Maryam Rajavi: Nowruz Will Triumph in Rebellion and Uprising, and in the Fighting Spirit of Each One of You

Maryam Rajavi: Happy Nowruz and Happy New Year to you all. In this Nowruz, we witness the triumphant fortune of the Iranian people. Just as surely as nature’s spring prevails over winter, Iran’s political and social Nowruz will dispel the winter of religious despotism.

Fellow compatriots, dear sisters and brothers, beloved daughters and sons of our entire nation, courageous members of the Resistance Units, and all those dedicated to advancing Iran’s democratic revolution!

Happy Nowruz and Happy New Year to you all. In this Nowruz, we witness the triumphant fortune of the Iranian people. Just as surely as nature’s spring prevails over winter, Iran’s political and social Nowruz will dispel the winter of religious despotism.

From this 45-year ordeal, and through all the blood that was shed in your uprisings and resistance, the great spring will undoubtedly arrive, thanks to your power to herald spring.

Come, come, let us leave behind this shadowed realm.

Brighter than the dawn, together we shall forge a different world.

With heads held high, let us navigate the corridors of time.

And with our art’s luminous flame, let’s illuminate the world’s darkest night.

Armed with this resolve, this hope, and this promise, I extend my warmest New Year 1403 greetings to the heroic people of Iran and their liberating resistance, to the members of the PMOI at Ashraf 3 and to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, to the Resistance Units, to the supporters of Ashraf, and to the leader of the Iranian Resistance, Massoud Rajavi.

A Year of Rebellion and Uprising

As we stand at the auspicious dawn of a new year, we are greeted by a year that ascends from the revitalized force of the protest movement, a continuation of the crimson uprisings of 2017, 2019, and 2022.

Thus, let us declare the year 1403 (March 2024-March 2025) as the year of rebellion and uprising, in the name of the Iranian people’s democratic revolution and its ensuing triumph. The preceding year was characterized by the regime’s belligerence in the region, a surge in executions, heightened repression, and intricate plots against the resistance and the democratic alternative. From this moment forward, the year that unfolds shall be dedicated to encircling the clerical regime.

Dear compatriots,

Leveraging its warmongering in the region, Khamenei aimed to navigate the regime through the deadlock triggered by the uprisings of 2022, 2019, and 2017, orchestrating the sham parliamentary elections. Recklessly he mobilized the regime in its entirety towards this goal. Yet, what followed was an overwhelming boycott in the history of the regime’s sham elections. Khamenei suffered a defeat, and in the words of Massoud Rajavi, “he heard the sound of the Iranian people’s revolution.”

This echoed the sound of revolution and the footsteps of the uprising. Without a doubt, the sledgehammer of revolution is poised to strike.

Khamenei wanted to complete the consolidation of his regime by this charade. But his election brought forth half a dozen savage factions that, even before reaching the parliament, have turned on each other.

To Khamenei, all the henchmen and plunderers nestled in his office, we say: Fight over succession all you want, purge and devour each other. The people of Iran have relieved you of the burden of determining a successor. The inevitable replacement is a democratic republic based on free elections, the separation of religion and state, gender equality, and autonomy for oppressed nationalities.

The events of the past year (March 2023-March 2024) have unequivocally demonstrated that the arrest of 30,000 protestors, the injuring and blinding of youths, and the murder of 750 young lives have failed to diminish society’s readiness for uprising and revolution. All indications suggest that the conditions are ripe for overthrow: from the uprising in Semirom, the protests in Ardakan in Yazd, and the demonstrations in Arak, to the sustained protests by steelworkers in Ahvaz and farmers in Isfahan, and the frequent protests by pensioners, the disenfranchised, students, nurses, miners, oil workers, bazaar merchants, and pharmacists.

The Rightfulness of the Resistance Units’ Battle against the IRGC

Fellow compatriots,

Last year’s events were strongly influenced by the uprising. Despite the attempts by the regime and its allied current, aided by foreign powers, to hijack the uprising and disrupt the people’s movement, their efforts were in vain.

The protesters and vanguards of freedom brushed aside diversionary paths, false slogans, and phony alternatives, steering the people’s movement towards revolution and overthrow instead.

It was proven that entities void of substance and foundation, estranged from the people’s struggles, their pain, and their profound sacrifices, may momentarily conjure illusions and clamor. Yet, they are incapable of deceiving the people.

In stark contrast to the disintegration of the enemy’s camp, the camp of people and their organized resistance, under the leadership and steadfast presence of Massoud [Rajavi], and by virtue of his belief in ideals and steadfastness in his principled stances, has grown increasingly cohesive, unified, dedicated, and combative than ever in its commitment to overthrow this regime and embark on the liberation and rebuilding of Iran. The National Council of Resistance of Iran, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the Resistance Units, supporters of Ashraf and the Iranian Resistance, and all freedom fighters comprise this camp.

