Paris, March 20, 2026 — In her Nowruz 1405 message marking the Persian New Year, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), emphasized the urgent need for a democratic republic in Iran, free from both clerical rule and monarchy.
In a speech framed by themes of resistance, sacrifice, and national renewal, Mrs. Rajavi described the coming year as a decisive moment for Iran’s future. She highlighted the resilience of the Iranian people amid ongoing hardship, while expressing confidence that a “democratic revolution” would ultimately lead to the establishment of popular sovereignty.
Mrs. Rajavi underscored that the “real Nowruz of Iran” will only be realized when the country is liberated from what she described as both religious and monarchical dictatorship. She reiterated that the Iranian Resistance seeks neither power nor dominance, but rather the transfer of power to the people through democratic means.
A central pillar of her message was the rejection of both the current clerical establishment and any return to monarchy. She argued that both systems have historically contributed to repression, violence, and the denial of fundamental freedoms. Instead, she called for unity around key democratic principles, including separation of religion and state, gender equality, autonomy for ethnic minorities, abolition of the death penalty, and a non-nuclear Iran.
Mrs. Rajavi also paid tribute to political prisoners, protest movements, and those killed in recent uprisings, portraying them as the driving force behind Iran’s path to change. She encouraged solidarity with marginalized communities and families of victims, describing social support as a “national duty.”
Looking ahead, she outlined a vision for a future Iran built on free elections, social justice, and equal opportunity. In this vision, women and youth would play a central role in leadership, and economic development would go hand-in-hand with expanded freedoms.
Concluding her message, Mrs. Rajavi expressed hope that the new year would bring liberation for Iran and called on supporters both inside and outside the country to continue their efforts toward achieving a democratic republic.
Message on #Nowruz 1405, the Beginning of the New Persian Year-
On the 45th crimson spring of Iran’s Resistance, I extend my heartfelt congratulations on Nowruz, which this year coincides with Eid al-Fitr.
Honored be the memory of the constellation of martyrs who gave their lives… pic.twitter.com/7P2LfTTTcC— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) March 20, 2026
Maryam Rajavi’s Message for Nowruz 1405, the Beginning of the New Persian Year
The Real Nowruz of Iran Is Free of Both the Mullahs and the Shah, Free of Tyranny and Dependence
On the forty-fifth crimson spring of Iran’s Resistance, I extend heartfelt congratulations on Nowruz, which this year coincides with Eid al-Fitr.
May the memory of the constellation of martyrs who gave their lives for freedom in the past year be honored.
The clerical rulers and the remnants of the Shah’s monarchy did all they could, through every possible scheme, to appropriate and trample upon their sacrifice. The usurpers and thieves, especially those who have hijacked our people’s right to sovereignty, think that even blood and martyrdom can be stolen. They do not understand that blood unjustly shed brings forth justice and can never be taken away.
Now we enter a spring that will see the democratic revolution blossom into a flourishing democratic republic. Although the people of Iran are burdened by war, suffering, and immense pressure, to the countless afflicted I say: these bitter days, harsher than poison, shall pass.
We must salute and congratulate the steadfast political prisoners who have risen against clerical rule, monarchy, dictatorship, and subjugation; the rebellious architects of uprisings; and the units of the Liberation Army, who embody the untamed spirit of spring and the renewing winds of transformation for our nation. Honor belongs equally to those who went to the gallows, and to those who, without hesitation, fought on, firing their last bullets and drawing their final breaths, striking at the very seat and headquarters of Khamenei.
Unlike the Heirs of the Mullahs and the Shah, We Seek Peace and Freedom
At the moment of Nowruz, we pray for the liberation of the people of Iran in the (Persian) year 1405. Unlike the heirs of the mullahs and the Shah, we seek peace and freedom. We seek justice and independence. We seek not power, but the transfer of power to the people of Iran.
In the year that passed, Khamenei finally died, and as Massoud Rajavi said: “The people will rise to life again, provided we do not allow the fruits of struggle, suffering, and sacrifice to be lost, and the century-long cycle of tyranny to continue through the usurpation of popular sovereignty. Yes, this year is a year of advance, a historic test.”
You Are the Force that Brings Forth Spring
The power that writes a new destiny, the power that will carry Iran from dictatorship to popular sovereignty, that power which creates spring, is you.
The greatest power lies in your hands. You have already proven this through storms such as the Constitutional Revolution, through the steadfastness of Sattar Khan and the leadership of the freedom-seeking people of Azerbaijan, and later through the anti-monarchical revolution. You demonstrated that no force could withstand a people who rise for freedom. You shattered the Shah, despite his infernal SAVAK and vast army; surely you can also break down the mullahs and their Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Religious fascism and monarchical fascism have no place left in Iran.
