**Thousands Rally in New York During UN General Assembly, Calling for International Action on Iran’s Executions and Recognition of Its Democratic Resistance**

As world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly, thousands of Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance assembled nearby on September 22 with a message directed both at the international community and at people inside Iran: the country’s political future, speakers said, must be determined by the Iranian people themselves.

The rally brought together supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), former senior U.S. officials and military commanders, Iranian youth, religious leaders, and human rights advocates. Across their speeches, several themes repeatedly surfaced: executions and the treatment of political prisoners; the bloodshed during Iran’s recent uprisings; opposition to both monarchical and clerical dictatorship; support for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and its Resistance Units; and the NCRI’s proposal for a democratic, secular republic.

The event unfolded against the backdrop of the UN General Assembly, giving particular prominence to demands for international accountability. Speakers repeatedly contrasted the presence of Iranian government representatives at the United Nations with reports of executions, imprisonment, torture, and repression inside Iran.

But the rally’s message was not confined to condemnation. Much of the program focused on the alternative: change driven from inside the country by the Iranian people and their organized Resistance, followed by a transition based on free elections and the political principles contained in Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan.

As moderator Anahita Sami put it, while world leaders were meeting inside the United Nations, “when it comes to Iran, the Iranian people are now speaking for themselves.”

Maryam Rajavi: “The solution is democratic change by the people of Iran”

In remarks broadcast to the rally, NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi framed the demonstration as a protest against both repression inside Iran and decades of international disregard for the Iranian people and their Resistance.

“The time has come to listen to the voice of the Iranian people,” she said. “A people who seek neither war nor dictatorship; a people who seek freedom and a democratic republic.”

Mrs. Rajavi placed executions and political prisoners at the center of her speech. She cited more than 1,100 executions since the beginning of 2026 and “dozens of political prisoners executed in recent months alone.” She also raised awareness about protesters killed during the January 2026 uprising and earlier uprisings, as well as the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.

Her message from those still imprisoned was equally direct. Citing death-row prisoner Arghavan Fallahi, Mrs. Rajavi quoted: “We belong to Generation Z. We stand against dictatorship and dependence, against both the Shah and the Mullahs.”

Mrs. Rajavi also rejected the premise that Iran’s political crisis could be resolved through an external war.

“The solution to the Iranian crisis is neither war nor foreign intervention,” she said. “Rather, it is the people of Iran and their organized Resistance who possess the ability and the legitimacy to bring about great change in Iran.”

Mrs. Rajavi called for international criminal accountability for human rights violations and urged governments to recognize what she described as the Iranian people’s right to overthrow the clerical system.

Her central political message was concise: “The solution is democratic change by the people of Iran and their organized Resistance.”

Executions and Political Prisoners Move to the Center of the Rally

The most immediate issue raised throughout the event was the accelerating use of executions and the fate of political prisoners.

Mrs. Rajavi described Iran as “a regime of executions and massacres,” pointing to executions carried out in 2025 and 2026 and to successive episodes of lethal repression. She told the gathering that international institutions had repeatedly documented human rights violations in Iran and argued that the “policy of turning a blind eye to this regime’s crimes must not continue.”

Other speakers returned to the same issue from different perspectives.

Former U.S. Ambassador Carla Sands spoke of political prisoners enduring “torture, solitary confinement, and the threat of execution.” She said prisoners had sent messages from inside Iran expressing support for the opposition movement despite the dangers attached to doing so.