The grand rally of Iranians on the 46th anniversary of the anti-monarchic revolution in Paris

Maryam Rajavi: Neither Shah nor Sheikh—Long Live the Iranian People’s Democratic Revolution!

Dear Compatriots, Friends and Supporters of the Iranian Resistance,
Greetings to you all, and to the freedom fighters of Ashraf 3, who have joined this rally and demonstration.
Today, we honor the Iranian people’s great anti-monarchical revolution on February 11, 1979—with an unshakable commitment to also topple the mullahs’ tyranny.
Yes, neither Shah nor Sheikh—long live the Iranian people’s democratic revolution!
We salute the true pioneers and leaders of that revolution—those who paved the way for freedom.
From Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani, the revolutionary cleric who stood with the people, to Mohammad Hanifnejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Ali-Asghar Badizadegan, the founders of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK); from Bijan Jazani, Amir-Parviz Pouyan, and Massoud Ahmadzadeh, the vanguards of revolutionary struggle, to Shokrollah Paknejad;
from the martyrs of the Siahkal uprising, to Ashraf Rajavi and Mousa Khiabani, we salute them all.

The Clerical Regime is Encircled on All Sides

The generation of the 1979 Revolution was massacred time and again, shackled in chains, and bombarded with lies and demonization. Yet, it endured and multiplied in the rebellious and uprising generations.
They sought to extinguish and bury Iran’s revolution. But under Massoud Rajavi’s leadership, the flames rose from the ashes, burning brighter than ever.
For the remnants of the Shah’s regime, the February Revolution is a curse. But for the galaxy of martyrs and those who rise in rebellion, it remains a celebration of victory over monarchy. Though the mullahs hijacked that revolution, their time has run out—a new revolution is in the making.
The clerical regime is surrounded on all sides by the Resistance Units and the fearless, rebellious youth, a society brimming with rage and defiance, and internal and external conflicts—especially after losing their most strategic footholds in the region.
Ali Khamenei, the regime’s Supreme Leader, used to say, “If we don’t fight in Syria, we will have to fight in Tehran and Isfahan.” Now, with Syria and Lebanon slipping from their grasp, they desperately resort to executions across Tehran and all of Iran, hoping to maintain control.
To them, we say, Do not waste time—fortify your House of Cards while you still can!
Because the rebellious youth are resolute in their goal to purge Pasteur Intersection—the site of the regime’s presidential palace—from the lingering vestiges of both mullahs and monarchs once and for all!

With or Without Nuclear Weapons, the Clerical Regime Faces Overthrow

For some time, amid the domino of defeats, the regime’s warring factions were at loggerheads over whether or not to negotiate with the United States.
We were saying and say now, Go ahead—negotiate! Drink from the chalice of poison in every arena!
As far as we are concerned, a thousand chalices of poison are in the service of a thousand Ashrafs—a thousand bastions of resistance.
Recently, the regime’s Deputy Minister of Intelligence admitted that negotiations are useless and, in his words, “the deadliest poison.” He warned that the Americans have only two messages for the regime: “Either retreat—or be overthrown.”
Yesterday, Khamenei had the final word, saying, “Negotiating is not wise, not intelligent, not honorable.” Previously, the regime has said that it will not commit suicide in fear of death.
But the Iranian people and Resistance say, “You, the Executioner, Your demise has arrived.”
With or without negotiations, with or without nuclear weapons, the uprising and overthrow await you!
Today, Iran’s cities are overflowing with protests and strikes from workers, nurses, teachers, the plundered, and retirees.
Tens of millions are deprived of basic necessities such as electricity, water, housing, and even basic food and healthcare.
However, the problem facing our people goes beyond the tenfold or hundredfold increase in prices. The issue is 46 years of rule under a brutal and corrupt religious dictatorship.
This is why they rose up in the 2017-2018 Uprising, led by women and the rebellious youth;
This is why, in the blazing 2019 Uprising, they destroyed over 800 political and military centers of the regime, and in the Fall of 2022, shook the ground beneath the mullahs’ feet in 280 cities across Iran.
Yes, the solution is clear—another revolution. A revolution to topple the regime of executions and massacres.

