The Message of the Selection of the MEK Secretary-GeneralA Sign of the Resistance’s Growth and Maturity in the Face of a Regime at an Impasse

By Mohammad Imani

The selection of Mujahidin sister Mehnaz Meyment as the Secretary-General of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) is not merely an organizational reshuffle or a transfer of responsibility within a political organization. At the beginning of the Organization’s sixty-second year of existence, this selection carries profound political, social, and historical messages for the Iranian people, the ruling theocracy, women and young people, and all members and supporters of the Resistance.

As one of the Organization’s longtime members, I regard this selection above all as a sign of the continuation of a great truth: the truth of the sustained growth and renewal of a Resistance movement that has endured some of the most difficult tests in Iran’s contemporary history for more than six decades, and which remains alive, dynamic, and oriented toward the future.

The Resistance’s Response to the Regime’s Impasse

Today, Iran’s ruling regime is more than ever surrounded by crises: a crisis of domestic legitimacy, growing social discontent, deepening divisions at the highest levels of power, international isolation, and an inability to provide solutions to the country’s economic and social problems. All these factors portray a government trapped in an impasse.

Under such circumstances, the selection of a new Secretary-General of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran takes on a meaning far beyond an organizational event. It demonstrates that, in contrast to the decay and exhaustion of the ruling establishment, an organized Resistance force continues, with strength, the process of renewal, regeneration, and transfer of responsibility.

The history of Iran’s contemporary struggles is full of examples of organizations and movements that disappeared from the scene in the face of repression, security crackdowns, and political pressure. Yet the Mojahedin, having endured decades of severe trials—from executions and massacres to bombardment and siege—have once again demonstrated their growing capacity for internal renewal and regeneration.

This is the message conveyed by the selection of Mehnaz Meyment: a message of rebirth, flourishing, and renewal.

Continuing a Sixty-One-Year Journey

The selection of a new Secretary-General on the anniversary of the Organization’s founding is a reminder of the fact that the ideal established by Mohammad Hanifnejad and his comrades has continued despite all the efforts of the two dictatorships—the Shah and the mullahs—to destroy it.

Mehnaz Meyment belongs to a generation that has intertwined its life with the Resistance. Her family has paid a heavy price for freedom—from the martyrdom of her mother during Operation Eternal Light (Forough-e Javidan) to the firing-squad executions of her brothers in the 1980s. This background is not merely the story of one individual’s life; it symbolizes the bond connecting successive generations of the Resistance.

In her selection, one can see the continuation of the same thread that began with the Organization’s founders, passed through tens of thousands of martyrs, political prisoners, Ashraf supporters, and freedom fighters, and has now reached today’s generation.

The Great Message of Women’s Leadership

One of the most important messages of this selection is the role of women in leading Iran’s Resistance.

At a time when the ruling theocracy is founded on gender discrimination and seeks to reduce women to second-class citizens, the presence of a woman in the highest executive position of the Mojahedin carries a meaning far beyond an organizational choice. It is a clear and practical response to the misogynistic culture imposed on Iran.

For many years, women’s leadership within the structure of the Mojahedin has become an institutionalized reality. This development is not the product of slogans, but rather the result of the experience, testing, and assumption of responsibility by Mojahedin women under the most difficult conditions of struggle.

Today, the selection of Mehnaz Meyment once again demonstrates that the Iranian Resistance considers the liberation of women an inseparable part of the liberation of society as a whole. In opposition to a regime that imposes compulsory veiling, legal discrimination, and systematic repression of women, this selection carries the promise of a society based on equality and human dignity.

A Message of Hope for the Women and Youth of Iran

If the regime feels threatened by this selection, the reason is not simply an organizational appointment. The regime’s real fear is the model embodied in this selection.

Iran’s younger generation is seeking hope, responsibility, and a vision for the future. Iranian women and girls have also demonstrated in recent years that they stand on the front lines of protest and resistance. The selection of a woman from the Mojahedin as Secretary-General sends a clear message to this generation:

You can stand firm. You can fight. And you can take responsibility for the future.

This selection tells the women of Iran that they are not merely victims of the oppression imposed by the ruling regime; they can be the architects of a free Iran tomorrow.

It also tells young people that the future does not belong to despair and surrender. The future belongs to those who accept responsibility and take action to bring about change.

A Message of Fear for the Regime

It is no coincidence that the regime has continually expressed concern over the growing influence and credibility of the Mojahedin among the younger generation.

What terrifies the regime is not merely the existence of a political organization, but its ability to regenerate its forces, transfer experience, develop new cadres, and maintain the motivation to continue the struggle.

The selection of a new Secretary-General is a symbol of precisely this capacity. A regime grappling with a succession crisis, power struggles, and internal divisions now faces an organization that, after sixty-one years, remains capable of transferring responsibilities through its own internal mechanisms and bringing new forces to the forefront.

For this reason, the message of this selection to the ruling establishment is nothing less than heightened concern and fear about the future. It demonstrates that the organized Resistance has not only survived but is continuing to expand and flourish.

A Greater Responsibility for the Mojahedin and Ashraf Supporters

But the most important message of this selection is directed at ourselves—to all Mojahedin, supporters, Ashraf supporters, and friends of the Resistance throughout the world.

The selection of a new Secretary-General should not merely be viewed as an organizational achievement. Above all, it is a call for greater responsibility.

Every new selection within the Organization creates a renewed commitment to advancing the struggle. If the new Secretary-General has assumed an even greater responsibility, then, in turn, all of us are expected to increase our own responsibilities a hundredfold.

Today, more than ever, we need full-scale political, social, and communications mobilization to advance the Resistance. Developments in the region and inside Iran indicate that major changes are approaching, and the force that will prevail will be the one that is better prepared.

Therefore, the message of this selection to the Mojahedin and Ashraf supporters is:

Greater commitment, greater effort, greater sacrifice, and a thousandfold determination to carry the struggle through to final victory—until the overthrow of the anti-human mullahs’ regime.