Iran has an alternative and the Iranian people seek change
By NCRI-US Staff
United Nations, New York, September 24, 2024– Thousands of supporters of the Iranian resistance movement gathered in a rally in New York to protest against the presence of the Iranian regime’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, at the 79th United Nations General Assembly. Being across the UN headquarters, the attendees called for the recognition of the right of the Iranian people to bring about change and that Iran has an alternative with a clear platform for the future of Iran, namely the Ten-Point Plan of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. The message was delivered by a diverse group of voices, such as young Iranian-Americans—first, second, and third generations—elderly, mothers, children, and senior former U.S. officials, all united in their stand for a free, democratic, secular republic of Iran.
The rally, which started with Iran’s national anthem, “O Iran,” included chants, both in English and in Farsi, the performance of a Persian violinist, the high presence of international media, and speeches delivered by the attendees.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of NCRI, opened the event with a taped video message sent from Paris, as did Senator Ted Cruz who sent his message from Texas.
The speakers were Ambassador Sam Brownback, attorney and Harvard law Professor Alan Dershowitz, and Former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Marc Ginsberg.
Members of the Iranian diaspora also shared their stories, grievances, and demands towards the United Nations and the U.S. Government to support the Iranian people’s fight for the liberation of their country.
Iman, a 16-year-old California Iranian-American, was one of the speakers who shared a message to the American youth through an interview with NCRI-US staff:
You might think, what does Iran have to do with me? Why should I care? Iran is the biggest funder of terrorism around the world. To combat the Iranian regime, there is no need to send American troops to Iranian soil. All we need to do is move out of the way of the Iranian Resistance Units who are on the ground in Iran every day fighting the regime so that they can overthrow this corrupt regime on their own. To the people in Iran, we are with you, we see you, and I am looking forward to the day we can celebrate in the streets of Tehran.
Similar sentiments were shared by former political prisoner Shirin, whose activism started at age 16 in Iran: “What we are suffering right now is not having a good policy towards Iran, and we are fighting to restore the right policy, which is listening to the Iranian people, because Iranian people want regime change.” Adding to this, Eshrat, a mother who has lost several of her children to the barbaric regime, told the young people protesting in Iran: “continue your efforts, be brave, be safe, and I want to make sure you are aware that we are here to do everything we can to support you, to be your voice, that’s why we are here today.”
Complementing these testimonials, were the condemning messages from the US politicians and academics, such as Professor Dershowitz comparing the Iranian regime to Nazi Germany, Ambassador Brownback calling for diplomatic and economic pressure against the mullahs, and Ambassador Ginsberg calling the regime “unreformable, unsalvageable, and incurable.” They supported the Iranian people’s fight for democracy, as well as Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for the Future of Iran. Senator Cruz, in his message, condemned the regime’s hostage-taking and terrorism and yet being invited to the UN General Assembly session.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi asked, “why is the representative of a regime which, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, has committed genocide and crimes against humanity is present at the United Nations?” She commemorated the tragic death of miners in Tabas, Iran, and called upon everyone to expand the “No to Executions Campaign,” the abolition of the death penalty.
Through multiple voices echoing hopeful and resilient messages but also concrete demands and courses of action, the rally of the thousands sent a loud and clear message to the world: end of appeasement policy and support for regime change done by resistance units inside Iran. The world cannot turn a blind eye to the 200 executions carried out in Iran between the time that Pezeshkian took office as the Iranian regime’s president in August and the last week of September when he was addressing the UNGA.
The media widely reported the UN rally and its message, which was in sharp contrast with the Iranian regime.
The Associated Press and Getty Images showed the world the images of protesters, major TV stations and cable networks transmitted videos, and many had live broadcasts, such as Fox News Channel, Reuters, WABC, and NY1, to name a few.
The next day after the rally, NCRI-US Deputy Director Alireza Jafarzadeh appeared on Fox & Friends, highlighting the message of the thousands of Iranian-Americans who appeared at the UN to protest Pezeshkian as a representative of the murderous regime and not the people of Iran, and that there is an alternative to the Iranian regime seeking change based on the Ten-Point Plan of the Iranian Resistance.
