Three-minute read
In a pointed interview with The Twist News, Shahin Gobadi, media spokesperson for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), stated unequivocally that the clerical dictatorship ruling Iran is at its weakest in decades and that regime change by the Iranian people is not only possible—but closer than ever.
“The regime has never been weaker, and the resistance has never been stronger,” Gobadi said, asserting that Iran has entered a “critical phase” of political vulnerability marked by years of internal resistance, public revolt, economic collapse, and international isolation.
Gobadi argued that the driving force behind the impending downfall of the theocracy is not foreign airstrikes or sanctions, but the “organized resistance inside Iran.” He highlighted the role of Resistance Units affiliated with the PMOI, which have built an underground network across all 31 provinces. These cells, he said, engage in direct and symbolic challenges to state authority—“burning images of the Supreme Leader, attacking repressive Basij centers, and spreading anti-regime messages in public spaces.”
As @Maryam_Rajavi underscored this morning again: " The Third Option: No to appeasement, no to war—yes to regime change, i.e., changing the religious dictatorship by the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance. Forward toward a free Iran and a democratic, non-nuclear republic… https://t.co/8uNxylIkKW
— Shahin Gobadi (@gobadi) June 22, 2025
“This is not just sporadic defiance—it is sustained, coordinated, and expanding,” Gobadi emphasized. “It is designed to break the regime’s aura of invincibility and prepare the grounds for a nationwide uprising.”
He framed this resistance as the legitimate and viable “third option” for Iran’s future—one that stands in stark contrast to both foreign military intervention and diplomatic appeasement. “We’ve always said, appeasement leads to war,” he reminded viewers, referencing warnings made by Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance (NCRI) over two decades ago. “And now that war has come. But regime change doesn’t need to come from bombs or invasions. It must come from inside, by the people, and by an organized force that can guide it.”
Gobadi rejected both the ruling clerics and monarchist figures in exile as obstacles to democracy. “The Iranian people are not choosing between the turban and the crown,” he said, referring to the false binary often pushed by regime propaganda. “They want neither the mullahs nor the monarchy. They want a republic based on democratic values and accountability.”
#IranIsraelWar | IDF: 2 Iranian drones shot down in Israel@Mohammed11Saleh speaks to Shahin Gobadi, nuclear engineer, for more insights pic.twitter.com/j6Cm4wBs8b
— WION (@WIONews) June 21, 2025
He underscored that the NCRI is not merely a protest movement but a structured political alternative. “We have the organizational depth, the network inside Iran, and a transition plan,” he said. “We are not a social media phenomenon or an opportunistic platform. We are the product of decades of sacrifice, political groundwork, and strategic clarity.”
In referencing the 2018 Paris bombing plot—thwarted just hours before execution and orchestrated by an Iranian diplomat targeting NCRI’s annual gathering—Gobadi noted that “no other opposition group has been so consistently and violently targeted by the regime.” For the NCRI, he said, this is a testament to their relevance and threat to the ruling establishment.
He was sharply critical of Western diplomacy, particularly European policy, calling it “misguided appeasement wrapped in diplomacy.” “For over two decades, endless negotiations have given the regime time to expand its nuclear program, fund terror proxies, and crush dissent,” Gobadi said. “Every concession has strengthened Tehran’s hand, not moderated it.”
As for the future, Gobadi said the resistance’s confidence stems not from rhetoric but from concrete shifts inside Iran. “There is no going back,” he declared. “This regime has lost its base. The slogans on Iran’s streets say it clearly: ‘Death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader.’”
Ending with a clear message to the international community, Gobadi said: “It is time to stop legitimizing this regime. It is time to stop pretending it can reform. There is a democratic alternative with structure, with vision, with public support. Support the Iranian people. Support their right to overthrow tyranny.”