Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivered a powerful address at the Free Iran rally in Brussels, praising the PMOI/MEK’s six decades of resistance and urging global support for the Iranian people’s fight for freedom.
“Sixty years ago, a movement was born deep in the hearts of the Iranian people,” Pence said. “Today, that movement — the MEK — is stronger, more inspired, and more powerful than ever.” He honored the sacrifices of those who have faced prison, torture, and executions, pledging unwavering support for their cause.
Pence sent a message to Iranians listening secretly inside the country: “You are not alone. You are not forgotten. The day of your freedom is closer than ever. The free world stands with you for a democratic, secular, non-nuclear Iran.”
Highlighting the role of the PMOI Resistance Units, he called them “the beating heart of hope” and “the driving engine of change, igniting uprisings and inspiring the world.”
Warning the regime, Pence declared, “The greatest threat to this regime is not America, not Israel — it is the Iranian people themselves. We will not be silent in the face of their evil.”
The full text of Mike Pence’s speech follows:
Distinguished leaders, Prime Ministers, members of Parliament, dignitaries, Mrs. Rajavi, and friends of freedom from every corner of the world. I’m Mike Pence, former Vice President of the United States of America, and I am honored to stand with you to say the time has come for a free Iran. Thank you for your stand and your courage.
We gather at this Free Iran rally to celebrate a milestone of extraordinary significance in the history of Iran. Sixty years ago this week, a movement was born deep in the hearts of the Iranian people. A movement that would endure the brutality of the Shah’s dictatorship and the unspeakable cruelty of the theocracy that replaced it. An independent movement that clearly, from where I stand, and as the world watches, is now bigger and stronger and more inspired and powerful than ever before. An unstoppable movement for freedom called the MEK.
To Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, on behalf of freedom-loving people around the world, thank you. Thank you for your courage, for your steadfast leadership. You have given voice to the voiceless, courage to the oppressed, and hope to millions who dream of a free and democratic Iran.
To my friends gathered here in Brussels, and to those listening around the world, especially in the villages of Iran, secretly and at great personal risk, I bring you a very simple message: You are not alone. You are not forgotten. The day of your freedom is closer now than it has ever been. Do not doubt for a second that the American people and millions more across the free world are with you. We support your goal of establishing a democratic, secular, non-nuclear Iran. And we will stand with you until that day comes.
2025 has been a year of great consequence. For decades the tyrants in Tehran pursued nuclear weapons to the detriment of their own people. They believed these weapons would guarantee their survival and that nuclear blackmail could shield them from accountability for their crimes at home and for fueling terrorism abroad. But now, thanks to the overwhelming strike on the Iranian nuclear program by the armed forces of the United States of America, the world is safer. And our President Donald Trump has ensured that Iran can no longer threaten Israel or any nation with nuclear annihilation. And without the regime’s most dangerous weapon of intimidation, the people of Iran are closer to freedom today than ever before in the last 60 years.
Honored to Address Tens of Thousands at the #FreeIran2025 Rally in Belgium today! Thank You @Maryam_Rajavi and Freedom loving Iranians everywhere for your courageous stand for a Free and Democratic Iran. Friends of Freedom Around the World Are With You! #BrusselsFreeIranRally pic.twitter.com/P7g1er0gO2
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) September 6, 2025
Of course, the Ayatollahs will not go without a fight. They will cling to power with all the desperate cruelty that you have seen before. As so many of you know firsthand, they will jail, torture and kill anyone who threatens their grip on power. They will spill, as they have done before, oceans of blood. Like they did in 1988 when they massacred 30,000 political prisoners. Their killing spree continues to this day. Recently, two MEK members were falsely convicted and executed, and as we speak, 14 more innocent Iranians charged with MEK affiliation are now awaiting execution. Our prayers are with them and their families at this hour.
The regime’s goal is clear: to crush the organized resistance and smother the possibility of an uprising for freedom. But in so doing, the mullahs have revealed their deepest fear. They have revealed that the true enemy of this regime is not in America or the West. It is not in Israel or any other nation. The greatest threat to this regime is the Iranian people themselves. And so I say here in Brussels, we will not be silent in the face of their evil. We will stand. We will speak, and we will support the Resistance with everything we have, so help us God.
And I believe with all my heart that the Ayatollahs will fail. They will fail because the Iranian people have a tested, organized, and proven resistance. They have a movement that has endured prison cells, firing squads and gallows, and yet you grow stronger by the day. That movement is the National Council of Resistance of Iran. All across Iran today, young men and women in Resistance Units risk their lives to keep the flame of liberty alive. The Resistance Units inside Iran are the beating heart of hope for the Iranian people, and an inspiration to the world. They are the driving engine of change, igniting uprisings and sustaining protests with courage that inspires the world.
