Maryam Rajavi’s Message to the Germany Conference on Iran

On Monday, August 31, 2026, a conference titled “Supporting a Democratic Solution in Iran” was held in Germany at the invitation of the Union of Iranian Communities in Germany and members of the German Solidarity Committee for a Free Iran.
A number of German parliamentarians, legal experts, religious figures, and civil society activists attended the conference and delivered speeches on the political crisis in Iran and the prospects for democratic change. Speakers included:
Carsten Müller, Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag); Leo Dautzenberg, Martin Patzelt, and Thomas Lutze, former members of the Bundestag; Joachim Rücker, former President of the United Nations Human Rights Council; Hans-Ulrich Seidt, former German Ambassador; Marion Böker, human rights activist; Margot Käßmann, former Chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD); Prof. Dr. Christoph Degenhart, professor of constitutional law and former judge on the Constitutional Court of Saxony.
The conference commenced with a video message from Maryam Rajavi. In her message, Maryam Rajavi stated: “Although the flames of the foreign war have subsided for some time, the main war, between the Iranian people and the religious fascism, continues unabated.”
Participants at the conference emphasized the necessity of international accountability for those responsible for widespread human rights violations, massacres, and executions in Iran. They called on Germany and Europe to adopt a firm policy toward the Iranian regime and its organs of suppression.

Key points of Maryam Rajavi’s message included:
1. How the Iranian people confront the regime and the state of the uprisings.
2. The Iranian regime’s strategy to prevent its overthrow.
3. The plan of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) for the transfer of power and the future of Iran.

Below is the full text of Maryam Rajavi’s message to the conference:

Maryam Rajavi: The primary conflict lies between the people of Iran and religious fascism

Honorable Mr. Carsten Müller, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee of the German Federal Bundestag,
Distinguished Guests, Dear Compatriots,
I am delighted that this conference is being held and to meet with you today.
The landmark events of the past year have drawn global attention to the situation in Iran. The tensions and wider ramifications of these developments continue to unfold, sending ripples across the international political and economic landscape. Unsurprisingly, this has raised critical questions: What path will the Iranian regime ultimately take? And where does the Iranian people’s uprising stand as it confronts this regime?
The current situation can be summarized in a single premise: although the fires of external war have for now quieted, the main conflict, namely, the conflict between the people of Iran and religious fascism continues unabated.
On one side are the atrocities of the regime, hanging members of the PMOI and the rebellious youth who took part in the uprisings. On the other side are the unrelenting operations of Resistance Units and the ceaseless protests of a people pushed to the brink.

Escalation of Suppression Under the Cover of War

For over four decades, massacres and killings have defined this regime. These days coincide with the 38th anniversary of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, over 90 percent of whom were members of the PMOI. Yet the flame of the struggle for freedom has never been extinguished. This conflict began on June 20, 1981, and has continued for over 45 years. In truth, the foreign war that began on February 28 was merely a parenthesis within the primary conflict between the Iranian people and the regime.
The major uprising of December 2025–January 2026 and the regime’s killing of thousands of protesters shocked the world. In that uprising and the days that followed, tens of thousands of people were arrested, including two thousand members and supporters of the PMOI who went missing.
Exploiting the context of war, the regime intensified its measures of control and suppression. The head of the regime’s judiciary declared that the judicial branch had assumed a “full wartime posture.” IRGC commanders announced that “shoot-to-kill” orders had been issued against anyone who protests. The execution of this brutal policy, which continues to this day, reflects the acute confrontation between Iranian society and the regime.
Since the war began on February 28, 2026, the regime’s most vital defensive measure against a people pushed to the brink—beyond brutal executions—has been mobilizing its henchmen and keeping them on the streets. This street deployment, which has continued for six months, is designed to counter popular uprisings. Recently, the regime’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated: “In my view, the street was truly a miracle, and what kept us going… besides the missiles… was precisely these streets.” This street presence alone confirms both the regime’s precarious position and the serious threat posed by the uprisings.