Nonviolence or Surrender?

To those who wrap their preservation of the status quo, or at least their inaction and pursuit of comfort, in the veil of nonviolence, and who portray resistance and steadfastness as militancy, we say, gentlemen, if the goal is not to hide submissive or conciliatory positions, then please with whatever means you deem best, overthrow the mullahs and establish democracy.
As Massoud Rajavi, the Leader of the Iranian Resistance, has said:
“We will stand with anyone who topples the religious dictatorship and replaces it with a democratic and independent republic with all our strength, sincerely, and we don’t expect anything in return.”
But nowhere else can such an alternative be found except within the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Should anyone refute the existence of such an alternative, the political implication of their assertion amounts to nothing but the continuation and perpetuation of the current regime.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) presented the National Solidarity Front for the overthrow of religious tyranny 22 years ago and has called for the unity of all republican forces committed to the complete rejection of the Velayat-e Faqih system (the rule of the clergy) and the establishment of a democratic, independent government based on the separation of religion and state. We continue to emphasize these principles.
So, believe us, the dispute has never been, and is not, over this or that method.
The essence and the heart of the dispute is whether to overthrow religious fascism with any level of sacrifice, yes or a no?
Over the past decades, it has been proven that anyone, who truly seeks the overthrow of this dictatorship is not hostile to the resistance movement, nor do they join voices with the mullahs against the anti-regime fighters.
Yes, anyone who seeks overthrow will sincerely support the Resistance Units.
Your gathering today is in a country whose national anthem is the Marseillaise. And we join them in song:
“Arise, children of the homeland,
The day of glory has arrived,
While tyranny is upon us,
The bloodied flag is raised.
Form your battalions,
To destroy the tyrants,
Onward, onward!”

The Right to Rebel in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Yes, our struggle and our people’s struggle extend beyond merely the right to attire. The fundamental right to rebel is ours, our people’s and that of freedom fighters everywhere. It is a right enshrined as a last resort against despotism and suppression in the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Fellow compatriots,
In the 1979 Revolution, our people toppled the monarchical dictatorship. Now, we rise to dismantle religious autocracy and secure a democratic revolution.
In that revolution, women valiantly joined the uprising, yet were repaid with discrimination, oppression, and compulsory veiling. Today, a revolution is unfolding that advances towards the active and equal participation of women in political leadership. Where once monarchical tyranny was supplanted by clerical despotism, we now endeavor to forge a society where religion and governance are distinct, and where all ethnicities—from Kurds and Arabs to Baluchis and Turkmens, can realize their rightful freedoms.

Sovereignty Belongs to the People

The constitution that bestowed monarchy as a “divine gift” to the Shah and his “male descendants” was buried in the 1979 anti-monarchical revolution of 1979.
Similarly destined for burial is the current constitution, which subjects the entire country to the absolute rule of the “velayat-e faqih” and the Supreme Leader.
A new constitution is on the horizon, its cornerstone being that sovereignty belongs to the Iranian people, and their freely cast votes.
This is the mission of our resistance, to which we dedicate ourselves:

• Path for transferring sovereignty to its rightful owners;
• to pave the way for the people of this land to determine their destiny;
• and to ensure that the oppressed women of our nation secure their determinative status in society.

I conclude my remarks by paying tribute to Ashraf Rajavi and Moussa Khiabani, and their fallen comrades, who laid down their lives, on the February 8, 1982.
Salutations to those who fought to the last breathe, and established the enduring tradition of resistance at any cost.

O’Iran!
Your love has become my craft,
From your thoughts, I’m never draft.
In your path, what worth has our life’s span?
Long live the land of our Iran.