Joshua Klein, January 20, 2026

Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi warned that the Islamic Republic’s escalating violence against protesters has exposed a regime under strain — but not one on the verge of collapse — arguing that Tehran will not fall through foreign military intervention or external pressure alone, but only through an organized, nationwide resistance capable of dismantling its repressive core.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Rajavi — the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) — said recent developments have made clear that while Iran’s clerical rulers are increasingly vulnerable, their weakening alone will not bring about the regime’s downfall.

By John Gizzi, Monday June 30, 2025 (Originally published by Newsmax)

In the wake of the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities June 21 and subsequent calls by President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for regime change, the leader of the largest Iranian resistance group insists that “[t]he uprising of the Iranian people is not a distant aspiration — it is already underway.”

In an exclusive interview with Newsmax from her Paris headquarters (via email), Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, pointed out that even before the airstrikes by Israel and the U.S., NCRI insurgents within the country were gaining ground.

“In the past seven years alone,” she told us, “five nationwide uprisings, each erupting in more than 150 cities, have shaken Iran and rattled the very foundations of the regime. Today, the religious dictatorship stands at its weakest point since 1979. The reasons are clear: uncontrollable economic collapse, the regime’s failure to provide essential services such as electricity, gas, and water, rampant corruption, and relentless repression — the very factors that fueled the 2022 uprising.”

Rajavi added that the fall of Hezbollah in Lebanon and overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria “have left [Ayatollah] Khamenei’s so-called ‘external shield’ in ruins.”

The loss of any dependable allies, she told us, “is why [Khamenei’s] nuclear weapons project has become all the more important for him — and ironically, it has now become a new source of crisis for the regime.”

Did Iranian Underground Get Info For Midnight Hammer?

Rajavi addressed the frequent criticisms of exiles trying to overthrow dictatorships in their home countries — that they have no presence within the country and little connection with the people actually living in those repressive states.

In her words, “The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and particularly its principal component, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), have built extensive networks across Iran. The MEK’s Resistance Units — comprised of courageous women and men from all walks of life — are the beating heart of this movement within the country. They drive the organization of protests, the distribution of anti-regime materials, and above all, the breaking of the walls of censorship and fear.

Maryam Rajavi’s Message to a Conference at the UK Parliament

Dear Baroness O’Loan, Baroness Verma,
Honorable lawmakers, dear friends,
Good day to you all.
I send my greetings to your gathering on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. First, I would like to honor all the women who have risen against violence and oppression. Brave women who endured brutal torture in the prisons of the religious dictatorship ruling Iran. Women who sacrificed their lives, and women who are presently resisting in Khamenei’s prisons across Iran.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new bipartisan caucus in Congress is condemning the Iranian government over the recent poisoning of school girls in the country, amplifying the growing criticism in Washington against the Islamic Republic and its disregard for human rights.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, announced the formation of the Iranian Women Congressional Caucus with the support of nearly 20 Republican and Democratic members of the House.

It’s just the latest example of U.S. officials denouncing the treatment of women by the Iranian government since nationwide protests first erupted over the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Amini was accused of violating Iran’s strict dress code for women by wearing her headscarf improperly.

Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES, December 9, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — At a briefing held in the historic Senate Kennedy Caucus Room, bipartisan Senators and prominent policy experts expressed support for nationwide protests for democratic change in Iran and called for additional pressure on the clerical regime.

Addressing the event virtually, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-Elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran said, “All evidence suggests that the regime has reached the point of no return in the final phase of its rule. The Shah’s dictatorship had a well-equipped army of 400,000 men, but it could not overcome the will of the Iranian people.” “Why a child-killing regime that brutally represses women and imposes discrimination against them is a member of the UN institutions. Is this not an insult to humanity? The Iranian Resistance expects the US Senate to lead an initiative to expel the regime from UNICEF.”

I’d like to thank & recognize the National Council of Resistance of Iran for their commitment to elevating your voices, the voices of Iranians inside of Iran & constantly advocating for their freedom”

Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ)In his speech, Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) who Chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said, “Let me start off by thanking the Organization of Iranian Communities for putting together today’s event on Capitol Hill. I’m thrilled to see so many Iranian Americans from across the country, and I’d like to thank and recognize the National Council of Resistance of Iran for their commitment to elevating your voices, the voices of Iranians inside of Iran and constantly advocating for the freedom of the Iranian people.” The spilling of protesters’ blood should never, never, never be normalized he noted and then added, “and the United States and the international community cannot be silenced. And that’s why just this week, we passed my Senate Concurrent Resolution 47 commending the bravery of Iranian protesters on behalf of the United States government.” He concluded, “Let us continue to protect those in Ashraf 3 and I am committed to doing that. Let’s keep fighting the senseless repression of women and girls.” More…

