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.
Remarks by Former US Under Secretary Robert Joseph
Well, good evening. It’s a real honor to be here with you tonight, and to be able to participate in this celebration of this wonderful holiday of Nowruz, because it, as always, provides an opportunity to share the joy with friends, longtime friends, who are united by the bond of seeking a free and democratic Iran. And that’s not to mention the great food and the wonderful entertainment that we’ve also experienced tonight.
As others have said, when we think of Nowruz, we think of rebirth, we think of regeneration, we think of the light replacing the darkness. And I think all of these symbols associated with Nowruz are very appropriate in terms of the shared cause that we have for a free Iran.
As others have said, never have the mullahs been so weak and so desperate. Their strategy abroad has seen total failure in the past year, with their principal terrorist allies and proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, being decimated, the puppet regime in Damascus being overthrown, their allies in Iraq, in Yemen, and elsewhere have been weakened, and in the case of the Houthis, they may soon be eliminated as perhaps the final remnant of a failed strategy on the part of the Mullahs, a strategy that has robbed the Iranian people both of their national treasure and of their rightful place as a proud nation respected by all others.
Inside Iran, the situation is, I believe, even more dire for the desperate mullahs. The economy is in shambles. The people have rejected dictatorship, all aspects in terms of their lives in politics and economics and even in religion, the Iranian people have said, “We’ve had enough. No more.” And I think without the hope of recovering any semblance of legitimacy from the Iranian people, the mullahs’ only option, the only option they have left is more repression and more executions.
But I think the mullahs know that the game is up. They know they’ve lost. And I think the brutality that we see every day throughout Iran, in every city across the land, is a harbinger of the end of the regime.
What’s most important for us here in this country is to acknowledge the right of the Iranian people to overthrow the oppressors, much as we did over 250 years ago.
We must advocate for policies that further isolate the regime politically and economically. And we must apply maximum pressure in every sector.
And as a first principle, as the very first principle, we must avoid throwing the mullahs yet another lifeline through appeasement, no matter what the form or no matter what disguise it may take.
And finally, we must counter with every argument the regime-inspired false narratives concerning the opposition, especially regarding the NCRI and MEK. And we must replace those false narratives with the truth. The useful idiots in academia, in the think tanks, and in government have long propped up the regime through misinformation and through lies. Shame on those who have played into the hands of the mullahs by demeaning the real opposition that can and will bring freedom to Iran.
Tonight, like many others, I feel that we’re on the verge of a new day, and I understand that the literal translation of Nowruz is “a new day,” a new day of freedom for the Iranian people who have struggled for decades to overthrow the despotism, the chains that that have encumbered them and that have prevented them from being all that they can be. First the Shaw, and then for the past 45 or 46 years, the religious dictatorship.
We are as close to our goal as we have ever been. In that spirit, I think all of us should remember this evening as we celebrate. We should remember those tens of thousands of those who have sacrificed their very lives for a free Iran. And let us celebrate this holiday of Nowruz in fulfillment of the noble cause that those martyrs carried.
And finally, just one message to the NCRI interns that are so impressive that we’ve heard from tonight, but really to all youth who support freedom and democracy. Let Mrs. Rajavi be your role model. Let Mrs. Rajavi be your guide. And as Winston Churchill said, “Never, never, never give up.”
That is something that I think Mrs. Rajavi embodies, and I hope and I trust that you will all take that to heart. Never give up. We will prevail. The Mullahs will be dethroned and we will have a free and democratic Iran in the future. Thank you very much.