Moreover, on the international front, there’s an increasing trend among Western parliaments to defend the legitimacy and rightfulness of the Resistance Units’ battle against the IRGC, advocating for the acknowledgment of the Iranian people’s efforts to overthrow the regime.

Khamenei’s Investment to Export Crises

On the other hand, to block the path of the uprising, the regime embarked on hatching plots against the PMOI, the pivotal force of the uprising, and undermining Ashraf-3. It also initiated trials in absentia for over 100 members and leaders of this movement and launched an extensive demonization campaign by producing films, exhibits and books.

As always, the demonization campaign was followed by the attempt on the life of Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, two terrorist attacks against a center of NCRI supporters in Paris, and the attempt to set fire to the NCRI office in Berlin.

Blessed be the supporters of the Iranian Resistance, who day in and day out, all year long, stood against the regime and its myriad conspiracies, confronting Khamenei, his regime, and its mercenaries, turning the tides in favor of the resistance and to the detriment of the inhuman enemy.

Moreover, we have witnessed Khamenei’s massive and unprecedented investment in exporting crises abroad and engaging in warmongering activities in the Middle East.

And that, with joy and celebration, initiating a horrific bloodshed as a boon for the regime. However, over time, the strategic consequences of warmongering will increasingly impact the regime. The head of the snake [of warmongering and terrorism] is now recognized worldwide, becoming a part of international political lexicon.

PMOI’s Appeal to Young People

Fellow compatriots,

In the past [Iranian] year, in stark contrast to the disintegration and fragmentation of the mullahs’ and the pro-shah’s fronts, we witnessed the elevation and surge of the organized resistance.

The Resistance Units, despite enduring thousands of arrests during the 2022 uprising, swiftly reconstructed and fortified their ranks, advancing with renewed determination. A visible surge of young activists rising up across various cities, increasingly aligning with the PMOI, is quite evident.

Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, the former speaker of the mullahs’ parliament and one of Khamenei’s closest allies and relatives, warned that public opinion is increasingly gravitating toward the PMOI.

Through its trial in absentia of the PMOI, in addition to retaliating for our worldwide exposure of Ebrahim Raisi and our international call to bring Khamenei and Raisi to justice, the regime aims to stem the tide that is shifting in favor of the PMOI.

Skyrocketing prices, further emptying the people’s tables, the deliberate policy of starving the population akin to allowing the massive toll of COVID-19 and increasing the number of executions, embody the regime’s survival strategy. This strategy is completed with the blood and suffering of innocent Jewish and Palestinian people.

But when the regime stands on hollow ground and the foundation of its house is crumbling, ironically, this very strategy becomes the noose around the neck of the Velayat-e Faqih. The uprising refuses to be silenced and can ignite at any moment.

The Era of the People, of Uprising, and of the Formidable Army of Freedom

Precisely on the anniversary of the 2022 uprising, the United States released $6 billion for Khamenei.

Before that, the regime had already reaped the benefits of softened sanctions seeing a boost in its oil revenues. The other party had expected a reduction in the regime’s regional aggressions and a slowdown in uranium enrichment efforts. Yet, these fanciful illusions dissipated within just three weeks.

The regime first plunged the region into conflict, activating its proxy forces in the Red Sea. Simultaneously, it tripled the rate of its 60% uranium enrichment.

Because to preserve this regime, which has reached a deadlock, there is no alternative but to resort to suppression, war, terrorism, and nuclear weaponry.

Indeed, a regime steeped in criminality, bloodshed, and looting from head to toe has but one solution: its overthrow. Those who think otherwise are merely pounding water in a mortar. The era of this regime has come to an end, and the time now belongs to the people, the uprising, and the great army of freedom.

Hence, despite the clerics waging war on Nowruz and spring by inflicting numerous calamities, it is imperative to stand up to them and celebrate Nowruz, if only with a single sugar cube, even within the confines of prison.

We must dispel gloom, despair, and darkness; this act itself is a part of the struggle for change.

I extend my greetings and congratulations to the steadfast political prisoners and their weekly strikes, and I sincerely appreciate the free and honorable compatriots who turn their homes into sanctuaries for the Resistance Units, as well as their support.

In the upcoming year, Nowruz will triumph in rebellion and uprising, and in the fighting spirit of each one of you.

O He who rejuvenates and reshapes hearts and minds,

O He who orchestrates night and day,

O He who overturns circumstances, systems, and regimes,

Alter our state and that of our people to the finest of states, which is freedom and popular sovereignty in a republic.

Happy New Year 1403 to the Iranian people!