Fifty-nine years ago, on this very day, three Iranian intellectuals gathered in a small room in Tehran, marking the beginning of a pivotal moment in Iran’s history. Frustrated by years of oppression under the autocratic regime of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the brutal crackdowns by SAVAK, Iran’s secret police, these individuals founded an organization that would later be known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Inspired by religious texts and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and driven by a desire for freedom and democracy, these founders—Mohammad Hanif Nejad, Saeed Mohsen, and Ali Asghar Badizadegan—established an organization on September 6, 1965, quickly grew in strength and influence.
As the revolution unfolded, the organization, newly freed from prison, warned of the dangers posed by emerging fundamentalism under the guise of Islam. The newly forming regime under Ruhollah Khomeini viewed the organization as a threat and attempted to co-opt it by offering a share in power if it would abandon its ideals. The organization refused to compromise, setting the stage for a brutal crackdown.
Over the next few years, the organization faced relentless persecution. The regime, feeling increasingly threatened, first sought to discredit the group through propaganda, labeling them as “hypocrites” and falsely claiming they were not true Muslims. Government-backed judges sanctioned the killing of members and the confiscation of their assets, allowing early regime leaders to amass wealth and lay the foundation for systemic corruption and theft from the nation’s economy.
Despite imprisonment, torture, and even military confrontation, the PMOI and its supporters never wavered in their resistance. From exile, they launched extensive campaigns exposing Khomeini’s warmongering and Tehran’s export of terrorism, and its secretive nuclear ambitions. They revealed the regime’s vast network of covert operatives across the globe and warned the world of the looming threat of Islamic fundamentalism, a reality that would eventually force global powers to pay a heavy price to understand.
While the PMOI’s internal resilience, intelligence capabilities, and extensive network within Iran have long been clear to the world’s leaders, many chose to engage with the mullahs, hoping to turn threats into opportunities. Over the past three decades, the PMOI faced sanctions, asset seizures, disarmament, and the surrender of its military bases to allies of the Iranian regime in Iraq. The regime’s propaganda machine, alongside segments of Western diplomatic and media circles, worked tirelessly to demonize the group. Yet, each time diplomatic negotiations with Tehran loomed, actions against the POMI became a goodwill gesture towards the mullahs.
Despite these challenges, the PMOI has remained unyielding. It has fought back in every legal, political, and social arena, reclaiming its rights and defying attempts at suppression. Today, despite enduring pressures that would have shattered many movements, the PMOI and its allies are stronger and more determined than ever. No amount of censorship, genocide, or propaganda has weakened them; instead, their network within Iran is now more robust than at any time since the 1988 massacre, and their international alliances have never been more extensive.
The PMOI, whose members possess nothing but unwavering willpower and a profound belief in humanity, is prepared for the next uprising in their homeland. They know that earning the trust of a betrayed nation is no easy task, but the path they have walked has been anything but simple. They have learned from their founders that “the deeper the abyss of betrayal, the loftier and more formidable the peak of sacrifice must rise.” This was the lesson imparted by the three intellectuals who, on this very day, decided that change must come. Everything began today.
