At the Cyrus the Great Commemoration in Toronto (October 24, 2025):
The full text and video (with English subtitles) of my remarks follow:
The name of Cyrus the Great still earns honor for the Iranian nation in the world. He is a reminder of Iran’s glory — even in an age when the dark shadow of an anti-Iranian regime has cast darkness over our homeland.
But Cyrus is not only a historical memory or source of pride; he is the messenger of a responsibility that lies on our shoulders. And I am here today to remind us of that responsibility, and to underline how urgent it is: to save and take back Iran from those who have turned it into a garrison of pan-Islamist fanaticism and barbarism — those who, from a land that over 2,500 years ago was the cradle of justice, have now spread injustice across the world.
It is no surprise that the Islamic Republic fears the name of Cyrus. Because Cyrus stands for everything this regime is not: Iranian identity. Human dignity. Freedom. Tolerance.
But unlike the Islamic regime, we — the people of Iran — are the heirs of Cyrus’s path. We seek power not to dominate, but to bring order and justice.
In Babylon, Cyrus told his soldiers: “Walk gently, so that you do not sow fear in the hearts of the people.” He was the first ruler to join authority with compassion; to defend and promote freedom of belief and religious tolerance; and to teach us that politics can — and must — be united with truth, not with deceit.
That is why the world today still speaks of Cyrus the Great with respect. And what is written in his immortal charter became the foundation for a human-centered, freedom-centered order in the modern world.
My fellow countrymen, to be Iranian is not just a matter of birth certificate, ancestry, or nationality. It also creates responsibility: Responsibility toward the present and future of our homeland. Responsibility to defend truth. Responsibility to win and preserve freedom. Responsibility to uphold the dignity and honor of every Iranian citizen. And the responsibility to stand firm in the struggle against darkness.
Today, the government of Iran — in its entirety — is under the occupation of Islamist rulers. And time is working against us. Every moment of delay carries a heavy price. The window to save Iran is limited; and if it closes, it may never open again.
Now, in one of the hardest and darkest chapters in Iran’s history, the question is no longer “What must be done?” The question is this: If not now, then when? If not us, then who? And if we do not act today — what will become of Iran?
Now is the time to expand the local freedom units, and prepare for the final battle.
Nations become great when they shape their own destiny with their own hands — not when others decide for them. The Iranian nation must also be the author of its own fate. Our land deserves glory and freedom. And it is on us to take Iran back from this criminal, demonic regime.
We are a great nation, and we have shown it again and again: when we began our national uprising with the cry “We will take Iran back.” But this struggle — which in December 2017, in November 2019, and in the 2022 uprising achieved priceless gains through the sacrifices of our martyred sons and daughters — is not over. This struggle ends the day Iran is freed from the grip of the Islamic Republic, and national sovereignty is returned to the people.
And on that day, when our nation is free, the world will see a different Iran: An Iran whose resources are not spent exporting hatred and terror, but used to build pacts of peace and cooperation. An Iran that will elevate the “Abraham Accords” into a “Cyrus Accords,” and reconcile the Middle East through tolerance and wisdom — just as Cyrus the Great once did.
And then the echo of these words of Cyrus will once again resonate across the horizon of history: “Cyrus, king of the world, king of Anshan, son of Cambyses. The great gods gave all the lands into my hand, and I set this land in peace and tranquility.”
Herodotus, the Greek historian, writes that because of Cyrus’s kindness and justice, the Persians called him “father.” And in October 2016, the children of Cyrus gathered from across Iran in Pasargadae and cried out: “Iran is our homeland; Cyrus is our father!” But we will not be worthy children of his if we treat our responsibility as something small.
Cyrus is calling us: Rise! Take Iran back from the occupying evil! Once again bind the name of Iran to peace and freedom! Restore greatness and honor to our homeland — before it is too late; before Iran is lost.
Long live Iran.
