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The Iranian regime, facing unprecedented crises and weakened stability, is increasingly turning to propaganda tactics to project strength. According to an April 5 report by the state-run Vatan-e Emrooz newspaper, the regime is exploiting the spectacle of infighting among various diaspora-based groups it labels as ‘opposition,’ particularly those associated with monarchism, to reinforce its own narrative of disunity and incompetence among adversaries.
The Vatan-e Emrooz report highlights the alleged failure of Reza Pahlavi’s efforts to unify those groups he claims to lead through the “Solidarity Charter” signed in 2022. The article claims that the initiative was nothing but a superficial attempt to secure Western funding by presenting a coalition of incompatible factions. As the newspaper states, “Now, long after the end of this superficial solidarity and the scattering of its members, the confrontation between the opposition groups has reached a point where they openly publish documents against each other and shamelessly shout about their own profiteering.”
The newspaper emphasizes Pahlavi’s failure, stating, “Pahlavi’s insistence on a leadership role has only served to deepen ideological rifts.” It alleges that monarchist groups, particularly those aligned with Reza Pahlavi, are responsible for increasing fragmentation. Vatan-e Emrooz highlights that monarchists “played a significant role in fueling conflicts between opposition groups.”
The #Iranian Regime’s Calculated Use of Monarchists: A Political Decoyhttps://t.co/yBZ1QJSnHd
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 2, 2025
Moreover, the regime is deliberately using Reza Pahlavi’s lack of legitimacy as a weapon. The clerical dictatorship recognizes that Pahlavi’s credibility rests solely on his connection to his father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a dictator toppled by millions of Iranians in 1979, and his grandfather, Reza Shah, who was installed and later removed by the British Empire. With such a tarnished legacy, Reza Pahlavi holds no genuine standing inside Iran. By artificially promoting him and his hollow claims of leadership, the regime seeks to create the illusion of a following where none truly exists.
This tactic of inflating Pahlavi’s relevance serves to divide and conquer, splitting opposition energies between futile monarchist pursuits and more credible resistance efforts.
As stated in an older Vatan-e Emrooz article from February 1, 2025, “A weak and rootless movement like monarchism can actually help the survival of the Islamic Republic. This is the service the royal family provides to the Iranian people.” This admission by the regime reveals its deliberate strategy of promoting hollow figures like Reza Pahlavi to dilute any genuine opposition.
Ambassador @LBJunior slams Reza Pahlavi and Iranian monarchists for treacherous strategies and their rooting for engagement with the #IRGCterrorists on "The Untold Story" podcast.#FreeIran2024 pic.twitter.com/HOe3ZTaARM
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 22, 2024
By leveraging these divisions, the clerical regime seeks to portray itself as the only viable ruling power while discrediting diaspora factions it labels as “opposition” as unorganized and self-interested. The Vatan-e Emrooz article concludes, “This infighting has rendered the opposition completely ineffective. Whether intentional or unintentional, Pahlavi and the monarchists have only served the interests of Iran and the Islamic Republic. By creating divisions and weakening unity, they have paved the way for the failure of the regime change idea and turned it into a circus.”
For the clerical regime, a divided, ineffective opposition is more than just an accident—it is a carefully cultivated tactic to prolong its own survival. As the February 1 article from Vatan-e Emrooz admitted, “A weak rival is always a blessing for governments.”