Iran’s opposition struggles to unite

Despite repeated outbreaks of nationwide protests stretching back decades, Iran’s opposition to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s theocracy remains fragmented among rival groups and ideological factions

Reza Pahlavi
Son of Iran’s last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who fled country in 1979 during Islamic Revolution

Based in U.S., Reza Pahlavi calls for regime change through non-violent civil disobedience, sustained protests and referendum on future system of government

Popular among parts of Iranian diaspora, but level of support inside Iran remains uncertain

Maryam Rajavi
Exiled leader of of People’s Mujahedin of Iran, known by Persian name Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK)

MEK helped overthrow shah but later broke with ruling clerics and sided with Iraq during Iran-Iraq war in 1980s

MEK now advocates secular, democratic Iran, but analysts say it has minimal popular support inside country

Ethnic minorities
Iran’s mostly Sunni Muslim Kurdish and Baluch minorities have long resisted rule from Persian-speaking, Shia-led government in Tehran

Kurdish regions in western Iran have seen periodic insurgencies. In eastern Baluchistan, opposition ranges from Sunni clerics seeking greater autonomy to armed jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda

Tehran
IRAN
Caspian Sea
Persian Gulf
IRAQ
TURKMENISTAN
AFGH.
PAK.
KUWAIT
SAUDI ARABIA
Zahedan
Sanandaj
125 miles
200km

Iran’s ethnic map (boundaries approximate)
Persian
Azeri
Kurd
Arab
Lur
Baloch
Others or sparsely populated

Sources: Reuters, CIA / Library of Congress
Pictures: Getty Images
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