Mehdi Oghbai: The Iranian People Reject Dictatorship and Present a Democratic Roadmap for National Sovereignty

Amid deepening political, economic, and social crises in Iran, growing signs indicate that Iranian society has entered a new stage in its search for a genuine democratic alternative capable of ending decades of repression, corruption, and the denial of popular sovereignty.

Mehdi Oghbai, member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), stated:

“What Iran is witnessing today is not merely an economic crisis or a factional dispute within the ruling establishment. It is a comprehensive crisis affecting the very foundation of the velayat-e faqih system, which has proven incapable of providing any real solutions to the country’s problems. After decades of repression, corruption, and the waste of national wealth, the majority of Iranian society now understands that the continuation of this regime means the continuation of the same crises.”

He added:

“The successive popular uprisings of recent years have proven that the will for change remains alive and powerful within Iranian society. Executions, arrests, and security restrictions have failed to extinguish the people’s demand for freedom and democracy. On the contrary, the escalation of repression reflects the regime’s fear of a new wave of organized popular protests.”

Oghbai emphasized:

“The regime’s insistence on prolonged internet restrictions, and the visible contradictions among its factions over this issue, reveal the anxiety of security institutions over society’s ability to communicate, organize, and exchange information. The regime understands that public awareness can no longer be contained by digital walls or security censorship.”

He noted:

“The Iranian people no longer accept a choice between two forms of dictatorship. Just as Iranians rejected and overthrew the Shah’s dictatorship, they now reject the continuation of clerical rule. The slogans of the uprisings have clearly expressed this position by rejecting all forms of tyranny, whether religious or hereditary.”

Oghbai explained:

“The National Council of Resistance of Iran presents a clear and responsible political alternative for the transitional period. This alternative is based on the formation of a time-limited provisional government tasked with organizing free and fair elections under international supervision, so that sovereignty is fully transferred to the Iranian people through the ballot box, not through inheritance or imposed power.”

He added:

“Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan offers a comprehensive vision for Iran’s future: political pluralism, separation of religion and state, full equality between women and men, abolition of the death penalty, respect for the rights of nationalities and minorities, and a non-nuclear state living in peace with its neighbors and the international community.”

Oghbai stressed:

“The international community must abandon the policy of appeasement toward the Iranian regime and stop reducing the options to appeasement or war. There is a third, realistic, and democratic option: recognizing the Iranian people’s right to resist dictatorship and supporting their legitimate aspiration for freedom and popular sovereignty.”

He concluded:

“Iran stands today at a decisive historic crossroads. On one side is a crisis-ridden regime eroding from within and relying increasingly on repression and executions. On the other is a people determined to reclaim their rights and an organized resistance with a clear vision for the future. Real stability in Iran and the region begins with enabling the Iranian people to determine their own destiny and establish a modern democratic republic based on citizens’ will and the rule of law.”