Three-minute read
In the early 2010s, as Iran was blanketed in the heavy shadow of authoritarian rule, a quiet spark was lit—a spark that would ignite a new chapter in the Iranian people’s fight for freedom. In those days, few took notice. Many were still trapped in the illusion of reform, hoping to tame a regime built on repression. Some ignored the signs entirely. But beneath the surface, something profound was taking shape.
In the silence of Iran’s long, dark nights, a hand rose from the ashes of previous uprisings. It rekindled the torch of resistance—what would later be known as the Resistance Units. This is a native movement, forged in the crucible of Iran’s suffering, born in the fire of Iran’s streets, among a people who face repression every day.
PMOI Resistance Units across Iran mark the anniversary of the release of last group of political prisoners from the prisons of the shah dictatorship.#PMOI #ResistanceUnits pic.twitter.com/JxcT9vZRgP
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 20, 2025
The Resistance Units, associated with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), emerged in the very heart of urban life—within the chaos, under the watchful eye of the regime, among the cries of the oppressed. They were not reformists seeking to fix a broken system. Nor were they armchair intellectuals analyzing revolution from afar, safely behind microphones in London or Los Angeles. These were not dreamers; they were doers—young, brave, and painfully aware of the cost of freedom.
From the outset, this phenomenon was not met with criticism, but with fear—especially by those who had once been part of the regime itself. Former “reformists,” who for years wrote for regime-controlled media and later rebranded themselves as analysts on foreign platforms, dismissed the Resistance Units as a “fantasy.” But their condescension masked a deeper truth: they feared a movement they could neither control nor understand. A movement born from genuine pain and sacrifice.
Brave Resistance Units continue their activities across #Iran despite the regime's repressive measures.
Tehran:
Image of Maryam Rajavi with the message:
"These uprisings are the greatest lessons in freedom for the youth of Iran" pic.twitter.com/8P5NIrcgGH— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 21, 2023
Then there are the remnants of the former monarchy—figures once dependent on foreign powers, now giving tone-deaf advice from the comfort of the West. They speak of “resistance” without ever having resisted a single day themselves. Their words, detached from the realities of struggle, are a cruel farce of history.
And yet, when Iran erupted in protests in 2017, 2019, and again in 2022, the truth became undeniable. The Resistance Units—once mocked as myth—were there, organizing, leading, sacrificing. In November 2019 alone, countless members resisted against the regime’s repressive forces and many paid with their lives. Others survived, only to find themselves in the regime’s prisons, tortured, silenced, or placed on death row.
Amid this, the international media’s silence has been deafening. They downplayed or ignored the role of the Resistance Units. When they couldn’t dismiss their existence outright, they tried to frame them as rootless or marginal. But the truth is too loud to be silenced.
Express: ahead of Friday's elections in Iran Marco Giannangeli describes the fearless women who risk it all to undermine Iran's oppressive regime.
https://t.co/ByVzAtEWtb— Lord (David) Alton (@DavidAltonHL) June 25, 2024
More than a decade later, this movement is no longer a theory—it is a reality carved into the streets, burned into the cells of Evin prison, and hung from the gallows of tyranny. History has recorded it. Blood has sealed it. Resistance has made it permanent.
And as for those who tried from the beginning—knowingly and deliberately—to sabotage this path, who acted as foot soldiers in the regime’s psychological warfare: the streets have shown the truth. The silence they tried to impose has been broken by the roar of resistance.
In just the past year alone, the Resistance Units carried out thousands of acts of protest against the regime’s stranglehold. These are not numbers in a report; they are proof—proof that this movement is not built on slogans or empty promises, but on action, courage, and sacrifice.
The Resistance Units are no longer a whispered rumor. They are a force. A heartbeat. A direction. Every step they take brings Iran closer to the fall of tyranny—and the long-awaited triumph of freedom.