Over 140 Activists and Political Prisoners Declare: The Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and Every Inch of Iran's Soil Are Not for Sale, August 9, 2026
More than 140 activists, political prisoners, and justice-seeking families emphasized in a statement that "the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and every inch of Iran's soil cannot be traded, ceded, or given away."
The full text of the statement — whose 143 signatures are held safely with us — reads as follows:
In the exalted name of Iran
Statement by a group of activists and political prisoners together with justice-seeking families
We, a group of monarchist political prisoners of Iran, from behind prison walls — where our freedom has been taken from us, but our honor and our love for Iran have not — declare with a resounding voice:
The Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and every inch of Iran's soil cannot be traded, ceded, or given away.
We follow with deep concern the news and reports of any agreement, treaty, or decision that could weaken Iran's historical and legal rights in the Caspian Sea, and we strongly condemn any action by the Islamic Republic to hand over Iran's national interests to foreigners — above all to Russia.
A regime that has lost its legitimacy among the people of Iran and stands against its own people has no right to decide about the land, the borders, and the interests of Iran's future generations.
No agreement concluded without the will and consent of the Iranian nation and against the country's national interests has any legitimacy in our eyes.
Iran is not the personal property of any government, party, or individual.
Iran is the shared inheritance of all Iranians — an inheritance passed to us from earlier generations, which we are duty-bound to hand over, whole and proud, to the generations to come.
We declare, clearly and without ambiguity:
Iran's territorial integrity is our red line.
The Caspian Sea is neither a commodity for trade nor a tool for courting the favor of foreign powers.
The Persian Gulf can neither be renamed nor given away.
Iran's islands and borders are likewise an inseparable part of this country's identity and territorial integrity.
We believe that any agreement made in the era of the Islamic Republic — without the backing and consent of the Iranian nation — that damages the country's historical rights and national interests must be reviewed and settled in the free and national Iran of the future, with the presence of the nation's true representatives and on the basis of Iran's interests.
We call on all Iranians, inside and outside the country, not to stay silent in the face of any action that threatens Iran's territorial integrity and national interests.
Iran is not for sale.
The Caspian is not for sale.
The Persian Gulf is not for sale.
And no foreign power, whoever it may be, owns a single inch of Iran's soil.
We, the monarchist political prisoners, though confined behind prison bars today, have carried Iran's voice with us into these walls, and we declare:
Until Iran is free, flourishing, and proud,
Iran's territorial integrity will remain our red line.
Payandeh Iran — long live Iran
Javid Shah
We, the signatories of this statement, condemn any handover, transaction, or forfeiture of Iran's historical and territorial rights in the Caspian Sea and the country's other territorial domains.