As American-Israeli military strikes hit Iran, several social media hashtags emerged, advocating for the replacement of the Islamic Republic regime and planning for the post-regime phase. The most prominent of these was #OurChoiceMaryamRajavi, which promotes a "Ten Point Plan" proposed by the exiled Iranian opposition politician, Maryam Rajavi. Maryam Rajavi is a prominent and controversial Iranian political figure, who serves as the President-elect of the "National Council of Resistance of Iran" (NCRI), a political alliance in which the "People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran" (MEK/PMOI) is the main force. She is viewed by her supporters as a democratic alternative to the current Iranian regime, while her opponents criticise the history and methods of the MEK.

Start of the Campaign

The hashtag first appeared on February 27, one day before the American-Israeli military operation on Iran. The first account to use it was the maryamrajavinews account on Instagram, in a post that presented Rajavi's ten-point vision for the post-Islamic Republic system.

A review of the account revealed that it is relatively new, having been created in 2024, and its geolocation indicates the United Kingdom.

The Campaign's Launch Coinciding with Military Strikes

The following day, February 28, with the start of the American-Israeli strikes on Iran, the number of posts rose to 44, and these posts included two additional hashtags: #آری_به_جمهوری_دمکراتیک (Yes to a Democratic Republic) and #شورای_ملی_مقاومت_ایران (National Council of Resistance of Iran).

One of the first accounts to use the two hashtags was the account "نه به حکومت آخوندی 🔥 🩵 OnlyGodKnowsGod 💘@OnlyGodknowsGod". This is an Iranian account created in 2017. The transparency feature showed it has changed its name seven times, and its data indicates activity from Romania.

A review of his posts reveals that he is a supporter of Maryam Rajavi and of American strikes on Iran. The account also does not use a profile picture or a real name, which may suggest the account has no verified identity.

The number of associated posts peaked on March 5, with high levels of spread compared to the number of posts.

General Campaign Indicators

In less than a week from the outbreak of the campaign, since February 28, about 4,700 posts were published that included hashtags supporting Maryam Rajavi and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Despite the relatively limited number of posts, they achieved approximately 40 million impressions and about 180 thousand interactions.

The largest percentage of posts came from X, at about 88%, followed by Instagram, with a rate of nearly 7%, and then Facebook, with about 3% of the total posts.

Analysis showed that Persian was the most-used language in the campaign, accounting for 70.5% of posts, followed by English at nearly 24%, and then Arabic at nearly 3%.

The hashtags most associated with the campaign primarily focused on the political promotion of Maryam Rajavi and the National Council of Resistance of Iran. In addition to the hashtag "Maryam Rajavi is Our Choice" and the hashtag "The Iranian Resistance Council is the Alternative," the hashtag "Neither Shah Nor Sheikh" also appeared, which proposes a third political path for the future of governance in Iran.

The Most Active Accounts in the Campaign

A list of the most interactive accounts through posting and re-sharing showed that most of them are active outside Iran, and that a number of them published content supporting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Leading the list was the account "@mehdinamdar713," which posted 295 times as part of the campaign. The account is relatively new, having been created in 2024. Transparency data indicates that the user resides in Europe, does not have a profile picture, and publishes content that supports military action against Iran.

Coming in second was the account "@bahmanidighar," which posted 112 tweets as part of the campaign. This account was created in 2024 and expresses support for Maryam Rajavi's plan. It has also published content supporting Reza Pahlavi, the grandson of the former Shah of Iran. The account's data indicates activity from the United States.

In third place was the aforementioned account "@OnlyGodknowsGod," which posted 91 messages within the campaign, most of which focused on highlighting Western support for Maryam Rajavi's plan.

In fourth place is the account "@iranema2017," which posted 66 times. This is an Iranian account that supports Maryam Rajavi, operates from France, and is primarily used for political promotion.

While the account "@royaraha5" published about 55 posts within the campaign, most of which contained promotional content supporting Maryam Rajavi and her plan. The account is relatively new, created in 2020, and its data indicates activity from the Netherlands.

All of this suggests the campaign relies heavily on new or unverified accounts, a large number of which are active from outside Iran, which contributed to amplifying the presence of Maryam Rajavi and her plan on social media.

Who is Maryam Rajavi?

Maryam Rajavi was born on December 4, 1953, in Tehran to a middle-class family, and graduated from Sharif University of Technology as a metallurgic engineer.

She became involved in political activism during her youth when she joined the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) in the 1970s, an organization that opposed the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, she ran for parliamentary elections but did not win a seat. Later, the MEK came into conflict with Ayatollah Khomeini's regime, leading to a widespread crackdown against its members.

In 1982, Rajavi moved to Paris, where the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is headquartered. In 1985, she married Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the MEK, and later became one of the prominent leaders in the organization.

In 1993, the NCRI elected her as the "President-elect of Iran" for a presumed transitional phase after the fall of the current regime. Since then, she has been leading a broad international campaign to gain political support for the Iranian opposition and present her vision for a future Iran.

Maryam has not explicitly announced her support for or opposition to American-Israeli strikes on Iran, as her statements have focused on the phase after the regime's fall, calling for the formation of a constituent assembly and free elections, without direct endorsement or clear condemnation of attacks on military targets inside Iran.