Thousands of Iranian Americans from across the United States are expected to gather outside the United Nations in New York on September 22 and 23, as world leaders convene for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

The demonstrations, planned for Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, will focus on political executions and repression in Iran, while participants will voice support for democratic change and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), led by its President-elect, Maryam Rajavi.

A bipartisan group of American dignitaries, human rights advocates, former political prisoners and Iranian opposition supporters is expected to participate.

Speakers scheduled to address the September 22 gathering include retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine; retired Gen. Wesley Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe; and former U.S. Ambassador Carla Sands.

The demonstrations coincide with the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 22, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to speak on September 23.

Organizers say protesters will return on the second day to call for international action over human rights abuses in Iran and to press for accountability for Iranian officials accused of crimes against humanity.

The demonstrations come amid what organizers describe as a sharp increase in political executions in Iran since mid-March. They say at least 40 political dissidents, including members or supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) and participants in the January 2026 uprising, have been executed, while more than 100 political prisoners remain on death row.

Ahead of the demonstrations, Iranian expatriates are planning a series of events across Manhattan, including vigils and outdoor photo exhibitions highlighting victims of state repression. Organizers also plan displays focusing on nationwide protests and what they describe as an organized resistance movement operating across Iran’s 31 provinces.

Participants at the UN gathering are also expected to highlight Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for Iran’s future. The NCRI-backed platform calls for popular sovereignty, separation of religion and state, freedom of expression and belief, gender equality, minority rights, a market economy, peaceful regional coexistence and a non-nuclear Iran.

The plan also calls for free elections following the end of the current political system and the creation of a constituent assembly tasked with determining Iran’s future form of government.

Organizers say the central message of the New York demonstrations will be that Iran’s future should be determined by the Iranian people themselves, without foreign military intervention.