June 2, 2026
Masih Alinejad, one of the Iranian regime’s most vocal, internationally recognized, and effective critics, thanked American Jewish Committee (AJC) for welcoming her despite the danger that follows her every day.
“I feel like I am among my family. You know why? Because we share the same killers,” she said, referring to the antisemitic Iranian regime, during fiery remarks at AJC Global Forum in Washington D.C. on Monday.
In October 2025, two Russian mobsters who plotted to kill Alinejad on orders from the Iranian regime were convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. A third suspect was convicted in January and sentenced to 15 years.
The suspects staked out the Brooklyn residence where they believed Alinejad lived and waited for her at Fairfield University in Connecticut where she had been scheduled to speak on campus.
“The killers didn’t just target me thousands of miles from America, they managed to cancel human rights activists,” she said. “They managed to cancel freedom of speech at university here in America because no one wants to invite someone followed by killers. Only American Jewish Committee.”
Here are four powerful moments from her appearance at AJC Global Forum.
‘Their language of negotiation is death’
Alinejad warned countries trying to negotiate peace with an Iranian regime that since 1979 has preached nothing but violence and hypocrisy – violating the human rights of its own citizens and using fear to inculcate an entire generation.
She has brought international attention to the brutal crackdowns on anti-government protests in Iran that have claimed thousands of lives. The most recent massacre of innocent Iranians unfolded across all 31 of Iran’s provinces in January 2026. Iran’s state media broadcast images of body bags in the streets.
‘This is about a … designated terrorist organization’
While most policymakers agree that Iran is a destructive force in the region, Republicans and Democrats have taken different approaches in response.
Democrats have emphasized negotiations, nuclear agreements, and conditional sanctions relief, as illustrated by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama Administration.
Republicans have opted for maximum pressure and isolation, illustrated by the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the JCPOA and the coordinated military operations with Israel against the Iranian regime on February 28, 2026.
‘We don’t want you to stand with us’
Last August, at the United Nations Security Council, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom triggered snapback sanctions against Iran for violating international agreements tied to its nuclear program. But Alinejad lambasted leaders who think diplomacy will work to contain the regime.
‘Islamic Republic is at war with you and democracy’
Referencing the nationwide anti-Israel, and in many cases antisemitism, demonstrations on American university campuses after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, Alinejad asked where those students were in January of 2026 when innocent Iranians were dying by the tens of thousands at the hands of the regime. She suggested they redirect their anger to the real source of the problem facing Palestinians.
