How to Recognize and Expose Fake Iranian Opposition and Reformists

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As Iranians have taken over the streets, calls for death of the ayatollahs and the “Supreme Leader” echo alongside calls for Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi to return.

After 47 years, Iranians have had enough of the suffering and are demanding a change. The Islamic Republic has been brutal, destroying Iran and its potential in the world. Those who remember 1979 are having buyer’s remorse. Those whose protests then mistakenly ushered in the ayatollahs and their Islamic extremism regret being deceived and vowing not to be deceived again. That’s why, across the board, Iranians are praying for the return of the monarchy, the system of government under which Iran, and Persia before that, existed for centuries.

We need to pray that this time the protests will be successful, that no more Iranian civilians are murdered, and that Iran will be free. We need to pray that Iran will not be further hijacked by other Islamists and fake reformists whose ultimate goals to control and subjugate Iran are no different. We also need to put action into our prayers.

As Iranians take their lives and future into their hands, it’s enraging to see the way people in the West allow themselves to be fooled. As a proud American, I am particularly worried for my adoptive country that has given me the freedoms for which Iranians yearn. In order to realize their freedom, one of the most urgent things that must be done is exposing the fake Iranian opposition and reformists. There are many.

I see countless political, civic, and religious leaders allowing themselves to be fooled. Some are people I admire and who may have the best of intentions. But they need to be careful who they connect to and support, if only through naively posting pictures together. I understand that my experience, being born in Iran as a woman already with half the value as a man, and the endless misogyny and brutality I experienced gives me a perspective others cannot have. I understand that almost nobody can understand my being arrested and sentenced to death for my Christian faith, spending nine months on death row in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison gives me a sad but unique and very real understanding of the brutality of the evil Islamic regime.

Nevertheless, I don’t understand why American and Western leaders and media are not more careful to understand the agendas of anyone they may come across who they might think is actually preaching good for Iran. Would our elected leaders be so stupid to sit with and support a dangerous pedophile with whom they might share one or more policy positions? Would the media platform someone who overtly speaks out against the very values of Western society just to get a sound bite from an “expert?”

In order for our leaders and media to stop giving platforms to and supporting the fake opposition and reformists, it’s necessary to understand who these entities and leaders are, and how we can recognize and expose them.

First, it’s essential to know that the two prominent political groups ruling Iran - hardliners and reformists - are simply opposite sides of the same coin. “Reformists” play the role of good cop to the hardliner’s bad cop. But the truth is that there are no real “reformists” in the Islamic Republic’s power structure who can, or will, bring any change. “Reformists” are (s)elected to power only with the approval of the “Supreme Leader.” He turns on and off the faucet of perceived reforms to try to deceive the world that there are free elections, or that reforms will ever take place. It’s all a lie.

As much as there is no true opposition in any position of power or influence inside Iran except on the streets as we witness the people expressing their will today, outside Iran there are many who want you to think that they are the opposition. It’s necessary to understand who these groups and people are, and what distinguishes them as fake opposition and reformists.

One prominent fake opposition group outside Iran is the National Council of Resistance of Iran, NCRI, also known as Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). In 1979, they opposed Shah Mohamad Reza Pahlavi and supported the Muslim extremist Ayatollah Khomeini. MEK supported Khomeini’s massive purge and killing of Iranians as they consolidated power and controlled through fear, intimidation, and mandating strict Islamic extremism.

Because of disagreements over sharing power, something Islamist tyrants will never do, MEK leaders were forced to flee Iran and created an armed opposition army against the Islamic regime. NCRI/MEK shares part of the same radical Islamic ideology as the regime, but mixes their Islamic extremism with Marxism.

NCRI/MEK will have you believe that they are for a free Iran, but all they want to do is oppress Iranians under a different brand. Their goal to overthrow the current Islamic regime is not a recipe for freedom, but for disaster under a different hijab.

It's noteworthy and horrific that in the 1980s, during the bloody Iran-Iraq war, MEK joined Saddam Hussein in killing innocent Iranian civilians, something they considered a legitimate means to an end, to attempt to unseat Khomeini. With the blood of tens of thousands of Iranians on their hands, Iranians know that MEK is only out for its own interests, not for the well-being of the Iranian people.

MEK also has the blood of many Americans on their hands through the assassination of US military personnel and contractors throughout the 1970s. In 1997, the US State Department designated MEK as a terrorist organization. The European Union put MEK on its terrorist list in 2002. Unconceivably, despite countless horrible videos and documentation of their crimes, the EU and the US removed the MEK from their list of terrorist organizations in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Iranians know the truth and express this widely using #MEKterrorists.

Iranians hate MEK and other such fake opposition and reformist groups because of their treason. They have no public support inside Iran. This is widely documented. Today, when Iranians say they prefer the ayatollahs to the MEK, it does not mean the ayatollahs are better, but to show their level of their contempt for the MEK.

NCRI/MEK is one of the most influential fake opposition and reformist groups. It was true before the current protests, and has become even more clear since: the only real opposition that the majority of Iranians support is Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi whose name Iranians are bravely chanting throughout the streets of Iran, and across all social media platforms, for whose dynasty they hope to restore.

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Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Naruedom

Marziyeh Amirizadeh is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity.   She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation. She is author of two books (the latest, A Love Journey with God), public speaker, and columnist. She has shared her inspiring story throughout the United States and around the world to bring awareness about the ongoing human rights violations and persecution of women and religious minorities in Iran, www.MarzisJourney.com.

Marzi also is the founder and president of NEW PERSIA whose mission is to be the voice of persecuted Christians and oppressed women under Islam, expose the lies of the Iranian Islamic regime, and restore the relationships between Persians, Jews, and Christians. www.NewPersia.org