“Khomeini’s Legacy: Four Decades of Dictatorship and Four Decades of Resistance”

As the anniversary of Khomeini’s death approaches, attention once again turns to the true legacy of the system he established in 1979. More than four decades later, that legacy can no longer be judged by revolutionary slogans, but by its actual consequences: political repression, executions, economic collapse, international isolation, and the squandering of Iran’s wealth on wars and regional interventions.

Hossein Daei al-Islam, member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), stated:

“The most dangerous legacy left by Khomeini was not merely the creation of another authoritarian regime, but the transformation of dictatorship into a political and religious doctrine used to justify repression, executions, and the denial of popular sovereignty. Iranians overthrew the Shah seeking freedom, only to face an even more repressive system.”

He emphasized that the Iranian Resistance was among the first forces to expose the true nature of the doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih and reject its legitimacy, paying a heavy price through decades of persecution and massacres, including the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.

Daei al-Islam added: “The crises Iran faces today—poverty, corruption, repression, and systematic human rights violations—are rooted in the foundations established by Khomeini and preserved by the ruling apparatus.”

He noted that a new generation of Iranians rejects both forms of dictatorship, reflected in the popular slogan heard across Iran: “Death to the oppressor, whether the Shah or the Supreme Leader.”

In this context, the major Iranian gathering in Paris on June 20, 2026, carries particular significance, bringing together tens of thousands of Iranians and supporters of freedom to reaffirm the vision of a democratic republic based on free elections, separation of religion and state, gender equality, and respect for human rights.

He concluded: “Khomeini’s true legacy is not the years he spent in power, but the resistance that emerged against his rule. More than four decades later, the Iranian people continue their struggle for freedom and for a democratic Iran where sovereignty belongs to the people alone.”