Thousands rallied in New York on September 23, 2025, outside the United Nations to demand democratic change in Iran, organized by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The gathering — which included Iranian Americans, international dignitaries, human-rights advocates and young activists — was in solidarity with uprisings inside Iran and an affirmation of the NCRI’s organized Resistance and Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for a secular, democratic, non-nuclear republic. Speakers condemned the regime’s executions (citing nearly 1,800 since Masoud Pezeshkian took office), regional aggression, and alleged nuclear deception, while rejecting both clerical rule and monarchy as alternatives.
Moderator Amir Emadi emphasized the Resistance as a people’s option: “the third option as presented by President-elect Maryam Rajavi is regime change by the people of Iran and their organized Resistance.” He pressed the crowd against return to past autocracies and declared, “The people’s resounding message is clear: No to the Shah, no to mullahs, yes to a democratic republic.”
A message from Maryam Rajavi was read to the rally. She praised attendees’ persistence as mirroring protests inside Iran: “perseverance of my compatriots, who gather here every year in protest,” and asserted their legitimacy before the UN: “With your powerful presence in front of the United Nations, the world sees that you represent the people of Iran; you are the voice of the Iranian people before the United Nations, not the president of the Supreme Leader.” Rajavi reiterated the Resistance’s nuclear revelations as service to global security and praised internal Resistance Units as “the most awake and vigilant fighters of Iran,” concluding: “Our message for Iran’s future is simple: the sovereignty of the people. We want neither a mullah nor a Shah.”
If the Iranian Resistance had not exposed the regime’s secret nuclear project, 23 years ago the mullahs would already have the bomb.
The Resistance has made 133 revelations in this regard; Isn’t this the greatest service to peace and security in the Middle East and the world? pic.twitter.com/FLw3fLQejV— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 23, 2025
Several high-profile former officials and activists voiced support. General Tod Wolters said, “This regime exports terrorism and crushes civil life,” and urged Iranians: “to the 90-plus million citizens of Iran: You deserve this change, and you deserve it soonest.” Carla Sands credited the movement with exposing Iran’s nuclear program: “It was the MEK that first exposed Tehran’s secret nuclear weapons program,” and warned the regime fears the organized opposition because “they know this movement is their existential threat.” She added, “The people will not trade a turban for a crown. Reza Pahlavi’s plan is not democracy, it’s dictatorship.”
Samuel Brownback labeled the government “a terrorist regime, a nuclear weapon-seeking regime, a regime of slavery,” described the uprising as youth-driven and “one of the first, if not the first, women-led revolutions in world history,” and praised young demonstrators: “As I see all these young people in front of me here, this is a youth-led movement in Iran for change.” Linda Chavez declared, “Thousands of you have come to New York to demand an end to the Khamenei regime,” called the Shah “a murderous dictator,” and warned against returning to monarchy: “The Shah was a murderous dictator. Iran’s future does not lie in giving power to his son, who even boasts of his relationship with the IRGC.” She concluded to the regime: “Change is coming.”
Voices from activists and victims’ families reinforced themes of women’s leadership, youth activism, and the cost of resistance. Saba Rezaii denounced monarchist claims: “Those who call themselves king embody the tyranny and misogyny of yesteryear. Incapable is the head that wears the crown,” and rallied: “Forward to revolution! Death to the oppressor, be it the shah or the supreme leader.” Moslem Eskandar Filabi described repression and urged UN action, noting that “every voice raised for freedom, every voice raised for justice, is met with imprisonment, torture, and the gallows,” and called the Resistance “the hope of the oppressed people of Iran for liberation from the clutches of this criminal, corrupt, and dictatorial regime,” ending with a vow to “send the criminal mullahs and their mercenaries to hell.”
Speakers also linked Iran’s repression to regional violence and international solidarity — notably Ukraine’s Svitanok founder Oleks Taran, who compared mass mobilizations and urged joint pressure on Tehran. The rally called on the world to enforce UN resolutions, recognize the Iranian people’s right to choose their government, and reject appeasement while backing the NCRI’s democratic alternative.
