Munich Rally Echoes Iran’s Uprising: “No Shah, No Mullahs”

Staff WriterFebruary 15, 2026
Munich Rally Echoes Iran’s Uprising: “No Shah, No Mullahs”
A large rally of supporters of Iranian Resistance

Written by
Shamsi Saadati
A large rally of supporters of Iranian Resistance was held in Munich on Friday, 13 February 2026, where participants chanted “No Shah, No Mullahs” and called for the overthrow of the clerical regime and the establishment of a democratic republic in Iran. The demonstration echoed the message that Iranians reject dictatorship in any form, whether theocracy or monarchy, and insist that Iran’s future must be built on popular sovereignty, democratic rights, and a secular state.

A number of speakers addressed the crowd, stressing both the scale of the uprising inside Iran and the responsibility of the international community to stand with the Iranian people’s demand for fundamental change. One of the central moments of the program was message from Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

In her remarks, Mrs. Rajavi declared: “Iranian society is on the path of a democratic revolution, toward a democratic republic.” She saluted the participants as “the unquenchable voice of Iran’s uprising” and said their gathering carried the message of those “slain in the blood-soaked days of January.” She outlined what she called three decisive messages from the sacrifices made in the uprising: first, that it once again proves the Iranian people’s “unwavering and irreversible determination to overthrow the regime in its entirety”; second, that the route to change is “organized uprising,” in which rebellious youth and Resistance Units play a decisive role; and third, that Ali Khamenei is prepared to unleash mass street killings rather than surrender the crumbling foundations of absolute clerical rule.

Mrs. Rajavi also drew a sharp line against attempts to divert the uprising by reviving nostalgia for monarchy. “The remnants of the Shah’s dictatorship who seek to derail the uprising and exploit the blood and suffering of the people are laboring in vain,” she said, adding that in Iran’s democratic future there is “no place for those who already promise a new one-man autocracy.” She underlined that a nation that has paid such a high price for freedom will not trade one dictatorship for another: “A people who have paid such a terrible price for freedom and democracy… will never exchange it for the former monarchical dictatorship.” She emphasized the shared principles increasingly voiced by protesters and the diaspora, led by the slogan “No to the Shah, No to the Mullahs,” alongside the separation of religion and state, women’s equal rights, and rejection of appeasement, war, and foreign intervention.

Mrs. Rajavi then called on world leaders attending the Munich Security Conference to respond to what she described as the Iranian people’s legitimate demands, including recognizing the right of rebellious youth and Resistance Units to confront the IRGC, urgent action at the UN to halt executions, guaranteeing unrestricted access to free internet, and pursuing accountability for regime leaders for crimes against humanity.

Among the keynote speakers, John Bercow, former Speaker of the UK House of Commons, delivered a forceful address against the IRGC and against any attempt to present a return to monarchy as an alternative to Tehran’s rule. He described the ruling establishment as “an organized, institutionalized butcher’s shop… in power by lies, by deceit, by manipulation, and by the continued bloodthirsty use of a repressive state apparatus.” Bercow told the crowd that the regime has been in power “47 years too long,” and endorsed the protesters’ core demand: “You know what you’re talking about when you say, ‘No Shah, no Mullah!’”

Bercow also said he had written to the organizers of the Munich Security Conference to object to inviting the son of the Shah to speak. He called the invitation a “massive error of judgement” and argued that the alternative to theocracy is not monarchy: “Because the alternative to the bloodthirsty tyranny in Tehran is not to go back to monarchy… We don’t want a dictatorship in Iran, whether of the Mullahs or of the Shah or of the son of the Shah!” He added that change must come from within Iran and that the international community should stop legitimizing divisive figures while focusing on accountability, including action to end executions, terrorist designation of the IRGC, and financial pressure on the regime.

Bercow praised Mrs. Rajavi’s leadership and the NCRI’s democratic vision, saying: “I have never met a more determined, gutsy, courageous or articulate campaigner for change to democracy in the world than Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. She is a heroine for humanity!” He contrasted her long record of sacrifice with the absence of any comparable commitment by Reza Pahlavi, remarking that Pahlavi “hasn’t sacrificed anything… [and] hasn’t given anything to the heroic struggle for freedom taking place in Iran.”

Munich Rally Echoes Iran’s Uprising: “No Shah, No Mullahs”

Struan Stevenson, former Member of the European Parliament, likewise warned against what he described as a manufactured attempt to impose an alternative lacking legitimacy and organization inside Iran. He stated that the January uprising made the people’s will unmistakable: they seek “the complete overthrow of the theocratic dictatorship” and reject tyranny “in all its forms.” Highlighting the rally’s central chant, Stevenson stressed that “Down with the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader” captures the public rejection of both the current regime and the former monarchy. He criticized the effort to elevate Reza Pahlavi, calling it “manufactured and cynical,” and describing him as “a man with no organization inside Iran, no record of meaningful struggle against tyranny… living comfortably in exile.”

Stevenson argued that some media outlets have enabled this “charade” while avoiding scrutiny of Pahlavi’s record, including his refusal to clearly condemn the crimes of his father’s dictatorship, citing SAVAK, prisons, repression, and the silencing of dissent. He denounced the Munich Security Conference invitation as an attempt to anoint leadership from above rather than respect the resistance emerging through organized struggle. “Democracy cannot be imposed from hotel conference rooms in Europe,” he said, insisting that legitimacy comes from the streets inside Iran and from those who have risked imprisonment, torture, and execution. He concluded with a direct appeal: “Stand with the Iranian people, not with any form of dictatorship, past or present.”

As the rally closed, the chants of “No Shah, No Mullahs” and calls for a democratic republic underscored the demonstration’s central message: the Iranian people’s uprising seeks a decisive break with dictatorship—rejecting both clerical rule and any return to hereditary power—and demanding an Iran built on freedom, equality, and the ballot box.

Staff WriterFebruary 15, 2026
Arab-Islamic Committee in Defence of Ashraf
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