Middle East and North Africa

When the Iran Freedom Congress (IFC), a bold new diaspora opposition venture, convened in late March for its two-day inaugural event in London, expectations and spirits were high. One by one, a remarkably diverse array of Iranian émigrés—from leftists to constitutional monarchists to feminist activists—took the stage to lay out their vision for a future Iran. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran had brought renewed urgency to forming a viable, organized opposition, and there was a sense among those gathered that they could surmount their long, bitter differences.

As the conference’s programming wrapped up on the second day and former political rivals were exchanging mobile numbers in hopes of solidifying their newfound connections, an urgent announcement cut through the hopeful atmosphere. An angry mob of monarchists, backers of former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, had surrounded the building, screaming at and even assaulting those attempting to exit. Attendees were trapped inside the historic Church House Westminster building for an hour, waiting for the Metropolitan Police to ensure security and escort them out through the back door.

When the Iran Freedom Congress (IFC), a bold new diaspora opposition venture, convened in late March for its two-day inaugural event in London, expectations and spirits were high. One by one, a remarkably diverse array of Iranian émigrés—from leftists to constitutional monarchists to feminist activists—took the stage to lay out their vision for a future Iran. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran had brought renewed urgency to forming a viable, organized opposition, and there was a sense among those gathered that they could surmount their long, bitter differences.

As the conference’s programming wrapped up on the second day and former political rivals were exchanging mobile numbers in hopes of solidifying their newfound connections, an urgent announcement cut through the hopeful atmosphere. An angry mob of monarchists, backers of former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, had surrounded the building, screaming at and even assaulting those attempting to exit. Attendees were trapped inside the historic Church House Westminster building for an hour, waiting for the Metropolitan Police to ensure security and escort them out through the back door.

“It was surreal that while meeting in the middle of London, just by the palace, you have to escape from some lunatics,” said Majid Zamani, executive manager of the fledgling venture. “That’s somehow the story of Iranian politics, basically.”

Protesters wave the Lion and Sun flag during a rally in support of exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi in London on March 29. Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The melee outside was a stark reminder of the long road ahead for the IFC in its bid to represent the diverse, fractious opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran. U.S. and Israeli leaders have both declared regime change as the endgame of their war, a prospect that now looks unlikely but that nevertheless thrusts the diaspora opposition into the limelight: as policy whisperers to Western governments, as the voice of repressed Iranians inside the country, and at times as representatives of Iran on the world stage.

The monarchist faction has battled rivals in the diaspora for years, targeting moderate anti-war activists, policy analysts, and journalists it accuses of collusion with the regime. It has waged that campaign through social media harassment and pro-Pahlavi news outlets such as the London-based television network Iran International.

But since Iran’s early January uprising and the subsequent war, the Pahlavists have become more confrontational and thuggish. The same month that monarchists crashed the IFC, the anti-Islamic Republic activist Masood Masjoody was murdered in Canada by two followers of Pahlavi, apparently for his outspoken criticism of the son of Iran’s last shah. Monarchist demonstrations in European and U.S. cities have become increasingly militaristic, with Pahlavists dressing in fatigues and brandishing the flags of SAVAK, the shah’s notorious secret police, in Germany’s Regensburg earlier in May.

A demonstrator in army fatigues attends a protest in support of Pahlavi in London on May 3. Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Whether the war flares up again or not, it has become clear to many in the diaspora that Iran needs a kinder, gentler, and more........

© Foreign Policy