Soona Samsami Calls for Accountability, Democracy, and Recognition of the Iranian People’s Resistance
NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2026 – Thousands of freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance gathered outside United Nations headquarters for two days to protest the reception of Masoud Pezeshkian, arguing that Iran’s UN seat belongs to the people of Iran. Soona Samsami addressed the rally on its second day.
Soona Samsami, the U.S. Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has devoted decades to amplifying the voices of the Iranian people, particularly Iranian women. A longtime advocate for human rights and women’s rights, she has represented the Iranian Resistance in the United States and brought the concerns and aspirations of Iranian women to policymakers, human rights forums, and the United Nations. Throughout her work, she has served as a voice for those inside Iran who cannot safely speak for themselves, advocating for a future founded on freedom, equality, and human dignity.
The full text of her speech appears below:
The PMOI’s Legacy and a New Generation of Leadership
Dear friends and fellow Iranians,
First, on the occasion of the sixty-second anniversary of the founding of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, I extend my warmest congratulations to the PMOI/MEK, and especially to my dear sister, Mahnaz Maimanat, the new secretary general of the PMOI.
Ms. Mahnaz Maimanat carries forward the proud legacy of courageous women who through sacrifice and leadership have stood at the forefront of the struggle for Iran’s freedom.
Pezeshkian Does Not Represent the Iranian People
Today, as Pezeshkian addresses the United Nations, we have gathered here to declare that Pezeshkian does not represent the people of Iran at the United Nations. He represents a religious dictatorship that has built its survival on repression, terrorism, and gallows.
Executions Reveal a Regime in Crisis
The dramatic increase in executions is not a sign of strength. It’s an admission of the regime’s fear and weakness. Iran faces deep economic and social crises.
Poverty is spreading. Corruption is rampant, and public anger continues to grow. The ruling mullahs know that another nationwide uprising is inevitable.
Since mid-March of this year, at least 40 opponents of the regime, including nine PMOI members, have been executed. Another one hundred face execution, including Arghavan Fallahi, a young woman sentenced to death on charges of membership in the PMOI/MEK.
The Force for Change Lies Inside Iran
After decades of this regime’s rule, one reality is so clear that neither appeasement, nor bombing, nor foreign wars can bring about regime change in Iran. The solution for Iran lies in the decisive force on the ground, the organized resistance, those who confront the Revolutionary Guards, and Basij forces and pay the price of resistance.
Today, we stand before the United Nations to bring the voice of the Iranian people to the world while those resisting inside Iran face imprisonment and execution.
Across Iran, Resistance Units are expanding their activities. Courageous young women and men are challenging the machinery of repression, breaking the atmosphere of fear, and keeping the flames of organized resistance alive.
Neither the Shah nor the Mullahs
Their message is very clear. The people of Iran will never surrender, and this regime has no future in Iran. The Iranian people want neither war, nor dictatorship. They have not sacrificed and shed their blood for 48 years to replace the turban with the crown. They rejected the Shah’s dictatorship, and they reject the dictatorship of the mullahs.
The Vision of a Democratic Republic
The solution lies in the struggle of the resistance units and the democratic alternative represented by the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Mrs. Rajavi’s 10-Point Plan offers a road map for a free Iran: free elections, universal suffrage, freedom of expression and religion, separation of religion and state, full equality between women and men, abolition of the death penalty, an independent judiciary, a peaceful non-nuclear republic in Iran, and coexistence with all countries in the world.
International Action Is Long Overdue
The international community must now choose the right side of history. Today, we call on the UN General Assembly to establish an international criminal justice mechanism to prosecute those responsible for crimes against humanity in Iran as called by the UN special rapporteur in 2024 and more recently by Amnesty International.
We call on the UN Security Council to refer the regime’s human rights violations to the international criminal court and on governments to prosecute the regime’s leader based on the principle of universal jurisdiction.
The Iranian People Will Prevail
Today, standing before the United Nations, we will demand the expulsion of Iranian regime from the United Nations. Iran’s seat at the United Nations belong to the Iranian people, not the oppressive regime in Iran.
Democratic governments must recognize the Iranian people, their organized resistance, and their struggle against the Revolutionary Guards to overthrow the mullahs’ regime.
The people of Iran will prevail, and Iran will become a free democratic republic.