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “We live in a historic times and historic moment, so I stand with Jeanne [Senator Shaheen] to see what we can do to lend our voice to the people who have been out in the streets, the villages, and the towns of Iran saying enough is enough. I think we have reached the point now in the 21st century where it is a time of choosing and I choose the people of Iran over the Ayatollahs.” More…

Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) referenced ongoing protests and said, “and we are standing in awe with what is happening in Iran, but it is not enough to be impressed by their bravery. We must also stand in lockstep with the people of Iran as they struggle to take back their lives and

freedoms.” She urged the Biden administration to enforce existing sanctions and place additional sanctions on clerical regime officials and entities.” More…

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) concurred and said, “I think we have to put maximum pressure on the Iranian leadership…To the Iranian people, and to Iranian Americans, know that I stand with you every step of the way.” He then added, “ I will stand with you every step along the way and hopefully, we will see a change so that tens of millions of honest, hardworking, freedom-seeking Iranians begin to enjoy their freedoms.”  More…

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said, “I see this extraordinary courage by women and girls [In Iran] who are pricking the consciousness of our world, who are calling the moral imagination of their own people, who are fighting not just for basic rights and freedom but are also what should be, to me, fundamental for all humanity, this idea of human dignity and respect.” More…

Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) said, “When the government has to raid the biggest university to keep people subjugated, there is clearly a problem there that the world needs to stand up for. People are willing to risk their lives and even give their lives for freedom, the least we can do is everything we can possibly do to encourage that and to support that.” He added, “I’ve been working for some time now with the government in Albania, and I went to Albania to see people once . The U.S. Embassy in Albania could be much more helpful than they are. We continue to encourage that.” More…

Senator John Boozman (R-AR) said, “I think you know most of us are firmly in your corner. My commitment is to help in any way that we can, certainly on the topic of nuclear weapons and human rights.”

Speaking to the women of Iran, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) noted, “I want to say loudly and clearly that we are moved by your courage and your strength. And to all Iranians calling for their fundamental rights to be respected, let me say loudly and clearly that the United States stands with you. We are calling for an immediate end to the barbaric detention of peaceful protesters, an immediate end to the blatant human rights violations.” More…

Former Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) said, “there is one leader that has been working on this for decades, who has seen this revolution coming for a long time and has supported it, and that is Mrs. Rajavi, the President elect of the NCRI. It was beautiful to hear her today and Mrs. Rajavi has had the foresight to predict that women would lead this revolution. In a speech 17 years ago, she said, “In the tragedy of women in our enchained homeland, Iran, women’s human identity has been denied, but I assure you that those oppressed today will be the victors of tomorrow.”

Former Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and former U.S. Ambassador Marc Ginsberg also addressed the briefing. Read More…

Mrs. Sheila Neinavaei and Mrs. Mitra Samani who had spent seven and four years respectively in the notorious Evin Prison outlined the harrowing conditions of political prisoners in Iran as well as their own experiences. Dr. Sololmaz Abooali, a fifteen-time U.S. national and three-time world champion in traditional karate moderated this event.

If the bill is approved next week, it will not only encourage future terrorist operations in Europe and the Americas, buts also affronts U.S. Congressional sentiment and the justice. Belgium is unfortunately trying to appease a terrorist regime by setting free a terrorist whose plot was to shed the blood of hundreds of Iranian, European, and American citizens.

The Belgian Parliament plans to consider a bill approved by the Belgian government based on a March 2022 agreement between the Iranian regime and the Government of Belgium to transfer convicts and criminals from the two countries of Belgium and the Iranian regime, ostensibly to serve sentences in their respective countries. Assadi was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment (after the conclusion of the appeals court) this year. He had plotted to bomb the Iranian Resistance Free Iran gathering in Paris, France on June 30, 2018.

OIAC and its member state organizations have over the years sponsored a number of U.S. Congressional Delegations to the annual Free Iran event. In addition to Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, members of a U.S. Congressional Delegation, dozens of prominent American dignitaries, hundreds of Iranian American men, women and children from 34 U.S. states, as well as parliamentarians from Europe and the Middle East were targeted. Were it to be successful, the 2018 plot would have resulted in the largest ever terrorist attack in Europe.
It bears noting that the U.S. Congress has weighed in on Assadi’s case. In the 117th Congress, over 252 bi-partisan House members co-sponsored H.Res.118, making clear that the U.S. House of Representatives, “condemns past and present Iranian state-sponsored terrorist attacks against United States citizens and officials, as well as Iranian dissidents, including the Iranian regime’s terror plot against the ‘Free Iran 2018–the Alternative’ gathering in Paris.” The resolution also calls on, relevant United States Government agencies to work with European allies…to hold Iran accountable for breaching diplomatic privileges, and to call on nations to prevent the malign activities of the Iranian regime’s diplomatic missions, with the goal of closing them down.” Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) are the measure’s sponsors.