The Regime’s Strategy to Prevent Its Overthrow

To summarize: the regime’s strategy to prevent its overthrow consists of executing members of the PMOI and arrested protesters, maintaining an atmosphere of war, and deploying its henchmen on the streets.
Yet on the side of the Iranian people and the Resistance front, despite all the regime’s repressive efforts, resistance and protests are expanding. The Resistance Units’ operations against repression have continued incessantly and evolved to a new level. Protesting prisoners in more than 60 prisons across the country carry out hunger strikes every Tuesday under the campaign “No to Executions Tuesdays.” Workers, retirees, nurses, and plundered citizens take to street protests, courageously chanting, “Enough warmongering, our tables are empty!” and “Our rights will only be secured in the streets!”
In truth, the regime is flailing in a war for its survival and cannot alter this fatal plight; thus, it attempts to camouflage it.
The regime attributes its survival to a nonexistent strength. Yet anyone can clearly see its fundamental weakness—including in its approach to the memorandum of understanding it signed with the United States on June 17.
This memorandum granted the regime numerous political and economic benefits. However, the ruling clerical autocracy is so brittle and deficient in capacity that it views moving forward with this very agreement as a threat that will cause it to lose power.
The fierce infighting that has erupted at the highest levels of power in recent months—becoming more hostile week by week—is a clear manifestation of this dead end. The regime’s new Supreme Leader believes that ending the war and acceding to the agreement will shatter the regime’s authority, while senior officials argue that without an agreement, they are incapable of governing. Both, of course, are correct. Whichever path this regime chooses, popular uprising and overthrow await it.

Two Factors Deterring Overthrow

While successive uprisings and the existence of a vast, organized network of Resistance Units and devoted fighters have proven the social and military readiness to overthrow the regime, two factors have acted as deterrents against the Iranian people’s movement to bring it down.
One is international policy, particularly in Europe, which ignores the principal force for change in Iran. As a result, foreign powers have still not abandoned the dream of coming to terms with this brutal regime and continue to pursue flawed strategies. The other is the role of the remnants of the Shah’s dictatorship, who serve the regime’s interests by disrupting uprisings, sowing division among the opposition, promoting fascist slogans, and calling for attacks on Iranian cities.
The son of the dictator Shah holds no real weight or standing beyond television and social media posturing—as the German newspaper Tageszeitung once described him, he is “more like a court jester, though without even a court.” His entire political existence relies on reconstructing the SAVAK secret police, creating uproar, and orchestrating attacks and abusive campaigns by his followers against Iranian dissidents and foreign journalists.
However, as Massoud Rajavi, the Leader of the Iranian Resistance, stated: “The great lesson of the two wars and the uprising of 2025–2026 is that a return to puppet monarchical fascism is nothing more than a mirage.”

The Slogan of Peace and Freedom

Amid the turbulent conditions of the past year, the National Council of Resistance of Iran adopted an effective policy centered on the slogan of peace and freedom and the announcement of a provisional government—a strategy that gained strong social backing and widespread support from Iranians both at home and abroad.
Over the past years, the efforts of the PMOI inside Iran have successfully established a robust social and military framework for resistance across Iranian cities, forged at the heavy cost of arrests and the executions of its dedicated members within the country.
During the intense days of the December 2025–January 2026 uprising, Resistance Units launched 630 military operations, dealing heavy blows to the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), particularly in defending protesters against the regime’s brutal suppression. This was so impactful that in a statement on July 26 this year, the IRGC declared that the PMOI has always been the sworn enemy of the system and played an effective, prominent role in recent uprisings, including the January uprising.
As you know, five days before the outbreak of the war, the PMOI targeted Khamenei’s residence and headquarters in a major operation.
The capability of this Resistance is especially evident in its capacity to transform the explosive, protesting energy of Iranian society into an organized, fighting force.

A Plan for the Future of Iran

The National Council of Resistance of Iran has a plan for the immediate aftermath of the regime’s overthrow to ensure a peaceful, orderly, and democratic transition of power to the Iranian people.
The transition process entails the formation of a provisional government for a maximum period of six months, with the primary task of holding elections for a Constituent and Legislative Assembly. Following those elections, sovereignty will be transferred directly to the elected representatives of the people in that assembly.
The existence of an organized resistance, a clear plan for the transfer of power, a provisional government with a time-limited mandate, free elections for a democratic republic, and the Ten-Point Plan provides a definitive answer to any concerns regarding a power vacuum following regime change.
In closing, I express my gratitude to the Union of Iranian Communities in Germany for successfully organizing this conference. I salute the prominent representatives and distinguished members of the German Committee of Solidarity for a Free Iran, and I deeply appreciate the committee’s ongoing efforts in support of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy.