Iranian dissidents gather in Paris, slam U.S.’ nukes deal

PARIS | In the biggest gathering of its kind, thousands of Iranian dissidents — and no shortage of former high-level American officials from both sides of the aisle — will converge here Saturday for a giant rally calling for the downfall ofIran’s theocratic government.

Organizers say former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is coming, along with former Govs. Howard Dean, Bill Richardson and Tom Ridge, along with former FBI Director Louis Freeh, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a host of others.

The event’s main organizer is the National Council of Resistance of Iran, whose persistence and tactics have given it a double-edged reputation even among some of Iran’s Western critics. NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi is slated to headline Saturday’s rally with a demand that Washington abandon the year-old Iranian nuclear accord and take a far more aggressive posture toward Tehran.