On April 4, 2025, the National Conference for Resistance of Iran (NCRI) U.S. office in Washington, D.C., hosted a vibrant Nowruz celebration, marking the Persian New Year with a gathering of distinguished guests, Iranian-Americans, and bipartisan American dignitaries. The event underscored the NCRI’s ongoing efforts to promote freedom, democracy, and human rights in Iran, as highlighted in a speech by a representative of the NCRI U.S. office. The celebration reflected hope and solidarity, with warm wishes for joy, hope, and prosperity extended to the people of Iran and advocates of democracy in the U.S., emphasizing the shared vision for a free and democratic Iran.
The NCRI U.S. office showcased its significant achievements over the past year, including rallying bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress for the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations and uniting lawmakers, local officials, and academia in endorsing the NCRI’s 10-point plan for Iran’s future. This plan, initiated by NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, calls for a non-nuclear, democratic, and secular Iran with gender equality, minority rights, and free elections. The event also acknowledged the impactful March 8 rally, where thousands of Iranian-Americans marched from the U.S. Congress to the White House in support of a firm U.S. policy on Iran. Amid reflections on countering the Iranian regime’s propaganda and supporting resistance units inside Iran, the celebration reaffirmed the NCRI’s commitment to a future of freedom, justice, and dignity for the Iranian people, inspiring renewed determination for the fight ahead.
The event was graced by several key and distinguished figures, many of whom delivered inspiring speeches. Among the speakers were Ms. Soona Samsami, the NCRI representative in the U.S.; Dr. Firuz Danshgari, who managed the event; Senator Robert Torricelli; Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Col. Wesley Martin; Amb. Robert Joseph; Mr. Seena Saiedian; and Professor Sascha Sheehan. Additionally, a number of NCRI-US interns shared their perspectives, adding a youthful and energetic voice to the celebration. Their collective remarks reinforced the bipartisan support and shared commitment to the cause of freedom and democracy in Iran.
Highlights of Some of the Remarks
Ms. Soona Samsami, the NCRI U.S. Representative, delivered a powerful address that underscored the organization’s critical role in advancing the cause of freedom and democracy in Iran. She began by extending warm Nowruz greetings, celebrating the Persian New Year as a symbol of hope and renewal for both the Iranian people and their allies in the United States. Samsami highlighted the NCRI U.S. office’s significant achievements over the past year, including its success in forging bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, uniting a diverse coalition from conservative Republicans to liberal Democrats, local officials, and academics behind the 10-point plan for Iran’s future proposed by NCRI President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. This plan envisions a non-nuclear, secular, and democratic Iran with equality, minority rights, and free elections. She detailed impactful initiatives, such as a December press conference exposing Tehran’s nuclear weaponization through front companies and a January intelligence release revealing the regime’s development of warheads capable of reaching over 3,000 kilometers. Samsami also celebrated the March 8 rally where thousands marched from the U.S. Congress to the White House, reinforcing support for the NCRI’s democratic alternative, while acknowledging the resistance units inside Iran and the ongoing battle against the regime’s propaganda, asserting that the Iranian people’s rejection of tyranny marks a decisive moment in their struggle for a free future. See full remarks here.
Dr. Firuz Danshgari, a professor, urology surgeon, and event emcee, brought a deeply personal perspective to the celebration, sharing his journey from medical school in Tehran during the late 1970s to becoming a resistance member after enduring arrest and torture under the regime. He recounted the initial joy of the Shah’s fall in 1979, only to face a harsher dictatorship that stripped away rights and recruited the Shah’s secret service, prompting his escape to the U.S. with his family. Danshgari emphasized the resilience of Iranian traditions, noting how Nowruz has endured despite attempts by dictators to suppress it, and tied this to the 30,000 operations conducted by resistance units under MEK leadership in the past year, symbolizing a wind of change sweeping through cities like Tabriz and Tehran. As the event’s organizer, he expressed pride in the gathering’s music, food, and the presence of American allies who have supported the struggle for 45 years, while inviting young interns to share their voices, framing the celebration as a collective hope for a free Iran rooted in his own childhood memories of spring in Tehran. See full remarks here.
Senator Robert Torricelli infused his speech with optimism, celebrating Nowruz as a springtime renewal that contrasts with the cold January New Year, and praised the young interns for their dedication to Iran’s cause despite the comforts of life in America. He stood them up to acknowledge their inspiration, crediting their cultural memory and resolve, and reflected on his decades-long involvement alongside a unique bipartisan coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and figures like Rudy Giuliani and Linda Chavez. Drawing from his early White House days in the late 1970s, Torricelli recalled the Shah’s visit and the tear gas from protesting Iranian students, drawing a parallel to today’s struggle, and asserted that the Ayatollahs’ fall is inevitable, citing the students’ success against the Shah despite fewer resources. He leaned on Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote about the arc of justice, predicting a sudden spark—perhaps a shopkeeper’s strike or a soldier’s defiance—will ignite Iran’s liberation, offering solace to those who have suffered losses and urging perseverance toward that bright future. See full remarks here.
