Maryam Rajavi Talks to Newsmax on Iran’s Uprising: “The Fall of This Regime Is Not a Question of ‘If’—But ‘When’”
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), offers a compelling insider perspective on the current state of Iran’s political landscape in an exclusive interview with Newsmax. Speaking from her Paris headquarters, Rajavi highlights the ongoing and intensifying uprisings within Iran, driven by widespread economic collapse, government corruption, and relentless repression.
She underscores the significant role of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in organizing resistance efforts inside the country and stresses that the regime’s downfall is inevitable. Rajavi also addresses the weakening regional influence of Iran’s leadership, the loss of key allies, and the growing international support for democratic change in Iran. This interview provides critical insights into the dynamics of resistance against the Iranian regime and the prospects for its future.
Readers are encouraged to read the full interview below, as featured on Maryam Rajavi’s official website, to gain an in-depth insight into the resistance movement and the critical challenges confronting the Iranian regime.
By John Gizzi
In the wake of the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities June 21 and subsequent calls by President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for regime change, the leader of the largest Iranian resistance group insists that “[t]he uprising of the Iranian people is not a distant aspiration — it is already underway.”
We welcome the proposal for ceasefire and end of foreign war which we hope will be maintained.
This is a step forward for the ultimate solution to this crisis which is regime change by the people of Iran and the organized resistance. pic.twitter.com/j3hCPawBOL— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 25, 2025
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax from her Paris headquarters (via email), Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, pointed out that even before the airstrikes by Israel and the U.S., NCRI insurgents within the country were gaining ground.
“In the past seven years alone,” she told us, “five nationwide uprisings, each erupting in more than 150 cities, have shaken Iran and rattled the very foundations of the regime. Today, the religious dictatorship stands at its weakest point since 1979. The reasons are clear: uncontrollable economic collapse, the regime’s failure to provide essential services such as electricity, gas, and water, rampant corruption, and relentless repression — the very factors that fueled the 2022 uprising.”
Rajavi added that the fall of Hezbollah in Lebanon and overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria “have left [Ayatollah] Khamenei’s so-called ‘external shield’ in ruins.”
The loss of any dependable allies, she told us, “is why [Khamenei’s] nuclear weapons project has become all the more important for him — and ironically, it has now become a new source of crisis for the regime.”
Rajavi addressed the frequent criticisms of exiles trying to overthrow dictatorships in their home countries — that they have no presence within the country and little connection with the people actually living in those repressive states.
In her words, “The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and particularly its principal component, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), have built extensive networks across Iran. The MEK’s Resistance Units — comprised of courageous women and men from all walks of life — are the beating heart of this movement within the country. They drive the organization of protests, the distribution of anti-regime materials, and above all, the breaking of the walls of censorship and fear.
“Beyond these units, there is a wide social network of MEK supporters, including the families of executed prisoners, former political prisoners, and exiles, who play an active role in social protests.”
Rajavi strongly emphasized that “resistance units are becoming more active and widespread by the day. Their focus is on organizing, raising awareness, inspiring others, and targeting the Revolutionary Guards and other repressive agencies. The fall of this regime is not a question of ‘if’—but ‘when.’”
As evidence of her claim, she cited “the regime’s highest officials — including its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself and the Speaker of the Parliament — who have repeatedly acknowledged the pivotal role of the MEK in igniting the uprisings of 2018, 2019, and 2022, and in organizing the broader resistance.”
The undercover operation within Iran, said Rajavi, “managed to obtain and deliver some of the regime’s most sensitive and confidential information to the MEK. The exposure of the regime’s nuclear projects over the past 34 years — as well as its terrorist plots and hidden crimes — has only been possible thanks to the MEK’s organized networks and broad social base inside Iran.”
Relying on this network, she told us, “the MEK has made more than 130 revelations about Tehran’s nuclear weapons program.”
Why Are Iranians Fed Up Now?
Newsmax recalled how many Americans felt what was blatant election fraud to deny Hossein Mousavi the presidency of Iran in 2009 and the brutal killing of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini for not wearing the hijab (headgear) along government-ordered standards as events that did not bring down the regime. What is different about the situation today, we asked.
“The situation today is fundamentally different — and far more dangerous and precarious for the regime,” Rajavi replied, “First, the regime is far weaker than it was 16 years ago and even three years ago. Public anger and hatred toward the regime have multiplied many times over. Its social base has shrunk dramatically, the economic situation is disastrous, and the country teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.
“Second, the leadership of the 2009 uprising came from within the regime itself. So, when the uprising escalated and people began demanding regime change, these leaders turned their backs on the people and the movement, choosing to preserve the system over democracy and popular sovereignty.
Third, the organized resistance inside the country is vastly stronger than it was 16 years ago. Today, the MEK’s Resistance Units have the structure, discipline, and nationwide presence needed to channel public outrage into a focused, sustained uprising.
Speech at the European Parliament- Strasbourg
Today, from the home of the peoples of Europe, a unified voice was heard in support of the people of Iran, the Iranian Resistance, and the network of Resistance Units in Iran. That voice declared that the only solution to this crisis… pic.twitter.com/CyF5WJtcnk— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 18, 2025
Fourth, compared to three years ago, Khamenei has lost the regime’s protective barriers in the region that he had established through his proxies. He suffered defeats in two elections in 2024, both of which were widely boycotted by the people, and the Revolutionary Guards — the backbone of the regime — have endured major setbacks.”
Fifth, international support for the NCRI — the democratic alternative — and its Ten-Point Plan, which is endorsed by a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives and thousands of lawmakers worldwide, has created a favorable global climate for change in Iran.”
Any interview with an Iranian opposition leader inevitably gets around to the best-known — and since the bombing, most publicized — figure of an opponent to the regime: Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah of Iran who was overthrown in the 1979 revolution that brought the theocracy to power. Rajavi and her allies are sure he will have no role in regime change, so, we asked, why has he received so much press attention?
“What the remnants of the Shah’s regime seek is nothing but the revival of a brutal, single-party dictatorship,” Rajavi remonstrated, “They lack both a real organization for change and any genuine social base inside Iran, and they claim to be in regular contact with Iran Revolutionary Guard commanders.
“There are numerous credible reports that the regime, which feels no threat from monarchist remnants, actually promotes them to create the impression that the only alternative to the current regime is a return to the past — discouraging the people from demanding real change.”
“The Iranian people, having suffered under both the crown and the turban, want neither the past nor the present; they seek a future free of all forms of despotism — a democratic republic.”
Will Military, Police Defect From Regime?
Regarding possible defections from the police or military to join the resistance, Rajavi was not so enthusiastic.
“As far as the top brass of the Revolutionary Guards and other repressive forces are concerned,” she said, “Khamenei appoints only the most loyal individuals — those who see their own survival as inseparable from that of the regime.
Moreover, at every level, they are kept under daily scrutiny by a legion of clerics serving as ‘representatives of the Supreme Leader.’ Of course, there will always be some who break away, but at the top, this is the exception rather than the norm.”
But, she quickly added, “there are increasingly clear signs of dissatisfaction and attrition within the rank-and-file of the regime’s military and security forces — stemming from economic pressures, moral exhaustion, and the erosion of legitimacy. The regime’s repressive apparatus still stands, but it grows more brittle by the day, and the cracks within it are widening.”
