Protesters rally outside UN to demand democratic change in Iran

Thousands of protesters, including Iranian-Americans and supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), gathered outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 23. The demonstration coincided with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressing the UN General Assembly.

Speakers at the rally, including former U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, called for international condemnation of human rights violations and political executions in Iran. The demonstrators rejected both the current clerical rule and the prospect of a monarchy, instead advocating for a democratic republic led by the Iranian people.

Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the NCRI, issued a message challenging the legitimacy of the Iranian regime’s representation at the United Nations. She emphasized that the Iranian people seek freedom and the right to decide their own future, rather than war or dictatorship.