In the wake of last month’s unprecedented 12-day war between Israel and Iran — which saw Israeli and U.S. forces directly strike Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and military apparatus for the first time — Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi declared that regime change in the Islamic Republic is “realistic,” “within reach,” and “long overdue,” laying out her exiled movement’s strategy to topple the clerical regime and usher in a democratic future.
In an exclusive interview, Rajavi — the Paris-based president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a political umbrella group representing a coalition of Iranian opposition movements led by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) — addressed the growing uncertainty over Iran’s future as the regime faces an unprecedented convergence of crises and mounting calls for regime change.
“We are closer than ever to this goal,” she declared, citing economic collapse, widespread social discontent, and deepening fractures within the regime’s own ranks.
“Time for Regime Change Has Come”
When asked whether regime change represents a realistic prospect in Iran’s current context, Rajavi responded emphatically that it is “not only realistic and within reach — it is long overdue.” She noted that Iranians have demanded the regime’s overthrow for over four decades, “sacrificing more than any other nation for their freedom” with over 100,000 political executions.
The opposition leader painted a picture of a regime in terminal decline, wracked by economic devastation that has persisted despite Iran sitting atop ten percent of the world’s oil reserves and 15 percent of its natural gas.
“Inflation exceeds 40 percent, food prices are soaring, and essential goods are scarce,” she said, describing a nation where half of all men aged 25 to 40 are unemployed and millions of university graduates have simply abandoned the labor force.
Adding to the regime’s woes, Iran faces an acute energy crisis with a 50 percent shortfall in electricity generation capacity and water resources so depleted that Tehran’s main dam reservoirs stand at just seven percent capacity.
“This is a country resting atop an ocean of fossil fuels,” Rajavi observed, “yet it faces an acute energy crisis.”
The opposition leader credited much of the current pressure on the regime to the expanding network of Resistance Units affiliated with the PMOI/MEK, which she said, “conducted more than 3,000 operations against IRGC, Basij, and other repressive centers” in 2024 alone.
“The Iranian people possess all the essential ingredients for change,” Rajavi concluded. “What is needed now is a firm international policy toward the regime: ending financial and political support, imposing comprehensive sanctions, and recognizing the Iranian people’s right to struggle for the overthrow of this regime — all of which can accelerate the process of change in Iran.”
No Foreign Boots Needed — Just Let Iranians Do the Job
Addressing concerns in Washington about potential U.S. involvement in another costly regime-change operation, Rajavi dismissed such fears while outlining what she called “the third option.”
“These concerns are entirely justified, particularly given past missteps and painful experiences,” she acknowledged. “Our solution, known as ‘the third option,’ explicitly avoids foreign wars and is defined as follows: ‘No foreign war, no appeasement — regime change by the Iranian people and resistance.’”
Rajavi pointed to the regime’s central role in regional conflicts, noting that while Iran’s government may not be “the origin of every war,” it remains “undeniably a principal instigator in each of them.” She referenced the regime’s decades-long interference across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, warning that “approximately 90 million Iranians have repeatedly expressed their desire for change and have paid an enormous price.”
“All they seek is recognition of their right to resist and overthrow this dictatorship, and for the world to abandon its policy of appeasement,” she said.
Vision of Nationwide Uprising
When asked what the process of regime change would actually look like on the ground and whether it would involve an armed uprising, Rajavi emphasized Iran’s fundamental unity across ethnic and sectarian lines.
“On no issue are Iranians more united than on the imperative to overthrow this regime,” she declared. “And without question, this important task will be accomplished through a nationwide uprising and the determined efforts of an organized resistance.”
Rajavi rejected concerns about the country fracturing along ethnic or sectarian lines, describing Iran as a “cohesive and unified nation, bound by millennia of shared history and a vibrant culture that — despite its ethnic and religious diversity — remains profoundly united.” She emphasized that “ethnic and religious differences have never been a source of internal strife in Iran” and that “every segment of Iranian society identifies as Iranian before any consideration of ethnic origin.”
Pointing to the 2022 uprising as evidence of this unity, Rajavi noted that “Arabs, Kurds, Baluchis, and Persians all stood side by side demanding the regime’s overthrow, chanting slogans such as ‘From Kurdistan to Tehran, from Zahedan to Tehran, my life for Iran.’”
The opposition leader argued that the existence of an organized alternative like the NCRI ensures that post-regime Iran will not descend into chaos or disintegration. She characterized the current radical theocratic regime as “the principal driver of instability, sectarian violence, and regional disorder,” arguing that “with its fall, the main engine of war and insecurity in the region will be eliminated.”
MEK: The Backbone of Resistance
Explaining the role of the PMOI/MEK within the broader opposition movement, Rajavi declared that the MEK is “the backbone of Iran’s organized resistance and plays a central role in advancing the movement for regime change.” With over six decades of struggle against both the Shah and the current regime, she said the MEK possesses “unparalleled experience.”
