Richard Boyd Barrett: Backs Iran Protests, Condemns US Military Threats
Richard Boyd Barrett addressed the Taoiseach, voicing solidarity with Iranian people protesting inflation, corruption and violent repression and urging the regime to stop killing protesters and lift censorship. He also condemned Donald Trump and the American military for threatening Iran and other countries, calling such threats "war-mongering" and "naked imperialism".
Solidarity with Iranian protesters
Mr Boyd Barrett declared solidarity with Iranian people who are protesting against rampant inflation, corruption and violent repression. He urged the Iranian regime to stop killing protesters and to lift the censorship imposed on citizens fighting for legitimate change and reform.
Condemning US threats and past actions
He said Donald Trump and the American military have no right to threaten Iran or any other regime, citing past US actions "as they did with Venezuela, kidnapping the leader" and listing threats to Greenland, Cuba and Mexico. He warned against possible military action against Iran and urged consistency in defending human rights and self-determination.
Government response and wider critique
A responding voice in the exchange argued that Iran has long been a malign actor that has caused havoc across the Middle East and persecuted its own people, noting other regional actors by name. That speaker said the world has tolerated Iran since the Ayatollahs took over and described the difficulty of having a reflective discussion amid heated exchanges.
Calls for international reform
The responding speaker also said the erosion of UN authority and dominance by major powers on the Security Council is a core problem, arguing that the Council needs broader representation and reform to restore its authority. The debate framed immediate human-rights concerns alongside longer-term questions about international rules and institutions.
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Taoiseach, we should all declare our solidarity with Iranian people protesting against rampant inflation, against corruption and against the violent repression they're facing at the hands of the Iranian regime. The regime should stop killing protesters and they should lift the censorship that they have imposed on Iranian people fighting for legitimate change and reform in their country. However, we should be equally clear in saying that Donald Trump and the American military have no right to threaten Iran or any other regime, as they did with Venezuela, kidnapping the leader, whatever we may think of Maduro, and I don't think much of him, or threaten Greenland, or threaten Cuba, or threaten Mexico, or as he's threatening, as we speak, threatening possible military action against Iran. So if we're going to be consistent in our principles and standing up for human rights, standing up for self-determination, as well as calling out the violent repression of the Iranian regime, we have to call out Donald Trump's war-mongering and naked imperialism across the globe. Deputy Boyd Barrett, again, in terms of President Trump and in terms of Iran, again, Iran has been a very malign actor, and I take your point that you've no truck with the Iranian regime, because it has persecuted its civilians for a long, long time. But long before President Trump became president, people always argued about interventions, you know, from different political backgrounds. No, sorry, I just can't. I'm not talking about, I'm just saying, like Iran has been a malign influence for as long as I can remember. It has created havoc across the Middle East. Saudi too, of course. Others? Israel. But does that mean I just ignore Iran then, is it? No, no. Well, let's... This is not a back-and-forth forum. The world has tolerated Iran since the Ayatollahs took over. And look at the damage and destruction Iran has caused across the region, and its own people, more fundamentally, its own people, in terms of quality of life and so on like that. And there are legitimate issues in another day, because it's very difficult to discuss these issues when people are more interested in heated exchanges than in maybe a more reflective discussion in all of this. But the world is in a great difficulty, principally because, in my view, the authority of the UN has eroded over the years through absence of reform and through the dominance of major powers in the Security Council, who have... And that Security Council needs to be broadened in terms of representation, and its authority needs to be restored. And that's the more fundamental problem, I think, in terms of what's going on in the world today. The... Do you want to call out? No, please. No, in terms of... We're very clear, consistent. International rules must apply and should apply. Thank you very much. But... Oh, Lord. Deputy, more... Thank you very much.
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