On June 20, 2025, the streets of Berlin and Stockholm resonated with the calls for freedom as thousands of Iranians and their supporters held major rallies. These gatherings marked the 44th anniversary of the June 20, 1981, uprising, a pivotal moment in Iran’s modern history, and served as a powerful testament to the unwavering commitment of the Iranian people to overthrow the ruling theocracy. The demonstrators’ chants and banners were not just a commemoration of the past; they were the global echo of the Resistance Units inside Iran who continue to challenge the regime’s apparatus of repression on a daily basis.
A captivating video showing thousands of Iranian in Berlin and Stockholm taking to the streets to support #IranThirdOption, and calling for a #FreeIran2025 #NCRIAlternative pic.twitter.com/lXYSRM7XMX
— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) June 22, 2025
The historical turning point: why june 20, 1981, matters
To understand the significance of the 2025 rallies, one must look back to June 20, 1981. On that day, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) organized a peaceful demonstration in Tehran, which drew more than half a million people demanding that the nascent clerical regime respect their fundamental freedoms.
The regime’s founder, Ruhollah Khomeini, responded with unmitigated brutality. He ordered his Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to open fire on the unarmed crowd. The day after, a ruthless crackdown began, with security forces hunting down and executing PMOI members and supporters in the streets. Thousands more were imprisoned, tortured, and ultimately executed. This bloody day marked a definitive turning point, exposing the regime as irreformable and establishing that freedom for Iran could only be achieved through its overthrow.
16-Stockholm, June 21, 2025: Massive rally as NCRI supporters protest Iran's regime and reject the deposed monarchy. They champion #IranThirdOption.#NCRIAlternative #FreeIran2025 #No2ShahNo2Mullahs pic.twitter.com/rHYDAvHxzw
— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) June 21, 2025
A 44-year struggle for freedom
This 44-year legacy of resistance was the central theme of the 2025 rallies. A large banner, prominent in both Berlin and Stockholm, carried a quote from the NCRI President-elect, Maryam Rajavi, that encapsulated this long struggle: “From June 20, 1981, the main war is the war of the people and the Iranian Resistance against the mullahs’ regime and the religious dictatorship.”
In her message to the rallies, Mrs. Rajavi reinforced this point, emphasizing the continuity of the fight. “This battle has continued for 44 years, from June 20, 1981, until now, and it will continue until the day of the regime’s overthrow and the day of victory,” she declared. “Not for a single day or a single hour has it stopped. It has been relentless. It has been steadfast.”
Highlights of today's rally in Berlin by a large number of freedom-loving Iranians calling for a #FreeIran2025 #NCRIAlternative #IranThirdOption pic.twitter.com/CH52Hjek9E
— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) June 21, 2025
A global threat fueled by appeasement
Speakers at the rallies stressed that the Iranian regime is not just a threat to its own people, but to the entire world. Leo Dautzenberg, a former member of the German Parliament, reminded the audience that the Iranian Resistance has warned for decades about the regime’s dangers. He pointed to the PMOI’s 2002 revelation of the regime’s secret nuclear weapons projects in Natanz and Arak, a disclosure that opened the world’s eyes. Yet, instead of siding with the Iranian people, the international community chose appeasement.
Mr. Dautzenberg stated bluntly that this policy has failed disastrously. “We have seen how endless negotiations and appeasement policies only made the Iranian regime more audacious,” he said. “This appeasement policy has turned a snake into a venomous snake. A venomous snake that has plunged the region into wars in recent years and also threatens freedom globally.”
Message to the Iranians’ Rally in Stockholm on the Anniversary of June 20, 1981, the Beginning of the Iranian Resistance
Indeed, change and revolution are not forces that can be stopped.
Freedom, the right to vote, and free elections have been strong demands of the Iranian people… pic.twitter.com/NRdUXBSWcs— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 22, 2025
The ‘third option’: rejecting a return to tyranny
The rallies also carried a clear message about Iran’s future: the people reject all forms of dictatorship. Mr. Dautzenberg articulated this sentiment, noting, “The Iranian people have suffered for a whole century under two dictatorships: the monarchist and the clerical. A return to monarchy, with its criminal past, is therefore not an option, but an illusion.” He affirmed that the only legitimate path forward is through the organized and democratic alternative presented by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
This stance reflects the core principle of the Iranian Resistance. In her message, Maryam Rajavi reiterated the longstanding policy she first articulated years ago: “Our message is clear: The Iranian people’s resistance for freedom must be recognized. We say no to appeasement and saving the mullahs’ regime, and no to war.” Instead, she declared, “there is a Third Option: regime change by the people of Iran and the Iranian resistance.”
A democratic republic is within reach
The ultimate goal of this four-decade struggle is clear and unequivocal. The Iranian Resistance is fighting to establish a future based on freedom and democracy, not a return to a failed past or the continuation of the current nightmare. As Mrs. Rajavi outlined, this vision is for “a democratic, non-nuclear republic, based on the separation of religion and state, gender equality, respect for the rights of all nationalities, an independent judiciary, and the abolition of the death penalty.”
From the very beginning, the Resistance has stood for freedom of choice, proclaiming: “No to compulsory Hijab, No to compulsory religion, and No to compulsory governance.” The rallies in Berlin and Stockholm are a vibrant reminder that this change will not be stopped, and that the democratic revolution of the Iranian people will prevail.