Mina Entezari’s Address at the UN Rally
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. Mina Entezari, a former political prisoner under the clerical regime, addressed the participants on the second day of the rally.
The full text of her speech appears below:
The Voice of Enchained Iran at the United Nations
In the name of Iran, land of resistance and defiance;
in the name of freedom and Iran’s freedom-loving people;
and in tribute to the martyrs of liberty, the political prisoners, and their united struggle in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” movement, now enduring for thirty-two months in more than sixty prisons across Iran.
Dear friends and fellow compatriots,
Today, here in front of the United Nations, where the leaders of the world’s nations are gathered, we have come together to be the voice of Iran’s freedom-loving but enchained people. We have come to be the voice of the courageous women and girls who stand at the forefront of the uprising against religious fascism. We have come to be the voice of the rebellious youth and the brave political prisoners held in the notorious prisons of Tehran, Karaj, Kurdistan, Baluchestan, Azerbaijan, and other cities throughout Iran.
We have come to raise our voices and declare that the criminal mullahs and their puppet president do not represent the people of Iran. They are criminals against humanity. Recognize the organized resistance of the Iranian people and their right to confront this regime of religious fascism.
Six Decades of Resistance and New Leadership
On the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, whose pioneers and leaders have, for more than six decades, sacrificed their lives and everything they held dearer than life itself in the struggle against both the monarchical dictatorship and religious fascism, we pay tribute to their enduring resistance.
We congratulate and salute Ms. Mahnaz Maimanat, a member of a justice-seeking family, on her election as Secretary-General of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. She stands as a role model for the heroic women of Iran, women who recognize no obstacle on the path to revolution and freedom.
Honoring the Martyrs of Evin: Memories of 1988
Many years ago, after enduring seven years in the notorious Evin Prison, I came to the United States. My arrival here, in August 1988, coincided with the publication of the first horrifying reports about the massacre of all my fellow PMOI prisoners and comrades in Iran. My beloved prison companions and cherished friends who met the gallows with dignity and pride.
I remember, always and every moment, that in the final minutes before I left the prison ward, my dear Nahid Tahsili, calling out from behind the window of her cell in Evin Prison, shouted a message to me: “Carry our greetings to the blossoms, carry our greetings to the rain.”
Let me tell you about my brave and courageous fellow prisoner, PMOI member Maliheh Aghvami, who, only hours before being taken to the gallows in Evin during that fevered August, wrote: “Let me tell you the story of the true believer: when death arrives, he dies with a smile.”
And our beloved captain in prison, Forouzan Abdi, a member of Iran’s national women’s volleyball team, who in the final hours of her life wrote upon the wall of her cell: “My God, help me, to be a worthy servant of Yours and a radiant candle lighting Your path.”[1]
Yes, this is how they stood against the regime. They raised the banner high, proclaiming that “bowing one’s head is forbidden,” and they entrusted it to the generations that followed.
A New Generation of Rebellious Youth and the Demand for Justice
From their blood arose the flames of uprising, struggle, and resistance. And now that resistance has reached today’s generation, where brave young people such as Arghavan Fallahi, only twenty-four years old and under a death sentence, together with Forough Taghipour, send messages from the dungeons of Evin Prison:
“We sing with the voice of Pouya Ghobadi.
We see with the eyes of Commander Vahid Bani Ameriyan.
We walk with the legs of Babak Alipour.
And with the heart of Mehdi Khanaki, we love the people of our country.”
Yes, courage has multiplied, and fear no longer has any meaning for this new rebellious generation.
To the regime of executions and its representative, Pezeshkian, we say: “Get the hell out of our homeland!”
If you think that by destroying the sites where your crimes were committed, such as Gohardasht Prison, and by erasing mass graves and the resting places of the martyrs of freedom, you could lessen your guilt and crimes, you are gravely mistaken.
We will hold every one of you accountable before the bar of justice. The people of Iran want nothing but peace and freedom. They reject every form of dictatorship and every dependence on foreign governments.
Just do not stand in their way.
Long live freedom.
Salute to the heroic Resistance Units.
[1] In Persian, the name Forouzan means “radiant,” “shining,” or “glowing,” while Abdi means “servant” (specifically, a servant or devotee of God). Her prayer on the cell wall is a poignant poetic play on her own name, expressing her wish to remain a devoted servant (Abdi) who acts as a radiant light (Forouzan) on His path, even in her final hours.