And I know I speak for tens of millions of Americans when I say, the American people stand firmly, unequivocally and unshakably with the Iranian people and with the Resistance and their stand for freedom. Tehran fears the Resistance more than it would ever fear any foreign power. And that’s why the regime puts Mrs. Rajavi and other leaders on trial in absentia, hoping to intimidate the next generation. But their intimidation has obviously failed. The people of Iran are no longer afraid, and their courage calls out to each of us around the globe who cherish freedom. They remind us that freedom is never free, and that all of us who are blessed to live in liberty have a duty to stand with those who do not.
As a former elected official and as an American citizen, and as a Christian who believes that all people are created in the image of God, the cause of freedom in Iran has always had a special place in my heart. During my service as Vice President, I was proud that America stood firmly with the Iranian people, and we do to this day. Our administration canceled the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. We cut off the flow of cash to Tehran. We imposed the strongest sanctions in history and made it clear that the United States would never permit Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Honored to be back in Brussels today to join thousands of Friends of Freedom from around the world to stand for a Free and Democratic Iran. #BrusselsFreeIranRally https://t.co/EWysFfZbfS
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) September 6, 2025
Today, sadly, despite the progress that we made, four out of five Iranians live below the poverty level. Inflation is rampant, corruption is unrestrained, and violence continues on the streets. The young have no jobs, no future, no hope, except for their cherished faith and the hope they find in all of you and in this Resistance. And so we observe the people arising. They are more united than ever before. They march in the streets of Tehran and Tabriz chanting for liberty. They burn the portraits of Khamenei. They declare again and again that they will no longer live in chains under the tyranny in Tehran. The Iranian people will not return to tyranny in any form in Tehran. They will claim democracy and freedom.
That, then, is the hope, and it is clear as I stand before you today, that hope is alive for the Iranian people. That hope is burning brighter because the nuclear sword of Damocles has been removed. And also because the world sees the Ayatollahs for what they are. And it burns bright because of your courage and because of 60 years of sacrifice by the MEK.
As Mrs. Rajavi said, and I say again, one of the greatest lies told by the regime is that there is no alternative to the status quo, that the only path is a return to dictatorship. But we know for a fact there is an alternative. It stands before us again today. I’m looking at it with my own eyes. And that alternative is well-organized. It is deeply rooted in the soul of the Iranian people. It is committed to democracy, human rights, and equality. And that alternative is the NCRI and the MEK!
I see that alternative here in Brussels today. And my wife and I have been to Ashraf 3 in Albania. We’ve walked among the survivors of this regime. We’ve seen the faces of those who lost family and friends to torture and execution. I’ve seen firsthand the red book, containing the names and photos of thousands of girls and boys, young and old, executed by this regime. And what is clear to me and freedom-loving people around the world is that this movement is ready to lead Iran back to freedom and democracy.
I am grateful for Mrs. Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan and its vision for a free and democratic Iran. It’s a plan that embodies the deepest values cherished by the people of my country since our nation’s founding nearly 250 years ago and by freedom-loving people around the world. They are the values of individual freedom, democracy, freedom of religion for all faiths, freedom of speech and the press, an independent judiciary, and an end of absolute clerical rule once and for all.
Tens of Thousands Rally in Brussels Marking the 60th Anniversary of the @Mojahedineng, Calling for a Free Iran#MEK60 #OurChoiceMaryamRajavihttps://t.co/JaOs5Y5QjE
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 6, 2025
My hope, in fact, my prayer, is that as all of you stand here in Brussels today, our friends in Europe will heed the voices of tens of thousands gathered here. The time for hesitation has passed. The time to act is now. Seize the moment. Our allies in Europe, the time has come to impose crippling sanctions back on this regime and stand openly with the Iranian people in their aspirations for freedom.
To be among all of you again, it is hard not to be deeply moved and inspired, and I am again today. It reminds us that the Iranian people are a people with a rich and abundant history. One of the world’s oldest and most significant civilizations. Poets, philosophers, scientists, among the Iranian people throughout your history have shaped the history of mankind. Its art, its music, inspires us to this day. Your people are industrious, proud, creative. Before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the lion and sun on the Iranian flag stood proudly as the symbol of the Persian people, yearning for light. The mullahs replaced it with a symbol of martyrdom, jihad and death. But now, in 2025, the lion is rising once again.
The story of Iran has been interrupted by tyranny, but that story isn’t over. A new chapter is waiting to be written, a chapter of liberty, democracy and dignity. And when that day comes, when the Ayatollahs fall and freedom rises, the world will rejoice and be in debt to all of you and all you represent. And I believe with all my heart that day is near.
As President Ronald Reagan once said, “There is no weapon in the arsenals of the world so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.” That will and that courage are alive in the people of Iran, in the NCRI, in the MEK, and in every dissident who dares to stand against tyranny. And so we stand with you! We raise our voices with you! And we pledge with you that one day soon, we will gather not in Brussels, not in Paris, not in Berlin, but in Tehran! The capital of a free and democratic Iran!
My faith teaches that the Lord is spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So may that spirit sweep across Iran. May it inspire all of those brave patriots who are standing for freedom in villages and cities across Iran at this hour. And may it ever sustain each one of you until that great and shining day comes when a free Iran returns to the world.
Thank you. God bless the Iranian people. And may God bless you all.