Across Iran, the PMOI/MEK Resistance Units have executed a series of daring operations targeting the clerical regime’s centers of repression and propaganda. These operations serve as a defiant rejection of religious tyranny and monarchical dictatorship alike. Under the unifying slogan, “Down with the oppressor, be it the shah or the supreme leader,” the coordinated actions directly targeted the apparatus of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). This defiance comes in response to recent threats by regime officials and attempts by monarchist remnants to promote the legacy of the Shah’s brutal SAVAK police.
May 18—Iran
PMOI/MEK Resistance Units carry out daring operations across Iran in response to the threats posed by the regime's criminal judiciary officials and the promoters of the shah's brutal SAVAK police. They targeted centers and symbols of repression with the slogan, "Down… pic.twitter.com/HXi0nX62L3— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 20, 2026
Fire targets symbols of the mullahs’ dictatorship
The operations spanned multiple provinces and cities, directly challenging the regime’s security environment. In Tehran, Zahedan, and Iranshahr, Resistance Units targeted and set fire to the entrances of bases belonging to the repressive IRGC Basij forces. In Chabahar, the units targeted an IRGC Basij base and torched a propaganda billboard of the MOIS that promoted espionage against ordinary citizens.
Symbols of the leadership were also widely targeted. In Isfahan, the units torched a poster featuring regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini, the eliminated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Similar actions took place in Kermanshah, Mashhad, and Shiraz, where posters of Mojtaba Khamenei were set ablaze. Meanwhile, in Karaj, Shiraz, and Tehran, billboards and posters of the eliminated Ali Khamenei were destroyed. In Lordegan, propaganda posters of the regime were likewise set on fire.
Backlash against the regime’s “strategy of the noose”
These operations were a direct response to recent remarks by regime officials. On May 12, 2026, the vice chairman of the judicial committee in the regime’s parliament openly praised the judiciary chief for executing protesters and prisoners of the recent uprisings. The official expressed gratitude to the judiciary for carrying out these death sentences.
Isfahan
Resistance Units torch a poster featuring regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini, eliminated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei pic.twitter.com/29pUkqFuW4— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 20, 2026
This “strategy of the noose” is the regime’s response to its current political impasse. Following the massive nationwide uprisings of December 2025 and January 2026, the mullahs have intensified their war against the Iranian people. The regime has resorted to widespread arrests, prolonged internet blackouts, arbitrary street searches, and a bloody purge of the prisons. This strategy resulted in the execution of eight members of the PMOI/MEK and seventeen rebellious protesters.
Yet, the authorities remain in a state of terror following the assault by 250 MEK freedom fighters on Khamenei’s headquarters just five days prior to the forty-day war. This offensive has galvanized a new generation toward resistance, rendering the regime’s repressive measures ineffective. Before his execution, PMOI member Vahid Bani Amerian addressed the Supreme Leader, stating: “Rest assured, if you execute me and those like me, we shall only multiply… your regime will find no escape from its inevitable overthrow.”
Rejecting both the shah and the mullahs
The struggle of the Iranian people is fought on two fronts. While facing the clerical regime’s terror, the movement also rejects the remnants of the Shah’s dictatorship, who seek to resurrect the dreaded SAVAK—the institution upon which the current regime founded the MOIS. During the January uprisings, these monarchist groups dealt a political blow to the movement, labeling the aspirations of Kurdish, Baluchi, Turkmen, and Arab compatriots as “separatism” and pledging to enforce autocracy and martial law.
Chabahar
Resistance Units target IRGC Basij base pic.twitter.com/Y1t0mgBBGQ— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 20, 2026
The daily operations of the Resistance Units emphasize that the path forward is neither the mullahs’ tyranny nor a return to monarchical rule. By targeting the IRGC, the Resistance Units continue to illuminate the singular path to freedom through a Democratic Revolution.