Sharon Keogan demands urgent debate on Iran crackdown
Sharon Keogan warned of a worsening catastrophe and crackdown in Iran, citing credible monitoring reports that estimate over 25,000 protesters have been killed and tens of thousands detained amid a sweeping digital blackout. She urged support for calls to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation and pressed the House to schedule an urgent debate on the crisis.
Reported casualties and detentions
The speaker cited credible monitoring reports estimating more than 25,000 protesters killed and tens of thousands arrested nationwide. She noted some accounts suggesting over 20,000 people may be detained, with many held incommunicado under a wide digital blackout.
Allegations of torture and executions
She described testimonies alleging systemic torture, rape and degrading treatment used to terrorise civilian protesters, and warned against ignoring the reported scale of public executions. The speech referenced statements that Iran's judiciary says it is "just getting started" in punishing those labelled as rioters.
Role of security forces and international calls
The speaker highlighted the central role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in the crackdown and referenced renewed calls across Europe for the organisation's designation as a terrorist organisation - a step she said should be supported.
Humanitarian and infrastructure warnings
Sharon Keogan pointed to severe urban hardship in Tehran, a city of more than 10 million people, including water shortages and electricity blackouts. She noted experts' warnings of an impending "water day zero" and that the country's own president had cautioned the capital may even face evacuation.
Parliamentary request and political critique
She criticised sections of the left for prioritising condemnation of the political right in the West over support for Iranian human rights, asking rhetorically "do Iranians bleed differently than the Palestinians?" She concluded by asking colleagues to place the matter on the agenda for urgent debate and closed with the Irish phrase Go raam mahi agat.
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Thank you. I rise today to draw urgent attention to the worsening catastrophe and crackdown in Iran. Following mass demonstrations since late December, the regime's response has been one of breathtaking brutality. Credible monitoring reports estimate that over 25,000 protesters have been killed, with tens of thousands across the country arrested. Some reports suggest that more than 20,000 people may have been detained, many held incommunicado under a sweeping digital blackout. These protests are driven by a people pushed to desperation by decades of authoritarian corruption and mismanagement. Tehran, a city of more than 10 million people, is suffering severe water shortages and electricity blackouts, with experts' warning of an impending water day zero. The country's own president has cautioned that the capital may even face evacuation. Meanwhile, testimonies describe torture, rape and degrading treatment carried out systemically to terrorise civilian protesters, while Iran's judiciary declares it's just getting started in punishing so-called rioters. We cannot ignore the scale of public executions, nor the central role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, whose actions have prompted renewed calls across Europe for its designation as a terrorist organisation, a push we must support. So colleagues, when this House condemned the treatment of Iranian women in October 2022, we were rightly vocal in our obligation to stand for human dignity. Yet today, I observe a troubling tendency among certain sections of the left, more concerned with condemning the political right in the West, than with supporting the human rights of the Iranian people. I ask the left, do Iranians bleed differently than the Palestinians? I ask that we place this matter on the agenda for urgent debate. Go raam mahi agat.
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