Introduction by the Authors

This white paper is written neither in a vacuum nor in a purely abstract and theoretical space, but stands upon the shoulders of a living and eventful theoretical and practical tradition. Its authors, with a consciously pluralistic approach during the drafting process, have drawn upon the study of dozens of works, including articles, manifestos, pacts, statutes, and political and analytical documents; they have consulted with thinkers, specialists in political science, law, history, sociology, civil and political activists; and they have examined works, ideas, and recommendations produced within the context of the freedom-seeking and justice-seeking struggles of the people of Iran—from the early years following the 1979 revolution until today—by various currents, organizations, civil institutions, and activists in diverse fields. This founding text 2 is also indebted to the rich and inspiring literature of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, the manifestos and lived experiences of justice-seekers, civil society activists, human rights defenders, women, atheists, and religious and faith minorities including Baha'is, Gonabadi dervishes, Zoroastrians, Christians, Sunni Muslims, Mandaeans, Yarsanis, and Jews, Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs, and Turks, and sexual minorities, as well as the justice-seeking movement and various (and often fragile) efforts toward party-building; experiences that hold instructive lessons on political action within the framework of pluralistic party institutions and which, through various institution-building, the experience of associations, and conflict resolution, have provided the institutional capacity for founding a modern and organized party. Without the accumulation of this intellectual and experiential legacy—itself the heir to the struggles of the people of Iran since the Constitutional Revolution—and without the sacrifice of past generations, organizations, and institutions, the drafting of such a white paper would neither have been possible nor very meaningful. The purpose of this document is to formulate the most pressing issues of the time and to present a practical and actionable framework for founding the "Progressive Iranians Party"; a party alongside other democratic institutions, based on pluralism, polyphony, effective public participation, the implementation and institutionalization of international human rights laws and standards, transparency, commitment, and accountability, for the transition from the illegitimate, oppressive, and criminal rule of the Islamic Republic. The party is a tool to achieve democracy, guarantee fundamental freedoms, eliminate structural and systematic inequality and discrimination, and realize transitional justice, social justice, and environmental justice, establish the rule of law and constitutionalism, the separation of powers and the prohibition of the concentration of power, the establishment of independent prosecutorial and judicial institutions, and guarantee the peaceful and periodic rotation of power through free and fair elections, and on the other hand, a resonant and organized voice to counter the growing threat of the extreme right, authoritarianism, and monopolism in the name of the opposition, transition, and emergency. This white paper endeavors to build, from the heart of what has been previously thought and tested, a new foundation with solid, reliable principles open to dialogue, convergence, and coalition, relying on a society-oriented, ethical politics that prioritizes the lives and human dignity of all the people of Iran. The authors of this white paper hope that this effort—in continuation of that same eventful collective path and in tribute to the tens of thousands of lives lost and tortured for freedom and democracy in Iran from the Constitutional Revolution to the 1970s and 1980s (solar years), the subsequent movements from the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement to the great uprising of January 2026 (solar year) and the street suppressions by the leaders of the criminal government of the Islamic Republic—will be taken seriously by youth, women, workers, wage earners, the underprivileged and retirees, activists and thinkers, in a word, the immense democracy-seeking and progressive force, and will be utilized in forming an organized and institutionalized force with a clear and effective voice for Iran's pluralistic and diverse society.