National Council of Resistance of Iran speaks out on Trump peace deal

The major coalition of Iranian dissidents has welcomed the ceasefire, expressing hope that it will pave the way for peace

By Emily Wright, World News Reporter
12:26, Wed, Apr 8, 2026 Updated: 12:26, Wed, Apr 8, 2026
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The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has welcomed the ceasefire between Donald Trump and Iran, particularly the halt to attacks on infrastructure and civilian facilities, adding that this was the most appropriate decision at the most sensitive moment by the US. In a statement shared with the Express on Wednesday (April 8), Mrs Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the NCRI, which advocates for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, expressed hope that the 15-day ceasefire “will lead to the end of the war and pave the way for peace and freedom”.

Mrs Rajavi stressed that lasting peace, “as the Iranian Resistance has stressed for the past 45 years, can only be achieved through the overthrow of the terrorist and warmongering dictatorship of the absolute clerical rule (Velayat-e-Faqih) by the Iranian people and the organised resistance, and the establishment of a democratic republic“. She added that the stopping of executions in Iran, as a demand of all the people of Iran, should be included in any international agreement.

The NCRI is a coalition of some 540 Iranian dissident groups, led by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/ MEK), committed to establishing a secular democratic republic in Iran. It was founded by Massoud Rajavi and Abolhassan Banisadr in 1981 and is the longest active political alliance in Iranian history.

Acting as a parliament-in-exile in France and Albania, women comprise 50% of the Council’s members. Mrs Rajavi has led the council since 1993.
The NCRI advocates for free elections, gender equality, separation of religion and state, abolition of the death penalty and a non-nuclear Iran. It also works to raise awareness of human rights abuses in Iran, organising rallies and lobbying in Western capitals.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2191598/national-council-resistance-iran-Trump-peace-deal