The Collusion of the Shah and the Mullahs in Oppression
The confrontation between the people of Iran and the ruling regime over the past year has laid bare the true nature of competing claims and slogans. Those striving to return Iran to monarchical rule have revealed that their vision for tomorrow is one of dictatorship and the suppression of society and oppressed nationalities.
The Shah once raised the banners of the “White Revolution” and the “Great Civilization.” Khomeini, in turn, proclaimed an “Islamic Revolution,” and Rafsanjani spoke of a “Grand Islamic Civilization.” Yet under both systems, execution squads and massacres were deployed, each in proportion to the resistance they faced.
If Iranian society and history had been as stagnant and silent as to accept the son of Khamenei or the son of the Shah, there would have been no revolution, no uprisings, no Resistance Units, and no Liberation Army. For a long time, the very word revolution was taboo, feared and suppressed. Until a social awakening forced even the Shah’s heir to abandon his father’s “White Revolution” and grasp instead at something contrived and hollow, dubbed a “Lion and Sun Revolution.”
Throughout Iran’s history, the Shah and the mullahs have been intertwined, companions in oppression, bound together in sustaining tyranny. Yet the people of Iran and the forces of democratic revolution are determined to compensate a century of devastation.
The vision of a democratic society, first articulated by Massoud Rajavi and consistently used to guide the resistance, remains the source of inspiration for our struggle.
The future can be built starting today. Its path lies in uniting around principles that command the agreement of the majority of Iranians: a democratic republic; separation of religion and state; autonomy for ethnic nationalities; gender equality; the abolition of the death penalty; and a non-nuclear Iran living in peace and coexistence with the world.
The provisional government, tasked with transferring sovereignty to the people of Iran and establishing a democratic republic based on the Resistance’s Ten-Point Plan, is designed for this very purpose. The defense of Iranian women’s rights in general, and of oppressed compatriots among the Baluch, Arab, Kurdish, and Turkmen communities, is part of this same path.
Salutations to all who stand in resistance, from the supporters of the Iranian Resistance across the world, to the PMOI members at Ashraf-3, and to the movement’s supporters inside Iran who continue to struggle for these ideals.
The future can be built starting today. Its path lies in uniting around principles that command the agreement of the majority of Iranians: a democratic republic; separation of religion and state; autonomy for ethnic nationalities; gender equality; the abolition of the death… pic.twitter.com/hkG9bLYxAV
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) March 20, 2026
The Nowruz of the Republic of the Iranian People Born of Their Free Vote
In these days, I call upon all of you for solidarity and mutual support. The oppression and plunder of the mullahs have driven large segments of our people into poverty and destitution. Helping them is a national duty.
I urge you to stand beside the families of those martyred in the January uprising, and to honor the memory of those red tulips who gave their lives. Let us remember all the martyrs of the path to freedom, from June 20, 1981, to those who, as part of Resistance Units, struck at the heart of the enemy.
Have no doubt: a nation that has risen through continuous sacrifice and struggle in the uprisings of 1999, 2009, 2017–2018, 2019, 2020, 2022–2023, and 2025–2026, together with Resistance Units and the Liberation Army, will bring about the real Nowruz of Iran: a Nowruz free of both the mullahs and the Shah, free of tyranny and dependence.
The Nowruz of the republic of the people of Iran will blossom through their free vote, ushering in the joyful dawn of a new society, one in which every brick of its structure is founded upon free choice, and all share in determining their destiny.
In the light of the programs and plans of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the path toward Iran’s political and social spring is clearer than ever: the same path toward a free, developed, and equal Iran.
Spring is coming, one in which the country’s economic and social development is inseparable from the expansion of freedoms.
Spring is coming, one in which the people, especially the youth, are active and decisive citizens, and in which women, through their participation in political leadership, will be the architects of Iran’s future development.
Yes, a spring is coming in which the children of Iran will benefit from the highest standards of care, enabling their growth and flourishing.
In a free Iran, according to the program of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a council-based system will expand across all areas of governance and administration. Every policy will be measured by justice, ensuring equal opportunity for all; the very social justice that is inseparable from freedom and democracy.
In a free Iran, poverty and homelessness will have no place, and society will benefit from the highest achievements of science and technology.
Yes, tomorrow’s Iran will become a garden of freedom and justice.
If our homeland Iran stands wounded today, hope has taken root just as deeply within it; hope born from the very heart of this struggle, and from the uprisings that rise from it.
In these moments at the dawn of the new year, we remember our brave sisters and brothers who remain imprisoned. To them we say: the day when the prison doors, and all chains, are broken by the people of Iran is not far.
O Transformer of hearts and eyes, O Governor of night and day, O Changer of conditions—transform our state into the best of states.
May the beginning of the year 1405 and the advent of spring be blessed for you all.
