Young activists in Zahedan display banners and placards calling for freedom, equality, a democratic republic, and an end to both monarchical and clerical dictatorship
Young members of the PMOI Resistance Units carried out a series of activities across Zahedan on Friday, September 11, displaying banners and placards marking the 61st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the selection of its First Secretary.
The activities featured messages centered on freedom, equality, organized resistance, and the overthrow of Iran’s clerical regime. They also conveyed a political message rejecting both the current theocratic dictatorship and a return to monarchical rule.
The actions in Zahedan come as the PMOI enters its 62nd year, with its supporters highlighting what they describe as more than six decades of struggle against dictatorship.
A message of resistance from Zahedan
The banners and placards displayed in the city reflected messages associated with PMOI leaders Massoud Rajavi and Maryam Rajavi. Their central themes focused on the need for organized resistance as the means of achieving political change in Iran and establishing a society based on freedom and equality.
The messages emphasized that democratic change must be achieved through an organized domestic resistance rather than imposed from outside the country. They presented the Resistance Units and the broader organized resistance movement as part of an effort to challenge the regime’s political and security apparatus.
A recurring theme was the assertion that the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations cannot be reduced to a choice between two forms of dictatorship.
“Neither Shah nor Mullahs”
One of the most prominent themes of the Zahedan activities was the rejection of both the former monarchy and the current clerical system.
Slogans displayed by the activists included variations of “Death to the oppressor, whether Shah or leader,” “Dictatorship is dictatorship, whether under a turban or a crown,” and “Neither Shah nor Mullahs, freedom and a democratic republic.”
Other messages described both monarchy and theocracy as forms of dictatorship and called for an alternative based on freedom and equality.
The slogan “From Zahedan to Tehran, death to the oppressor, whether Shah or leader” also underscored the broader geographical dimension of the message. Zahedan, in southeastern Iran, has repeatedly featured in expressions of opposition to the regime, making the city a significant setting for the latest Resistance Units activities.
Emphasis on women’s freedom and equality
Messages associated with Maryam Rajavi placed particular emphasis on the role of women in Iran’s democratic transformation.
The displayed material linked the liberation of Iranian women from discrimination and exploitation to the liberation of Iranian society as a whole. It also presented freedom, equality, and solidarity as core elements of the future society envisioned by the organized resistance.
The messages further argued that political change in Iran must emerge through organized resistance inside the country. In this context, the Resistance Units were portrayed as a component of a broader movement seeking to challenge the regime and prepare the ground for a democratic transformation.
Six decades of confrontation with dictatorship
The Zahedan activities also highlighted the PMOI’s history since its founding 61 years ago. Messages marking the anniversary portrayed the organization’s history as a prolonged confrontation first with the Shah’s dictatorship and subsequently with the clerical regime.
The political message was therefore not limited to opposition to the current government. It explicitly rejected what the activists described as a return to the previous monarchical system, using the formulation “No Shah, No Mullahs” as a defining political boundary.
The projected slogans presented a democratic republic based on freedom and equality as the alternative to both forms of dictatorship.
Organized resistance and a democratic future
The activities in Zahedan demonstrate the continued use of public banners, placards, and political messaging by the Resistance Units to mark significant dates and communicate opposition to the Iranian regime.
Their messages combined commemoration of the PMOI’s 61-year history with a contemporary political appeal: rejection of dictatorship, opposition to hereditary or clerical rule, and support for a democratic republic.
By taking these messages into the streets of Zahedan, the activists sought to connect the PMOI anniversary with the broader political struggle inside Iran. Their slogans presented organized resistance, freedom, equality, and the rejection of both “Shah” and “Mullah” rule as interconnected elements of their vision for Iran’s future.