At the Free Iran 2026 conference in France, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg said the regime is at its weakest point in decades. (Iranntv.com.)
As theTrump administration pushes forwardwith a new Iran deal, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg told a Paris gathering of the National Council of Resistance of Iran — an exiled Iranian opposition coalition aligned with the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) — that Tehran’s rulers are weaker than they have been in decades. urged dissidents to seize what he described as a historic opening.
"The window is open wider than at any moment in a generation,. windows do not stay open forever," Kellogg said at the two-day event. "The theocratic regime in Tehran will not leave voluntarily. You must force it. The hope is here. Now must come the action."
Kellogg, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine, framed any disarmament agreement not as an endpoint,. as "the first step of something far larger," saying it should become the foundation for Iran’s future without the current regime.
POMPEO SAYS IRANIAN REGIME HAS ARRIVED AT 'NATURAL TERMINUS': 'LET'S NOT WASTE THIS HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY'
Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg speaks at the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s two-day conference in Paris. where he urged Iranian opposition supporters to seize what he called a historic opening against Tehran’s regime.(Mousa Mohebbi)
Maryam Rajavi. the NCRI’s president-elect,used her remarks at the conferenceto argue that neither war nor negotiations had solved the threat posed by Tehran’s rulers. "A peaceful, non-nuclear Iran is possible only through theoverthrow of this regimeby the Iranian people. their organized Resistance," Rajavi said, adding that any international agreement to end the war should include an end to executions of political prisoners and the killing of protesters.
Kellogg also invoked the NCRI’s 2002 disclosure of Iran’s Natanz. Arak nuclear sites, saying the group should play a role in pushing for strict verification of any agreement. "When I say trust, but verify, understand that verification is not an abstraction to this Council. It is your legacy," he said. "You must be the conscience that ensures every barrel of uranium leaves,every centrifuge stops,. every promise on that page becomes a fact on the ground."
The remarks came as NCRI organizers had expected tens of thousands of Iranian expatriates fromNorth Americaand Europe to attend two days of events in Paris. French authorities banned a planned outdoor rally, citing security threats. A French court later upheld the ban, pointing to specific intelligence about alleged bomb threats. risks of violence involving rival Iranian opposition factions, including possible threats from Iranian regime-linked actorsor monarchist groups.
FRANCE CONDEMNS IRAN PROTEST CRACKDOWN, WEIGHS SATELLITE INTERNET AID AMID BLACKOUT
Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, speaks at the NCRI’s two-day conference in Paris, where she called for a democratic republic in Iran. said any international agreement should include an end to executions of political prisoners. June 21, 2026.(Mousa Mohebbi)
The NCRI's main member organization is the MEK, which was previously listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., U.K. andEuropean Unionbefore being delisted in 2012. The group is a major thorn in the side of the Tehran regime. has been the target of alleged Iranian plots in the U.S. and Europe, including a foiled 2018 bomb plot against the group's rally outside Paris.
Despite the ban, demonstrators gathered at the site on Saturday. Police ordered the crowd to disperse and arrested around 20 people, a police source told AFP.
Ali Safavi. a member of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News Digital that the French decision amounted to "an unjustifiable act of capitulation," arguing that Paris should have protected the rally rather than banning it, "Rather than yielding to intimidation,Franceshould have defended the fundamental democratic right to peaceful assembly."
Former British Prime MinisterBoris Johnsonalso criticized the French ban, calling it a "tragic mistake". saying Western capitals must allow Iranian opposition voices to be heard.
IRAN GOES DARK AS REGIME UNLEASHES FORCE, CYBER TOOLS TO CRUSH PROTESTS
Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran gather in Paris on June 20, 2026, after French authorities banned an outdoor rally against repression. executions in Iran. Police ordered demonstrators to disperse and arrested around 20 people, according to AFP.(National Council of Resistance of Iran)
"If the voices of freedom are to be heard in Iran, then we in the West must allow those voices of freedom to be heard in our capitals. around the world," Johnson said during his speech.
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also addressed the event Saturday. linking Ukraine’s struggle against Russia to the Iranian opposition’s fight against Tehran. Kuleba said Ukrainians had wanted to join the rally. were "appalled" by the French ban, adding, "The people of Ukraine stand by those who defend democracy, freedom, liberty in their lands."
He also pointed to Iran’s support for Russia’s war effort. saying that while Russian ballistic missiles were targeting Kyiv, drones using technology "provided to Russia by the current regime in Iran" were also striking Ukraine.
Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran gather in Paris after French authorities banned a rally against repression. executions in Iran, June 20, 2026.(National Council of Resistance of Iran)
"Like you, I know very well what it means to be attacked. killed and destroyed by the regime that currently holds its grip over the people of Iran," Kuleba said.
The French government did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Efrat Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent toefrat.lachter@fox.com.
Discussion
Sign in to join the thread, react, and share images.