN8OA
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 23, 2025
Dr. Rudolf Adam, former President of the Federal Academy for Security Policy and former deputy head of Germany’s intelligence service, endorsed Ambassador Joseph’s central arguments while offering a sobering assessment of the current geopolitical landscape. He described the damage inflicted by recent Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure as severe—destroying centrifuges in Natanz and Fordow and crippling laboratories in Isfahan—but warned against overconfidence.
“What is destroyed can be rebuilt. The know-how remains. As history shows—even a nation in ruins can rebuild within a decade, if the political will and financial resources exist,” Adam said. He cast doubt on the long-term effectiveness of sanctions as a standalone tool: “Snapback sanctions may increase short-term pressure, but no sanctions regime has ever brought about fundamental political change—not in Moscow, not in Pyongyang, and not in Tehran.” Arguing that genuine change can only come from within, Adam called for a new Iranian political system grounded in legitimacy and popular consent.
“It can neither be a return to monarchy nor a rebranded theocracy,” he concluded. “Only a government supported by a clear majority of the Iranian people—secular, tolerant, and constitutional—can bring an end to the nuclear threat and Iran’s export of terror.”
The conference presented a clear consensus: the clerical dictatorship in Tehran cannot be trusted, time is running out, and only through immediate international pressure and support for Iran’s democratic opposition can long-term security be secured.