In the face of the Iranian regime’s systematic attempts to use executions to instill fear and paralyze the opposition, the people of Iran continue to show unwavering defiance. Instead of forcing the Iranian population into submission, the regime’s brutality has been met with immediate and visible resistance by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) Resistance Units, proving that the mullahs’ intimidation tactics have utterly failed.
On April 21, 2026, just one day after the brutal execution of two PMOI members, Resistance Units mobilized across Iran. Activists installed posters and held banners featuring images of the martyrs alongside powerful messages of resistance. In Zahedan, Resistance Units directly challenged the regime’s terror tactics, holding banners that declared, “Our response to executions is fiery uprisings.”
April 21—Iran
Resistance Units across Iran commemorate Hamed Validi and Mohammad (Nima) Massoum-Shahi, PMOI members who were executed by the regime on April 20. Their activities defy the regime's efforts to intimidate Resistance Units through the execution of PMOI members. https://t.co/HCM9cTP2Qj pic.twitter.com/HSHRSGpi9a— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 23, 2026
The activities in Zahedan sent a clear message that the regime’s desperate motives are transparent to the public. This was highlighted by another banner in the city stating, “By executing the bravest children of Iran, the desperate mullahs’ regime it futilely trying to delay the explosion of the wrath of the people.”
This bravery was mirrored nationwide in cities including Tehran, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Jolfa, Kamyaran, Sari, and Ilam. Across these cities, Resistance Units publicly praised the martyrs’ steadfastness, declaring in multiple locations that with their execution, the martyrs “proved they will not surrender to the regime” and saluting their “honor and steadfastness.” In Shiraz, activists displayed messages stating that the martyrs “stood heroically and kissed the noose.”
The truth behind the martyrs and the regime’s fabrications
The nationwide commemoration honors Hamed Validi, a 45-year-old civil engineer, and Mohammad (Nima) Massoum-Shahi, a 38-year-old technical worker, who were hanged on April 20, 2026. The martyrs were arrested in Tehran on May 13, 2025, subjected to severe physical torture, and sentenced to death in October 2025 by the Karaj Revolutionary Court in a deeply flawed judicial farce.
The absurdity of the regime’s judicial process was exposed when the Chief Justice of Alborz province accused them of espionage linked to a 12-day war that actually began a full month after they were already in custody. To justify the state murder, state-run media outlets like Mizan and Tasnim falsely labeled the men as a “spy network linked to Mossad,” fabricating charges regarding explosive projectiles and mortar-making equipment. The regime relies on this worn-out “foreign spy” propaganda to conceal their true identities as PMOI members, deeply terrified to admit the growing domestic appeal of the PMOI and its Resistance Units among Iranian youth.
A desperate smokescreen masking weakness
The executions of Validi and Shahi do not occur in a vacuum. They are part of a broader, desperate wave of state murder aimed at stifling unrest. These killings follow the recent executions of six other PMOI members and seven young protesters arrested during the massive December-January nationwide uprisings. Facing an existential threat from an arisen population, the ruling clerics utilize the cover of external crises to eliminate steadfast political dissidents who speak to the regime only in the language of resistance.
Kamyaran
"With their execution, PMOI martyrs Hamed Validi and Mohammad Massoud Shahi proved they will not surrender to the regime" pic.twitter.com/yRCEvTlUO3— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 23, 2026
Ultimately, these executions are not a projection of state strength but a smokescreen designed to hide the regime’s profound domestic decay. As demonstrated by the fearless activities of the Resistance Units in Zahedan and across Iran, the blood of the martyrs will only fuel the flames of future uprisings, strengthening the Resistance Units and the National Liberation Army to overthrow a collapsing regime.