Iran on Tuesday awarded its Right Side of History Medal to a diverse group of international activists, artists, and politicians during a ceremony in Tehran.

Iran on Tuesday awarded its Right Side of History Medal to a diverse group of international activists, artists, and politicians during a ceremony in Tehran. The event took place on Keshvardoost Street, situated merely meters from the site where Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution was martyred in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026.

Organized by the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the event drew a crowd of international guests amid gatherings of mourners and members of the public who continue to honor the legacy of the martyred Leader. The ceremony opened with a welcome address by Mehdi Ebrahimzadeh, deputy and chief of staff of the Islamic Revolution Cultural and Research Institute. 

The rapid awakening of global youth
Dr. Saeid Reza Ameli, representing the jury that selected this year's laureates, then took the stage, stating: "Imam Khamenei did not merely tell the youth to stand on the right side of history, but affirmed that they are standing on it. This rapid awakening is evident today, as American youth mobilized within three days to protest the US war on Iran and the killing of school students in Minab, a stark contrast to the years it took to build anti-war awareness during the Vietnam era."

Global voices of solidarity: Messages from abroad
Before the in-person presentations, the ceremony screened a montage of video messages from several recipients who were unable to attend. 

• The heavy cost of moral courage: Professor Haim Bresheeth-Zabner, a British historian and filmmaker at SOAS, received the medal for his lifelong academic struggle against Zionism. In his video message, he reflected on the heavy cost of moral courage, noting: "To be on the right side of history has never been more difficult, as the people of Iran know from bitter, personal experience." He praised the Iranian people for being "foremost in remembering and caring about the suffering of the Palestinians," despite enduring decades of oppression and unjustified assaults from the US and Israel since 1953. Highlighting Iran's steadfastness, he observed that the nation stands "unbowed, and unbroken against the strong and brutal enemy while other nations bow and surrender to the imperial and colonial powers." Expressing hope that the eventual decline of Zionism will bring peace and justice to the region, he concluded that while being on the right side of history is difficult, "it also has its dividends."

• Cinema as resistance: In her video message, renowned Syrian actress Sulaf Fawakherji spoke about her film Land of Angels, stating: "When we began this project, we wanted to make a film for Palestine, for Gaza, for its people. We worked with a fighting spirit, and whenever we felt tired, we remembered the people of Gaza living with far greater hardship." 

• A living compass for truth: In his video message, Yemeni cartoonist Kamal Sharaf expressed deep gratitude for the award's "humanitarian and freedom-seeking criteria," stating: "This award encourages all free people to say 'no' to the criminals ruling over them and to stand with the oppressed and against the policies of the Great Satan [the US] and its allies." Reflecting on the site of the ceremony, Sharaf added: "Imam Khamenei’s martyrdom was a rebirth in the souls of many. He stood firmly against the Great Satan without any trace of fear." He described the award as a "living compass" that distinguishes right from wrong, with Palestine as its true north. "Whoever supports it stands on the Front of Truth; whoever fights it stands on the Front of Falsehood," he declared. Mr. Ali Naseri, an international documentary filmmaker, accepted the medal on behalf of Kamal Sharaf.

• The duty of humanity: Tushar Gandhi, an Indian activist and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, also appeared via video message, stating: "It is the duty of everyone who is human to sympathize and empathize with the Palestinian cause. Judgment Day will judge us on where we stood, and it will judge those who remain neutral to be with the criminals." He also extended his gratitude to Iran for "bravely taking on not only the Zionists but also the Western powers that are siding with them."

• Humiliating the imperial core: In her video message, Charlotte Kates, a Canadian human rights lawyer and coordinator of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network – who was expelled from the United States due to her political activism – opened by invoking the martyred Leader’s words to American youth: "As the page of history is turning, you are standing on the right side of it." Detailing the ongoing assaults across the region, Kates emphasized that "it is clearer than ever that the Resistance is on the right side of history." Highlighting the Islamic Republic's stance, she stated, "It is the Resistance in Iran and in the Islamic Republic that has shown the world that the United States can be humiliated." Calling on those in the "imperial core" to mobilize, Kates pledged unwavering solidarity, stating it is their responsibility "to stand with the Resistance in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Iraq and around the region... and to bring an end to genocide, Zionism and imperialism once and for all, for a free Palestine and for a free humanity."