Highlights of the Speech by Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Mayor Rudy Giuliani opened his address with heartfelt enthusiasm, celebrating the Nowruz gathering as a joyous reunion with longtime friends and allies in the fight for a free Iran, a cause he has passionately supported since 2009 alongside Mrs. Maryam Rajavi and the MEK. He expressed deep personal satisfaction in this endeavor, calling it one of the most important missions one can undertake—helping people attain freedom—and urged all present to seize this opportunity, warning that failing to do so would be a grave mistake. Giuliani framed Iran’s situation as the world’s most egregious example of long-term human rights deprivation, asserting that peace in the Middle East remains elusive while the Ayatollah’s regime persists, dismissing the two-state solution as a misguided effort and highlighting Iran’s role as a destabilizing force for countries like Saudi Arabia, as well as an ally to China, Russia, and North Korea. He voiced frustration with the U.S. government’s reluctance to eradicate the regime, criticizing the return of seized funds to the mullahs—money originally taken from the Shah—only to be used by figures like Qasem Soleimani to kill Americans, vowing to one day understand this betrayal.
Giuliani then turned to a cautiously optimistic note, observing that Iran is at its weakest point, stripped of its powerful proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Assad regime, which have crumbled or fled within the past year, leaving the Houthis as a potential final target for President Trump’s decisive action. He noted the strategic repositioning of U.S. military assets, including B-2 bombers and fighter jets, as a sign of impending change, predicting the Ayatollah’s replacement within the year and crediting the NCRI’s long-term efforts for making this a realistic possibility. However, he expressed concern about the Shah’s son creating confusion post-regime, urging an educational campaign to remind Americans of the Shah’s own tyranny—marked by secret police, torture, and corruption—lest history repeat itself with another flawed leader. Giuliani emphasized the need to shape U.S. opinion in Washington to ensure the right outcome, praising Mrs. Rajavi’s courage and reflecting on a past assassination attempt in Ashraf, while humorously noting the shifting allegiances of figures like Eddie Rama, reinforcing his excitement at the tangible prospect of a free Iran. See full remarks here.
Col. Wesley Martin delivered a heartfelt and resolute address, rooted in his personal commitment to the NCRI and MEK, forged through living with residents at Camp Liberty and promising to fight for their lives and future—a vow he likened to concrete in combat. He revealed a deep vendetta against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for the deaths of 608 American soldiers, as documented in a 2019 Department of Defense report, and mourned additional losses from the 2013 Camp Ashraf massacre, including friends Hussein Modani and Commander Zohreh. Martin lauded the residents’ transformation of a desert into a thriving city as a vision for all of Iran, contrasting it with the broken promises of the U.S. State Department that led to Camp Liberty’s perilous conditions. He celebrated a clever military deception that ensured residents’ safe evacuation and called on President Trump to support the Iranian people in overthrowing the government, honoring Trump’s strike on Qasem Soleimani as a step forward in this righteous cause. See full remarks here.
Amb. Robert Joseph spoke with a sense of urgency, framing Nowruz as a celebration of rebirth that mirrors the shared goal of a free and democratic Iran, enhanced by the evening’s food and entertainment. He detailed the mullahs’ unprecedented weakness, citing the collapse of their terrorist proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas, the overthrow of Assad, and the potential demise of the Houthis, which have drained Iran’s resources and legitimacy. Inside Iran, he noted the regime’s economic ruin and the people’s rejection of dictatorship across all facets of life, predicting that their brutal repression signals the end. Joseph urged the U.S. to support the Iranian people’s right to overthrow their oppressors, advocate for maximum pressure to isolate the regime, and counter false narratives about the NCRI and MEK propagated by academia and think tanks, calling on youth to follow Mrs. Rajavi’s unwavering example and never give up, as echoed by Winston Churchill, in the quest for a free Iran. See full remarks here.
Seena Saiedian offered an evocative reflection, linking Nowruz’s renewal to the Iranian people’s fight for freedom, particularly among the courageous youth, despite never having visited Iran himself. Raised in the U.S., he felt a deep connection to the struggle, vowing to amplify the voices of young Iranians risking their lives against the dictatorship. He addressed fears of chaos post-regime change, dismissing them as regime propaganda, and praised the NCRI as a well-organized, time-tested alternative with a clear vision for a secular, democratic republic, built on universal values like gender equality and free speech. Saiedian highlighted the resistance’s 40-year legacy, rejecting fake opposition figures like reformists and the Shah’s son, and affirmed the NCRI and MEK’s role in providing an intellectual framework echoed by today’s activists, expressing belief that the regime’s days are numbered and urging U.S. support for maximum pressure and the resistance’s legitimate right to chart a democratic future. See full remarks here.
Interns (Kira, Ryan, Grant, Isabel, Amanda, Julia) brought youthful energy and diverse perspectives to the event. Kira spoke of creating media content to engage students and mobilize her generation for democracy, passing the mic to Ryan, who, from northern Pennsylvania, was shocked by Iran’s 1,153 executions in 2024, including 605 under 36, and honored students Amir Hossein Moradi and Ali Yonesi’s prison hunger strikes. Grant, a George Washington University sophomore, exposed the regime’s projected strength as a facade, noting 2024’s execution toll and the people’s demand for freedom under Mrs. Rajavi. Isabel, privileged in the U.S., admired the courage of Iranian women she met, promising to amplify their fight for dignity and equality. Amanda, inspired by Mrs. Rajavi’s leadership, saw it as a model for progress, even in America, advocating for a better future for all Iranians. Julia tied Nowruz symbols to the resistance’s hope, asserting the regime’s fear of this unity and the promise of a democratic Iran as dawn approaches.
As the evening drew to a close, the NCRI-US Nowruz celebration left attendees inspired by the collective resolve to support Iran’s democratic aspirations. With the voices of leaders, dignitaries, and young interns resonating with hope, the event served as a powerful reminder of the shared commitment to a future where freedom prevails. As 2025 unfolds, there is a steadfast hope that this year will mark the dawn of a free Iran, where the Iranian people can finally embrace the justice, dignity, and peace they have long fought for.