In addition, during the 116th Congress, H.Res.374, with 221 bi-partisan co-sponsors similarly condemned, “Iranian state-sponsored terrorism,” against the 2018 gathering and stated, “several prominent bipartisan former United States Government officials, several retired United States generals, congressional staff, and thousands of American citizens participated in that gathering.”
We call on representatives of the European Parliament, lawmakers in various European countries, U.S. government officials, human rights organizations, and concerned citizens to take immediate action to prevent the implementation of this shameful plot and prevent rewarding terrorism.

Lawmakers accused the regime of having ‘stole the leadership of the revolution’ 

By Adam Shaw | Fox News

Over 50 House lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, used the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution to renew U.S. calls for a free and democratic Iran — just as the regime in Tehran faced its own troubles at home.

At a virtual conference organized by the Organization of Iranian American Communities, dozens of lawmakers marked the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, when Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s government fell after mass demonstrations. It would be followed by the establishment of an Islamic Republic with a supreme leader having the final say on state matters.

The lawmakers called for a secular, democratic Iran, noting past resolutions affirming that position.

“For too long, the Iranian people have been deprived of their fundamental freedoms, for which reason they rejected dictatorship in 1979 and oppose religious tyranny today,” Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said. “And that’s why I became the chief sponsor of House Resolution 118, expressing support for the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear republic of Iran and condemning violations of human rights and state-sponsored terrorism by the current Iranian regime.”

Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, said that the clerics of Iran “stole the leadership of the revolution” and eliminated dissent in the days following the 1979 revolution, and said the Iranian people retain their desire for freedom and democracy.

He also called for an international tribunal into new hardline President Ebrahim Raisi, who is linked to mass executions in 1988. He also warned against giving concessions to Iran as part of talks to re-establish the Iran nuclear deal.

“Giving concession to the Iranian regime will embolden them to kill their own people, to wage terror in the region, and rapidly dash to a nuclear bomb,” he said. “I urge the Biden administration to quickly change course with Iran and pay attention to what over 250 bipartisan House members said in H.Res.118, and that is ‘we stand with the people of Iran who are continuing to hold legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive and corrupt regime.’ Iran deserves that.”

Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, said that the people of Iran “must have the right to determine their own future and to ensure that their rights of expression, religious belief, political opinion, assembly, and a representative government are truly respected.” 

“The barbaric imprisonment and execution of the courageous pro-democracy activists must finally end,” he said. 

“Since 1979, the Iranian people have yearned for the opportunity to live in a democratic, secular, non-nuclear republic, free from oppression by kings, dictators, and religious extremists,” Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., said. “Men, women, children, Kurds, Bahai, Christians, Jews, and Muslims have all suffered for decades at the hands of an oppressive regime solely focused on maintaining absolute power rather than helping the Iranian people.”

National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) President-elect Maryam Rajavi told lawmakers that lifting sanctions would “only lead to more conflict, carnage, and insecurity in the region and warned against any U.S. policy that would “appease the mullahs.”

“The right policy is within reach,” she said. “This is a policy that recognizes the right of the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance to overthrow the religious fascism ruling Iran.”

Meanwhile, in Tehran, thousands of cars and motorbikes paraded in celebration, but there were fewer people out on the streets. 

Crowds waved Iranian flags, chanting slogans and carrying placards that read “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” in celebration of the anniversary

However, there were also some anti-regime acts as part of the anniversary. The NCRI touted video of what appeared to be chants of “Death to [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei and Raisi,” and other anti-regime slogans broadcast by what the organization said were resistance units in Tehran’s main shopping center.

The NCRI said there were more than 40 resistance campaigns across the country to protest the regime in recent days, the latest instance of a continuing resistance movement within the country.

The anniversary comes as talks are again taking place in Vienna on re-establishing the Iran deal, from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018 but the Biden administration has sought to re-enter.

The State Department last week waived sanctions related to Iran’s civilian nuclear activities as part of its efforts to bring the regime back into compliance with the deal.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a waiver that restored the ability of foreign companies and other countries to participate in civilian nuclear and safety projects in Iran without facing U.S. sanctions.