PMOI Resistance Units in Zahedan marked the fourth anniversary of Iran’s 2022 nationwide uprising by raising banners and placards in the city’s streets. Their messages honored the uprising and its martyrs, highlighted the role of women and organized resistance, and called for the continuation of the struggle against the clerical regime.
Displaying these messages publicly was itself an act of defiance. Four years after the regime sought to crush the uprising through killings, arrests, torture, and executions, the Resistance Units showed that it has failed to silence the movement for freedom or eliminate organized resistance inside Iran.
Honoring the uprising and the forces that carried it forward
Several banners displayed messages from Maryam Rajavi about the political achievements of the 2022 uprising. One declared that the uprising made the slogan “Down with the oppressor, be it the shah or the supreme leader” widespread and revealed the decisive role of Iranian women in the struggle.
From Zahedan to Tehran, down with the oppressor, be it the shah or the supreme leader pic.twitter.com/sxx4utMw4c
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 19, 2026
Other messages honored the role of the PMOI Resistance Units, stating that they played a leading part in the uprising and “kept the flames of the uprising burning across Iran.”
These messages connected the sacrifice of the uprising’s martyrs to the continuing resistance. The anniversary was therefore presented not merely as an occasion to remember the past, but as a renewal of the commitment to continue the path for which the protesters gave their lives.
From remembrance to a strategy for change
The banners also articulated the objective of the continuing resistance. The activists spread the messages of the Iranian Resistance such as “The answer to the issue of Iran is the overthrow of the clerical dictatorship in its entirety” and “The regime of the velayat-e faqih can and must be overthrown.”
Another message rejected the regime’s attempt to survive by imposing further economic hardship and repression, stating that neither plundering the people’s livelihoods can remedy its bankruptcy nor savage repression prevent another uprising.
The 2022 uprising popularized the slogan "Death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Leader" and revealed the decisive role of Mojahed and freedom-fighting women who paved the way for it. pic.twitter.com/KeOK7x9qPY
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 19, 2026
Some of the messages described Iran’s fundamental conflict as the struggle of the people and organized resistance against religious dictatorship for freedom and a democratic republic. Together, these declarations presented organized resistance as the force that can carry the uprising’s demands toward their ultimate objective.
Zahedan rejects both the shah and the mullahs
The activities carried a clear rejection of both monarchical and clerical dictatorship. The banners read, “Dictatorship is dictatorship, whether with a turban or a crown,” and “Monarchy and mullahs’ rule, one hundred years of crime.”
Another message declared, “From Zahedan to Tehran, down with the oppressor, be it the shah or the supreme leader.” This was accompanied by slogans expressing the alternative sought by the Resistance Units: “Neither mullah nor shah; freedom and a democratic republic” and “Woman, Resistance, Freedom.”
"The answer to the Iran issue is the overthrow of the totality of the religious dictatorship" pic.twitter.com/AMGGREmkke
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 19, 2026
The slogans made clear that Iran’s future lies neither with the existing theocracy nor with a return to the former monarchy, but with freedom, equality, popular sovereignty, and a democratic republic.
The uprising the regime could not erase
The 2022 uprising began following the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini on September 16, 2022. Protests spread from Saqqez and Tehran to more than 282 cities and developed into a nationwide movement demanding the regime’s overthrow.
At least 750 protesters were killed by the security forces, and approximately 30,000 people were arrested. Women and young people stood at the forefront of the uprising. The regime suppressed the mass demonstrations through extreme violence, but it did not resolve the conditions that caused them or eliminate their demands.
The public activities in Zahedan demonstrated that four years of brutality have not extinguished the uprising’s flame. The regime may have driven the mass protests from the streets, but it has failed to destroy the organized resistance that preserves their memory, demands, and objective.
By honoring the martyrs, rejecting both the shah and the mullahs, and advocating a democratic republic, the Resistance Units transformed remembrance into continuing defiance. Their activities keep the uprising’s flame alive and help prepare the ground for the next nationwide revolt that will overthrow the clerical regime.