Thousands of Iranian Americans and supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) rallied for two consecutive days in New York City to denounce Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian’s presence at the United Nations General Assembly and let the world know that “Conditions are more favorable now for the collapse of the regime than they have been in decades.” Participants demanded international recognition of the Iranian people’s right to overthrow religious theocracy in Iran.
The two-day demonstration held at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza was organized by the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) and sponsored by the NCRI. Iranian Americans from 46 U.S. states participated in the largest Iranian diaspora gathering to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly.
On September 24, 2025, thousands outside the U.N. chanted, “Pezeshkian out of UN, NOW, NOW, NOW,” and “They are terrorists, they must go,” – just as Pezeshkian delivered his address to the General Assembly. Iranian Americans who gathered in NY in rallies on September 23rd and 24th, 2025, celebrated the decades long but vibrant Iranian fight to overthrew the ruling regime and expressed support for NCRI President Elect Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for a democratic, secular, republic and non-nuclear Iran.
The rally served as a powerful signal that Iranians both inside and outside of Iran reject the single-party dictatorships of the past monarch, the Shah, and the present-day theocracy. The gathering also delivered the unambiguous message that the Iranian people have an organized, democratic alternative to the regime in Tehran.
In her message to the rally, Mrs. Rajavi declared, “With your powerful presence in front of the United Nations, the world sees that you represent the people of Iran. You are the true voice of the Iranian people before the United Nations, not the president of the Supreme Leader.” She added that, “The seat of the Iranian people at the United Nations must not be given to a regime of executions and massacres. The message is very simple and clear: overthrow and democratic change—a democratic republic with freedom and democratic rights.”
She then noted, “Standing here in force before the United Nations, the world can see it clearly: you represent the people of Iran. You are their voice —not Khamenei’s president, who, in just 14 months in office, has overseen more than 1,800 executions… If the Iranian Resistance had not exposed the regime’s secret nuclear project, 23 years ago the mullahs would already have had 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?”
NCRI president-elect said, “We want neither a mullah nor a Shah… The era of all forms of dictatorship, whether religious or monarchical, is over. Our message for Iran’s future is simple: the sovereignty of the people—the people’s republic.”
A number of high-profile U.S. and international dignitaries also addressed the gatherings.
In his remarks, former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said, “I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that conditions are more favorable now for the collapse of the regime than they have been in decades.” He urged the international community to compile evidence of regime crimes, he stated, “so that the evidence is at hand” for future prosecutions.
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Tod Wolters, also address the rally and said, “This regime exports terrorism and crushes civil life.” He added,
“The National Council of Resistance of Iran can and will deliver on this mandate. To the 90-plus million citizens of Iran: You deserve this change, and you deserve it soonest.”
Ambassador Carla Sands, the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark (2017-2021), highlighted the urgency in the current discourse on Iran. She said, “The Iranian people have been silenced inside their own country. But here, right here, their voices are heard loudly, clearly, and
with urgency.” She pointed to the nearly 1,800 executions have occurred under Pezeshkian and praised the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) for its foresight in addressing the regime’s multifaceted threat. “It was the MEK that first exposed Tehran’s secret nuclear weapons program,” she said an added, “they demonize this movement because they know it is their existential threat.”
Sam Brownback, the former U.S. Senator, Kansas Governor, and U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, described the Iranian resistance as historic movement and said, “This could be one of the first, if not the first, women-led revolutions in world history.”
Former Congressman Judge Ted Poe invoked America’s founding principles. “Whenever any government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish that government. He added, “So many young women have given their lives just for what you’re standing here for today. Woe be to the mullahs—they do not know what they’re dealing with.”
In his remarks, former U.S. Ambassador Marc Ginsberg referred to the thousands of Iranian dissident leaders living in Ashraf-3 in Albania and said, “Ashraf-3 is not just a place; it is an aspiration for freedom and justice.” He added, “The regime fears Maryam Rajavi because she is an iron lady whose network inside Iran has chipped away piece by piece at the edifice of this regime.”
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers echoed the rally’s support for Maryam Rajavi’s 10-Point Plan for a free Iran. This support is notably visible in H.Res.166, cosponsored by a bipartisan majority in the U.S. House of Representatives—recognizing the Iranian people’s right and resistance to establish a democratic and secular republic in Iran. As the rallies unfolded in New York, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) wrote on X that “thousands of Iranian-American supporters of the NCRI stood united at the UN for a secular, democratic republic of Iran — and against both monarchy and theocracy.” He reaffirmed that the demonstrators were “strongly denouncing regime president Masoud Pezeshkian and backing Maryam Rajavi’s vision for a free Iran.” In the days preceding the rally, Rep. Lawler led a letter signed by 40 members of congress, urging the Trump administration to prohibit or limit the Iranian regime’s presence in the U.S., citing the brutal crackdown on ethnic minorities, women’s rights activists, and political dissidents, and executions.
Other notable speakers included Mr. Eskandar Filabi, a former Iranian Olympian and NCRI’s Athletic Committee Chair, and Ms. Linda Chavez, former Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison under President Ronald Reagan. Ms. Chavez said, “Thousands of you have come to New York to demand an end to the Khamenei regime. This rally calls for an end to theocracy and tyranny in Iran and the establishment of a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Iran.”
Adding a human face to the 2 huge rallies were the many survivors of regime atrocities and young activists living among the community who told the crowd that Iranians will never accept dictatorship. Survivors and relatives of victims of the 1988 massacre carried photos of loved ones, many chanting, “Down with the dictator, be it the Shah or the mullahs.” Iranian American youth Parsa Aria pledged in his remarks, “Our generation refuses to accept dictatorship as Iran’s destiny. The Resistance Units are the heroes of my generation.”
Media Reports:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/sep/24/pezeshkian-no-savior-iranian-people/
https://www.hjnews.com/world/un-general-assembly-iran/image_aa2295a2-4b6b-5311-bc0c-4e898154546b.html
https://nypost.com/2025/09/24/world-news/thousands-protest-iranian-president-masoud-pezeshkians-un-visit/?utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
https://x.com/i/trending/1970894197210349697
