Global leaders, Iranian diaspora, and human rights advocates at the 2025 Free Iran rally in New York called for an end to Tehran’s repression, highlighting Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan as the democratic alternative.

The 2025 Free Iran rally outside the United Nations was not a series of isolated testimonies; it was a coordinated statement of purpose. Military leaders, lawmakers, diaspora activists, survivors and youth stood side by side to make two arguments: first, that the clerical regime in Tehran is criminal and collapsing in legitimacy; and second, that a democratic alternative — articulated in Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan and organized via the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) — exists and deserves international support.

International solidarity and security

Speakers from allied democracies framed Iran’s repression as both a domestic crime and a global threat. Gen. Tod Wolters set the tone with a reminder of universal values: “Here on this sacred section of United Nations soil, we are reminded of the complete preciousness of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

He described Iranians’ lack of freedom as a decades-long condition: “For far, far too long—decades and decades and decades—the good citizens of Iran have had to endure without this freedom.” Crucially, Wolters presented the NCRI as more than an opposition in waiting: “The National Council of Resistance of Iran can and will deliver on this mandate and has prepared, researched, educated, and practiced for decades and decades.”

Carla Sands underscored the urgency of accountability: “In August alone, the regime executed 170 people. This is not justice. This is systemic, state-sanctioned murder by a regime terrified of its own people.” Her demand was blunt: “Pezeshkian has no place at the United Nations. He should not be welcomed in New York City.” Together these voices made clear that repression at home and destabilizing behavior abroad are two sides of the same coin.

Women-led resistance and the Ten-Point Plan

A consistent theme was that the Iranian resistance is both women-led and programmatic. Multiple speakers invoked Rajavi’s platform as the roadmap for a post-theocracy Iran. Wolters said plainly: “Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan represents the fight for Iran’s freedom, justice, and democracy,” singling out “an independent legal system,” “a non-nuclear Iran,” and “the equal participation of women in political leadership.”

Speakers from the diaspora amplified that message with moral force. Sarvie Golestaneh captured the movement’s gendered character: “The regime is afraid of the only democratic solution that is led by women.” Hanif Ahadi echoed the point: “What inspires me most today is this: that this movement, the MEK, the NCRI, is led by women.” For many in New York, female leadership is not incidental; it is central to the movement’s authenticity and appeal.

Diaspora testimony, memory and moral claim

Several speakers tied family histories and exile to a claim of moral authority. Michelle Shariati recounted a family memory that became a lesson in choice: “Freedom is not something you inherit. It’s a path you choose to walk.” Her testimony turned personal trauma into civic commitment: “The fight for democracy in Iran stands on the sacrifices of the MEK, and especially on the shoulders of the women of the MEK.” Parsa Aria framed the younger generation’s refusal to accept dictatorship as a defining ethic: “Today I stand here as part of a generation that refuses to accept dictatorship as Iran’s destiny.”

Saba Rezaii’s speech carried both grief and resolve: “It is in this sentiment, this sentiment of resistance that is synonymous with the people of Iran,” she said, naming a lineage of protest from 2009 to 2022 and warning the international community: “No more appeasement. No more business as usual while people are being executed for dissent.”

The price of dissent — prisons, executions, and professional peril

Human costs threaded every testimony. Amir Emadi catalogued state violence: “Since Pezeshkian took office, there have been nearly 1,800 executions… Over 21,000 have been arrested on political charges.” Setareh Vatan described the chilling repercussions for caregivers and clinicians: “Those who treat survivors of state violence and protest-related trauma risk being interrogated, harassed, or pressured to reveal patient information.” Linda Chavez quantified the brutality: “In 2025 alone, the mullahs have executed 800 people. Between September 8th and 15th, the regime hanged 15 prisoners.” These are not abstractions; they are the lived conditions that animate calls for immediate action.

International linkage: Ukraine and Iran

Oleks Taran brought a crucial comparative lens, linking Tehran’s external violence to its internal brutality: “The same hands in Tehran that hang young Iranians at home are the ones that build drones to bomb Ukrainian cities.” He appealed to a common strategy: mutual solidarity weakens autocrats everywhere. “Support for Ukraine weakens Tehran’s regime, and support for Iranians demanding freedom weakens Moscow,” he said, closing with a rallying, transnational shout: “From Kyiv to Tehran, from Kharkiv to Shiraz, our voices are joined. Glory to Ukraine and freedom to Iran!”

Conclusion — a tested alternative, a global responsibility

Across New York that day, the chorus was consistent: theocratic rule in Tehran is responsible for systemic brutality, the MEK/NCRI offer a woman-led, programmatic alternative, and the international community must move beyond appeasement. As Amir Emadi put it, the crowd gathered to show “the real voice of the Iranian people.” If policymakers are to listen, they should weigh both the moral testimony and the political program presented in these speeches: a vision of a secular, democratic, non-nuclear Iran, and a movement that says, plainly, that “this struggle is about dignity. It is about freedom, and it is about life itself.”

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