Former White House Director of Public Liaison Linda Chavez delivered a keynote speech on June 21 during the second day of the Free Iran 2026 World Summit in Paris, emphasizing that lasting democratic change in Iran must come from its own people.
Chavez began by describing her initial feelings upon arriving at the conference, saying she was deeply discouraged by recent international policies toward Iran’s clerical establishment and by restrictions imposed on planned demonstrations in France. Despite that disappointment, she said the determination expressed by speakers throughout the summit renewed her optimism.
Pointing to the resilience of the Ukrainian people and the legacy of democratic movements throughout history, Chavez argued that freedom is achieved through the perseverance of citizens rather than imposed by external powers. She also referenced the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, drawing comparisons between the American struggle for liberty and the aspirations of Iranians seeking democratic change.
Highlighting a central principle advocated by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Chavez said military action alone cannot establish democracy. Echoing the views of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, she stressed that genuine political transformation requires returning the right of self-governance to the Iranian people instead of simply replacing one ruling system with another.
Closing her address, Chavez reaffirmed her support for the Iranian resistance movement and pledged to continue advocating for the Iranian people’s pursuit of freedom, democracy, and national sovereignty.
Excerpts of Linda Chavez‘s speech follow:
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you to the people who are joining us from Ashraf [3]. It was such a delight for me to be there with you two times, so I welcome you here.
Thank you, Mrs. Rajavi. You give us courage and you give us inspiration.
I have to tell you, when I got on the airplane on Thursday night to come here, at Dulles, I had a heavy heart. I was filled with pessimism.
Each of the last few years that we have come here, and especially within the last year, we have seen victory right on the horizon. We believed that there was going to be regime change and that it was going to come this year.
I was very, very worried about coming here and addressing you and facing you.
But then I got here and I got even worse news. It was not a cheerful coming in. I received news that France—one of the hearts of democracy and the rights of man—had decided to close down [the] rally where people were going to express their support for the Iranian people.
I came into the room yesterday, and I listened to the speakers. First, I listened to the former foreign minister of Ukraine, Mr. Kuleba. The Ukrainian people always inspire me.
When he talked about how, when the Ukrainian people were invaded by Russia, everyone wrote it off. It was going to be over in a few weeks.
They were going to march into Kyiv and destroy the government there, and the Ukrainian people would once again be absorbed in what used to be the Soviet Union, which, in the hearts of people like former KGB agent Vladimir Putin, still aspires to that.
But that hasn’t happened. The Ukrainian people fought for their freedom. They are the ones who rose up and protected themselves.
I listened to former Prime Minister Roman from Romania, and I remembered he talked about Ceaușescu’s death and the people rising up.
I thought about the United States of America. This is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. My ancestors actually fought in that war. I’m the sixth great-granddaughter of Israel Keith, who became an adjutant general in the American Revolution.
They took on the greatest power in the world—our friends now, the United Kingdom. We broke away because we wanted our freedom. And we did it with farmers, with laborers, with intellectuals, all of the people coming together to fight for our freedom.
I heard Mrs. Rajavi talk about what is ahead of us. She wasn’t pessimistic. She wasn’t down, she wasn’t depressed.
She gives us hope, because she rightly says you cannot impose freedom by dropping bombs. It was useful. We did destroy, or at least cover up, the nuclear material. We did destroy the air force. We did sink the navy. But it isn’t enough, and it cannot be imposed from the outside.
What has to happen is the Iranian people have to stand up and fight. And I know that the people in this room, the people in Ashraf [3], [and] the diaspora around the world are willing to do that.
She said a very important thing today, too, and that is that you can overturn power in a government, but you don’t do it by turning over that government to someone else. You return sovereignty to the Iranian people.
And that is what we are here for, and that is what we will continue to fight for, and I will be with you all the way. Thank you very much.
