Maryam Rajavi Nowruz 2026 Message: Iran’s Fight for Freedom

Iran’s True Nowruz is Free of Mullah and Shah, Free of Despotism and Dependence

On the forty-fifth crimson spring of the Iranian Resistance, I extend my warmest congratulations on Nowruz—this year accompanied by Eid al-Fitr.

Let us honor the galaxy of martyrs who gave their lives for freedom in the past year. Even as the mullahs and the remnants of the Shah did everything in their power, through every deceitful scheme, to steal and trample upon their blood, their sacrifice endures.

The usurpers and plunderers, above all, those who have usurped the sovereign rights of the people, imagine that even blood and martyrdom can be stolen. Poor souls, they do not understand that unjustly shed blood gives rise to justice and will never pass down their throats.

We now enter a spring that will bring the democratic revolution to full bloom in the form of a democratic republic. Though the people of Iran are embittered by war, suffering, and its relentless pressure, I say to all those in pain: “This bitter time shall pass—more bitter than poison though it may be.”

To the steadfast political prisoners who have risen against both the mullahs and Shah, against dictatorship and dependence; to the rebellious youth who ignite uprisings; and to the units of the Liberation Army, who embody the defiant spirit of spring and the renewing winds of “Changer of times and states” for our nation, we extend our congratulations. To those who mounted the gallows, and to those who, without hesitation, struck at Khamenei’s Headquarters until their last bullet and final breath.

We Seek Peace and Freedom

At this moment of Nowruz, we pray for the liberation of the Iranian people in the year 1405. Unlike the offspring of the mullahs and the Shah, we seek peace and freedom. We seek justice and independence. We do not seek power, we seek the transfer of power to the people of Iran.
In the year that has passed, Khamenei has finally died. And as Massoud Rajavi said: “The people will rise, provided we do not allow the fruits of struggle, suffering, and bloodshed to be squandered, and do not permit the century-long cycle of despotism to continue through the theft of popular sovereignty. Yes, this year is a year of advance, and a historic test.”

You Are the Force That Creates Spring

The power that writes a new destiny, that carries Iran from dictatorship to popular sovereignty, the force that brings about spring, is you.

The greatest power lies in your hands. In storms like the Constitutional Revolution, through the steadfastness of Sattar Khan and the leadership of the freedom-loving people of Azerbaijan, and later in the anti-monarchical revolution, you demonstrated that no force can withstand a people who rise for freedom.

You shattered the Shah with his infernal SAVAK and vast army; you can certainly break the mullahs and their Revolutionary Guards.

Religious fascism and monarchical fascism have no place in Iran any longer.

The Shah and the mullahs: Partners in Oppression

The confrontation between the Iranian people and the regime in the past year has laid bare the has laid bare the outcome of the claimants’ stances and slogans. Those striving to restore the Shah’s dictatorship have shown that their vision for tomorrow is one of repression of society and oppressed nationalities alike.
The Shah raised the banner of the “White Revolution” and the “Great Civilization.” Khomeini proclaimed an “Islamic Revolution,” and Rafsanjani spoke of a “Great Islamic Civilization.” Yet under both systems, execution squads and massacres were ever-present, proportionate to the resistance they faced.

If Iranian society 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 uprising, no Resistance Units, and no Liberation Army. For years, the very word “revolution” was taboo, forbidden, and feared, until social upheaval forced even the Shah’s heir to abandon his father’s “White Revolution” and cling instead to the irrelevant slogan of a “Lion and Sun revolution.”
Throughout Iran’s history, Shah and the mullahs have walked hand in hand in oppression, twin manifestations of tyranny. But the people of Iran and the forces of the democratic revolution are determined to repair a century of destruction.
The vision of a democratic society, first drawn by Massoud Rajavi and guiding the Resistance ever since, remains the inspiration of our struggle.

The future can be built from today. Its path lies in uniting around principles shared by the majority of Iranians: a democratic republic, separation of religion and state, autonomy for nationalities, gender equality, abolition of the death penalty, and a non-nuclear Iran living in peace and coexistence with the world.

A provisional government to transfer sovereignty to the people and establish a democratic republic, based on a Ten-Point Plan, serves precisely this goal.

Defending the rights of Iranian women, and of oppressed compatriots among the Baluch, Arab, Kurdish, and Turkmen peoples, is part of this same path.

Salutations to all who resist, from the Ashraf – 3 supporters across the globe, to the members of the People’s Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) residing Ashraf-3, and to the supporters inside Iran who struggle for this cause.

The Nowruz of the People’s Republic of Iran—Through Their Free Vote

In these days, I call upon all of you for solidarity and compassion. The oppression and plunder of the clerical regime have driven large segments of our people into poverty and destitution. Helping them is a patriotic duty.

I urge you to stand beside the families of the martyrs of the January uprising and to honor the memory of those red tulips of sacrifice.

Remember all martyrs of freedom, from June 20, 1981, to those who, as members of Resistance Units, struck at the heart of the enemy.

Have no doubt: a people who have risen with sacrifice in successive uprisings, 1999, 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022 and 2026, together with Resistance Units and the Liberation Army, will establish Iran’s true Nowruz: a Nowruz free of the mullahs and the Shah, free of despotism and dependence.
The Nowruz of the Iranian people’s republic will blossom through their free vote, ushering in the joyous festival of a new society, a society built brick by brick on free choice and universal participation in determining destiny.

In light of the programs and plans of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the roadmap toward Iran’s political and social spring has never been clearer: the path toward a free, developed, and equal Iran.

A spring is coming in which economic and social development depends on the expansion of freedoms.

A spring is coming in which the people, especially the youth, are active, decision-making citizens, and 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 for growth and flourishing.

In a free Iran, according to the NCRI’s program, a council-based system will expand across all affairs and administrative structures. Every policy will be measured by justice, ensuring equal opportunity for all, social justice inseparable from freedom and democracy.

In a free Iran, poverty and homelessness will have no place, and society will benefit from the highest scientific and technological advancements.

Yes, tomorrow’s Iran will become a garden of freedom and justice.

If our homeland Iran is wounded today, hope has taken root just as deeply, hope born from this very struggle, from uprisings that ignite from its flame.

At this moment of the new year’s dawn, we remember our brave sisters and brothers imprisoned in the regime’s prisons. To them I say: the day when the prison doors and all chains are shattered by the Iranian people is not far.
O Transformer of hearts and visions,
O Ordainer of night and day,
O Changer of conditions,
Transform our state into the best of states.

Happy New Year 1405—may this spring be blessed for you all.