114 Nobel Laureates Back Iran Uprising, Reject ‘Monarchical Or Religious’ Dictatorships – OpEd

In a major intervention signaling the deepening international isolation of the Iranian regime, a group of 114 Nobel Prize laureates has issued a joint statement condemning the clerical dictatorship’s brutal crackdown on the nationwide uprising. The signatories, comprising some of the world’s most respected figures in peace, literature, and science, offered their unwavering support to the Iranian people’s demand for a democratic republic.

The statement comes at a critical juncture for the regime, following weeks of intense unrest that began in late 2025. The laureates expressed “deep and remorseful concern” over the “gross and shocking violations of the rights of Iranian citizens.” They highlighted that the regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has explicitly ordered the use of lethal force against defenseless protesters.

The laureates’ intervention provides crucial moral backing to a movement that has rapidly evolved from economic grievances to a full-scale political confrontation with the regime. The current wave of protests erupted on December 28, 2025, sparked initially by a strike among bazaari shopkeepers and merchants in central Tehran.

What began as a reaction to the rial’s sharp plunge, price spikes, and fears of business bankruptcies quickly turned into a full-fledged nationwide uprising against the regime in its entirety. In a desperate bid to quell the uprising, the regime resorted to brutality, killing thousands of protesters in the streets.

The statement also shed light on specific atrocities committed by security forces, validating reports that regime agents have “stormed hospitals and shot the wounded or arrested them and transferred them to detention centers with horrific conditions.”

At the same time, the regime has intensified its machinery of death in a desperate bid to contain the explosive society. The Nobel laureates drew attention to grim statistics, noting that “official statistics” indicate the regime “executed more than 2,200 people in 2025 alone.” The violence spiked dramatically as protests began, with the number of executions in December 2025 reaching “a shocking and unprecedented figure of 403.”

Crucially, the Nobel laureates aligned themselves with the specific political aspirations of the Iranian street, which seeks a future free from all forms of despotism. The signatories emphasized that the Iranian people are looking forward, not backward.

“The demonstrators, shouting for freedom, reject any dictatorship, whether monarchical or religious, and call for a democratic, pluralistic, and corruption-free republic,” the statement read.

This phrasing is significant as it echoes the chants heard across Iran, where the people have clarified that their opposition to the Mullahs does not equate to a desire for a return to the Shah’s dictatorship.

While acknowledging recent condemnations by the United Nations Secretary-General, the laureates stressed that verbal sympathy is no longer sufficient. They urged world leaders to “support and take practical steps to support the Iranian people’s uprising for change, freedom, and social justice, thereby helping Iran join the community of democratic nations.”

Prominent signatories include former Polish President Lech Walesa, President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta, and 2024 Economics Laureate Daron Acemoglu.

Full Text of the Statement by Nobel Laureates

Statement by Nobel Laureates on Human Rights Violations in Iran

We, the Nobel Laureates, express our deep and remorseful concern at the gross and shocking violations of the rights of Iranian citizens and their massacres by the dictatorial regime in Iran. The regime’s behavior, both in its relentless repression of the Iranian people and in its cross-border actions that fuel violence around the world, has raised serious concerns for the consciences of all civilized peoples.

We particularly strongly condemn the use of lethal weapons and the opening of fire on Iranian demonstrators, ordered by the regime’s Supreme Leader. Demonstrators have taken to the streets since late December to protest against repression, structural corruption, systematic looting, and rampant inflation. Credible human rights reports show that thousands of innocent citizens have lost their lives to security forces, and regime agents have even stormed hospitals and shot the wounded or arrested them and transferred them to detention centers with horrific conditions.

The demonstrators, shouting for freedom, reject any dictatorship, whether monarchical or religious, and call for a democratic, pluralistic, and corruption-free republic. To prevent this uprising, the Iranian regime has executed more than 2,200 people in 2025 alone, according to official statistics. The number of executions recorded in December 2025 alone reached a shocking and unprecedented figure of 403. Despite such brutal and shameless repression, the regime has not been able to prevent the uprising of the freedom-loving and courageous people of Iran. They deserve the strong and unwavering support of the free world.

We, the Nobel Prize laureates, welcome the position of the UN Secretary-General and other world leaders in condemning the repression and killing of demonstrators in Iran, and call on them to support and take practical steps to support the Iranian people’s uprising for change, freedom, and social justice, thereby helping Iran join the community of democratic nations.