The MEK has played a decisive role in exposing the regime’s secret nuclear program, including revealing the Natanz and Arak sites in 2002 and making “130 other disclosures on the regime’s nuclear and missile programs in the past 34 years.” But beyond intelligence gathering, Rajavi emphasized the group’s ideological challenge to the regime.
“The MEK is the antithesis of religious fundamentalism and Islamic extremism, promoting a tolerant, democratic Islam, showing the Iranian people that the clerical regime’s behavior has nothing to do with genuine Islam,” she said. “This is the greatest blow the clerical regime has suffered at the hands of the MEK in the past 47 years.”
Notably, Rajavi highlighted the MEK’s commitment to women’s leadership, noting that “women occupy key positions at every level of the organization” as a direct reflection of the movement’s core principles.
Message to Trump and America
Rajavi directed a specific message to President Donald Trump and the American people about why supporting regime change matters.
“Our message is clear: what we seek is a firm policy toward the ruling regime in Iran,” she said. “Such a policy must include recognizing the Iranian people’s right to self-determination, rejecting both religious and monarchical dictatorships, and acknowledging the legitimacy of the Resistance Units’ struggle against the IRGC as a means to bring down this regime.”
“I hope this consensus will become official, actionable policy,” she added.
Rajavi emphasized that the current moment represents a critical opportunity, noting that “since its inception in 1979, the Iranian regime has been the principal source of terrorism, extremism, and regional instability, but it now stands at its weakest and most vulnerable. The Iranian people and resistance are closer than ever to toppling it.”
The opposition leader stressed that her movement seeks neither American money nor weapons, arguing that “regime change in Iran is the only way to end its threats — including nuclear weapons, terrorism, and regional interference — and to secure lasting peace and stability in the Middle East and beyond.”
“This is precisely what House Resolution 166, co-sponsored by 227 bipartisan members of Congress, affirms,” she concluded.
Khamenei Succession Crisis Spells Opportunity
Addressing reports that 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who was hiding and isolated in a bunker during and after the 12-day war — has named two potential successors, Rajavi sees this as a sign of profound regime weakness rather than strength.
“The succession crisis facing Khamenei stands as one of the gravest challenges confronting the Iranian regime,” she said. “The system of velayat-e faqih (supreme clerical rule) and the current constitution have been tailored to fit Khamenei himself; his passing will plunge the regime into an irremediable crisis.”
Rather than ensuring stability, Rajavi predicted that naming successors would backfire spectacularly.
“Amid deep internal divisions and a crisis of legitimacy, such a move will only render the regime more fragile — particularly in a society poised for uprising, where this development could serve as the catalyst for a major social explosion,” she stated.
A Democratic Iran: Near and Achievable
When asked whether she envisions a future where Iran lives in complete peace with the region, Rajavi declared this “a vision we see as near at hand.” But she insisted that such peace can only come after the regime’s fall.
“For decades, we have emphasized — and repeated again after October 7 — the root cause of war, crisis, and terrorism in the region is the clerical regime and Khamenei himself,” she said. “Therefore, a prospect of regional peace, with Iran as a partner, will only become attainable after this regime falls.”
A democratic Iran, according to the NCRI’s program, would base its relations with other countries on “coexistence, peace, international cooperation, respect for the UN Charter, non-interference in others’ internal affairs, and prevention of foreign meddling in Iran’s internal affairs.”
“A democratic Iran will become a powerful partner for peace, stability, and coexistence,” Rajavi promised.
Why the NCRI Can Lead Iran Forward
Asked what makes her movement the most capable opposition group to lead a transition to democratic Iran, Rajavi pointed to the NCRI’s unique combination of experience, organization, and international support.
“The MEK, with thousands of seasoned cadres and a movement forged in 60 years of battle against both monarchist and clerical dictatorships, is — by the regime’s own admission — its principal adversary,” she said, noting that Ashraf-3 in Albania, home to 1,000 women and former prisoners of both dictatorships, serves as “one of the organization’s key centers and an inspiration to millions of Iranians.”
The NCRI, she explained, represents “the longest-standing political coalition in modern Iranian history” with 456 members from diverse political tendencies, over half of whom are women. The organization maintains complete political and financial independence, with all expenses funded by members and supporters.
Rajavi also emphasized the movement’s international credibility, noting support from “4,000 lawmakers from both sides of the Atlantic, including majorities in 34 legislative chambers in Europe and the US — including 227 bipartisan members of Congress, 137 former world leaders, and 80 Nobel laureates.”
“We do not seek power; our purpose is to restore it to its rightful owners — the people of Iran,” she concluded, outlining a clear transition plan involving a provisional government for six months, followed by elections for a constituent assembly that would draft a new democratic constitution.
The roadmap, she said, ensures that “sovereignty will then be transferred to the people’s representatives in the constituent assembly, who will appoint a new government and draft the constitution for the new republic.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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