Gen. Wesley Clark: Peaceful Protests Won’t Be Enough, Iran Will Have Armed Resistance

Former General @GeneralClark spoke at the Free Iran Rally 2026.

General Clark highlighted how the brutality showed by the regime is a sign of weakness and fragility.

He also acknowledged the bravery displayed by the Iranian people despite the threat of executions. pic.twitter.com/EsFSMM97sa

— OIAC: Organization of Iranian American Communities (@OrgIAC) May 16, 2026

Thank you for that introduction. But it’s a beautiful day in Washington and you’re here and you make it even more beautiful. Thank you. I can’t tell you how good it is to see you here with the green and white and red flags of Iran, of your freedom, your yellow hats and what you stand for with the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the MEK. And I know that there are tens of thousands of people in Europe, around the world and maybe hundreds of thousands, I hope millions in Iran, who are watching this, who will see this and will be strengthened by your presence here today. So, thank you for being here.

You know, for America, this is the year 250 since we declared our independence from Britain. And so, it’s a very special year for us. It’s a year when Americans from all persuasions came together and said: ‘No more tyranny. We want freedom, self-determination and ultimately democracy.’ Unfortunately, that’s not what you have today in Iran. I look at Iran today and I’ve watched for a long time. I was at NATO headquarters with General Alexander Haig in 1978-79, when the Shah was overthrown, when we expected democracy to emerge in Iran and instead, we got Ayatollah Khomeini. And we know everything that’s happened since then. But Iran is a great nation, it’s a great people, an historic civilization held captive by a small band of zealots who are ruthless, cruel and determined to loot the oil wealth of Iran for their own purposes. You in the MEK, led by Mrs. Rajavi, are the hope to change that and you must do so.

The freedoms we take for granted in the United States, they’re not there in Iran. Instead, you’re suffering under a regime that believes in mass incarceration, shooting people in the streets, arrest, torture, hanging, killing some of the best young people in the country. It’s a desperate regime. It’s a regime that’s crumbling under fear and you in the MEK must put it to rest. Especially despicable is the regime’s execution of young people. It can’t be permitted. It must be condemned in the United States and around the world by all people and all governments, and I certainly condemn it. These young people only sought what was guaranteed to them by the United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights. They just wanted an opportunity to be who they are. They wanted an opportunity to grow, to develop, to have freedom, to travel, to express their opinions, to choose their persuasion, their friends, to come out in public in safety, to raise families, to be like everybody else, and it was denied by this terrible regime. It must be condemned.

In an @ABC segment, @GeneralClark explained that @Maryam_Rajavi has announced a provisional government and suggested that #MEKResistanceUnits and the Kurdish groups should come out and be facilitated with communication to bring about regime change in Iranpic.twitter.com/7kqIZL2w9l

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 4, 2026

Now we have to look at what’s happening in the region today and we have to go to the root cause. What’s the root cause? The root cause is a band of zealots who’ve been living off the oil wealth of the Iranian people to enrich themselves, to build bunkers, missile cities and try to get nuclear weapons, to set up a system of terror that kills innocent people, to try to overrun and take over neighboring governments, to interfere with global commerce and ultimately to become the domineering power in the region and destroy all others. That’s the root cause. And I’m here today because I believe in the future of Iran as a great nation and I believe that you in the MEK and Mrs. Rajavi can change what’s happening in the region and save us from what is emerging as a global catastrophe.

January 26th showed that the people of Iran long for change. They’re out in the streets, they were. They were peacefully protesting. That’s what people expect to have the right to do. But this regime in Iran said no. It gunned them down. More than 30,000 we know were shot in the streets. Countless hundreds, maybe thousands of others were arrested. We can’t have that. And so, we now understand and I think the people of Iran understand: peaceful protest will not bring change. Now the United States is concerned about the nuclear power of these zealots and so a bombing campaign was undertaken, and a lot of military equipment was destroyed. I hope the people of Iran understand this was not directed against you. It was not directed against the people of Iran. It was directed against the regime in power in Tehran that is holding the people of Iran hostage. We are on the side of the people of Iran. It’s really that simple.

But here’s the truth. No airplanes flying at 35,000 feet, no battleships and aircraft carriers off the coast, no bunker-busting bombs, none of that is sufficient. It’s all the periphery. The heart of the problem, the root of the problem is in the regime itself and that can only be changed by the people of Iran. So now it’s time. The die’s been cast. We know the Iranian people want new government. You know that the people of the world are supporting you. We’re supporting you the only way we can which is trying to take out the military power that’s holding you hostage. But ultimately, it’s up to the people of Iran and you know that peaceful protests won’t be enough. You know you’re going to have to have armed resistance.

IRAN'S PEOPLE MUST RISE UP

@jeffcroue @GeneralClark pic.twitter.com/zzEQw7iP8H

— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) May 18, 2026

And people say ‘Oh, where’s it going to come from? Is it going to come from the CIA?’ Absolutely not. ‘Is it going to come from the British, the French, the Germans?’ No. It’s going to come from Iran itself. From the people of Iran who’ve had enough. They’ve said it’s enough. It’s 47 years. No more, no more repression, no more corruption, no more stealing the wealth of oil from the people of Iran, no more fomenting terrorism and conflict in the region. Enough is enough.

And so the resistance is forming. It’s forming under the leadership of the MEK and the NCRI. It’s forming under the leadership of Mrs. Rajavi. It’s organized in every province and every city. It represents every ethnic group and sect. And it stands for the right program at the right time. Mrs. Rajavi’s 10-point program that calls for a secular democracy, democratic elections and all of the rights that people everywhere are entitled to by the United Nations. We Americans look on what’s happening in Iran with great concern, but we also look on this organization with awe, with admiration, with incredible admiration for your courage, your determination, your resilience, the terrible sacrifices that so many have been called to make. You’re doing it. In the United States our quest for freedom began in 1776, it finally ended on the battlefield in 1781, and it took another two years to be accepted in a treaty. And then it took us another five years to be able to get a Constitution; 12 years.

The MEK has been resisting the regime for 47 years. It’s endured spies, penetrations, attacks, name-calling, being branded a terrorist organization which it isn’t. It’s endured incredible difficulties and yet you’re still here. You are what the regime fears most. You are what the regime can’t deal with. They can build missile cities deep underground. They can hide the communications with their terrorist networks. Fine. But what they can’t hide from is the will, the determination, the courage and the sincere anger of the Iranian people. It’s time for a change in Tehran.

You must lead it. We salute you. We praise you. We admire you.

Thank you.