Over the past forty-four years, many of us have seen various Iranian opposition groups and TV channels pop up, one after another, but none united or supported their competitors. Each group had its own agenda. A typical Iranian dilemma: “Too many chiefs, not enough Indians.” This has been our dilemma until the new generation of Iranian women rose up and said no more.

Protests are not a new event in Iran. They’ve erupted over the years — over election fraud, economic malaise, and civil liberties. But this time is different — an unprecedented revolution led by women and the support from men. What’s fascinating about this revolution is the first time in history that women have been both the spark and engine of the revolution.

Although Mahsa Amini’s death sparked massive and widespread protests. These protests did not transpire spontaneously. They are a symptom of deep-seated and festering dissent. The list of grievances is sorely long. Decades of excessive corruption and widespread maladministration have tattered the economy. The middle class is virtually nonexistent, and the working class has sunk into desolation.

Unity

Iran’s Prince Reza Pahlavi says the Charter of Solidarity and Freedom of Iran creates the basis of cooperation among opposition forces to oust the Islamic Republic. Prince Reza Pahlavi is right. If Iranians remain divided, there won’t be a chance against the powerful Islamic regime with the vast and destructive power apparatus that has no problem using it against its own population as it did during the  2009 Green Movement.

Sadly, Iranians are inherently too stubborn to work within a group like the Japanese are.  A Japanese proverb says “A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.” This means that ten arrows are stronger than a single arrow. If you change the arrows to people, you will understand more about why the Japanese are so group-oriented.

If my assessment is accurate, we are in it for the long haul.

After forty-four long and draining years since the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini, I am puzzled as to why our political activists or groups have never compromised or found common ground to work with one another for the sake of Iran in order rescue her from further drift into the abyss.

The MEK

It is no secret that our wealthy competitor, known as “Mujahedeen Khalgh” or just MEK, is a Marxist Iranian opposition group that claims to be the government in exile. It is known as the cult of Rajavi and feels it has the upper hand with the unlimited support of many current and former US and European officials and funds, but with zero support of the Iranian people from the inside.

Personal note

The Iranian opposition groups abroad have one thing in common, they agree that the situation in Iran is dire indeed. Anyone who believes that sane rational people on both sides are engaged in brinkmanship to secure the best advantage, but would eventually work out a compromise, is deluding himself. In some cases, time works as a healer and even as a solution to thorny problems. Yet, this problem will not go away, and time would only make the cataclysmic clash more likely and deadly.

Iranians, by tradition and temperaments, are activists in the true sense of the word. We have always taken an active interest in any community in which we live. You can observe that in the United States as well where Iranian-Americans run for office and participate actively at all levels of civic and political life. We are not inclined to be spectators of life since we had to be active participants in order to survive in the hostile environment of our neighborhood.

I never had the privilege of meeting Prince Pahlavi in person, but after forty-four years of crusading, his maturity, knowledge, charisma and full understanding of the current events in Iran are quite impressive and noticeable. He has become quite articulate politician. Whether we like it or not, Prince Pahlavi is the only asset that can unite Iranians in order to topple the Islamic Republic from power.

Undeniably, Prince Pahlavi is very popular among the Iranian people (young and old), and recent protesters on numerous occasions have been chanting his name to return home and “Make Iran Great Again.”

Prince Pahlavi’s calm temperament and demeanor make him an ideal catalyst among different opposition groups.

Question to opposition groups: What are you afraid of? It is either now or never. It is freedom and democracy-seeking secular Iranians who are thoroughly capable of dislodging the tyrannical Mullahs. They will eventually accomplish this task with or without any help from the outside, yet, it would be expedient to give these valiant fighters a hand so that future generations can recall this generation of expatriate Iranians as trailblazers who had the courage to break from the bleak past and launch a bright future.

Conclusion 

Great opportunities don’t come every day — recognize and seize them with every chance you get. If we fail to take action with this golden opportunity now, future historians will ask: how could the entire group have seen it coming and done nothing about it? What kind of drugs were these people on?

©2023 Amil Imani. All rights reserved.