As airstrikes rain down on the Iranian regime, can a fractured opposition unite to lead if it falls?

As U.S. and Israeli aerial forces proceed to onslaught Iran’s enactment and facilities with devastating subject strikes, determination are aggravated discussions unfolding connected who volition regularisation the state if the authorities falls.

One of the biggest questions being asked by Iran experts is whether the fragmented absorption groups tin travel unneurotic and unite successful defeating the regime.

Lawdan Bazargan, an Iranian governmental and quality rights activistic who was imprisoned by the authorities for her dissident activities successful the 1980s, told Fox News Digital that determination is simply a unsafe precedent for a full unified opposition. "Unity cannot mean everyone stands nether my flag."

A wide presumption of Tehran with fume disposable successful the region aft explosions were reported successful the city, connected March 2, 2026 successful Tehran, Iran. (Contributor/Getty Images)

She said, "That exemplary failed Iran erstwhile before. In 1979, 1 fig [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] absorbed motivation authorization portion claiming helium wasn’t seeking bureau and ended up consolidating implicit power. It’s besides not just to automatically presumption idiosyncratic who has not lived successful Iran for decades arsenic the interim authorization of implicit 90 cardinal people. That fuels much mistrust, not less."

She besides warned astir the request to debar a Venezuela concern wherever Nicolás Maduro was replaced by his devotee Delcy Rodríguez.

Mariam Memarsadeghi, a elder chap astatine Macdonald-Laurier Institute and laminitis and manager of the Cyrus Forum for Iran's Future, told Fox News Digital that "When it comes to helping unite absorption forces, the crown prince [Reza Pahlavi] has the astir work due to the fact that helium is leading. It is to everyone’s vantage for him to physique existent alliances and existent cooperation."

She added,"He tin commencement done reconciliation with salient figures who erstwhile were successful collaboration with him, earlier spoilers successful his ain ranks were propelled by authorities manipulation and infiltration to crook connected others. It volition beryllium tempting to deliberation that, due to the fact that helium is popular, helium does not request others. But determination is overmuch hard enactment ahead."

IRAN'S SENIOR CLERICS ‘EXPOSED’ AFTER BUILDING STRIKE IN QOM, SUCCESSION CHOICE LOOMS

Exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi speaks during a quality league connected Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, successful Washington, D.C.  (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Reza Farnood, a researcher, writer and activist, told Fox News Digital "In 48 years of activism and struggle, I person ne'er experienced specified wide unity and alignment. Even those who for years held firmly leftist views and were staunch opponents of the Shah and the Pahlavi household are present openly supporting the prince. Inside Iran, radical are openly and courageously chanting his name," helium claimed.

Yet others stay skeptical of Pahlavi. Alireza Nader, an Iran expert, said: "Unfortunately, the Iranian absorption is much divided than ever. And I blasted overmuch of it connected Reza Pahlavi and his team. Take the announcement of the enactment of the caller Kurdish Iranian coalition. Pahlavi attacked the conjugation arsenic soon arsenic it was formed, labeling them arsenic ‘separatists'… But past Pahlavi had to locomotion backmost his connection aft helium recovered retired that President Trump had called Kurdish leaders, an important development."

Cars pain successful a thoroughfare during a protestation implicit the illness of the currency’s worth successful Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

Nader said, "The Kurds are precise organized and capable. And they are armed. Anyone who wants to escaped Iran has to enactment with them. The authorities is simply a profoundly entrenched strategy successful Iran. It’s an ideology and content strategy that volition not beryllium uprooted with aerial strikes. And the authorities has been preparing for this infinitesimal for decades. The idiosyncratic leaders whitethorn not substance arsenic overmuch arsenic the system."

FIREBRAND ANTI-AMERICAN CLERIC ALIREZA ARAFI SEEN AS CONTENDER TO REPLACE IRAN’S KHAMENEI

Yet portion galore voices assertion Pahlavi should beryllium the rightful successor to bring ideology to Iran, others constituent to the influential Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), the Iranian exile enactment that has attracted supporters similar erstwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and erstwhile New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets Maryam Rajavi astatine Ashraf-3 – May 16, 2022, successful Albania. (NCRI)

The radical was reportedly the archetypal to item Iran’s atomic weapons ambitions and regularly posts videos connected its societal media showing its progressive units operating against the regime. A station connected X dated March 3 shows attacks against authorities targets: "Resistance Units measurement up anti-regime activities nationwide," it said, adding that determination person been 30 operations successful 15 cities, including Tehran, successful the past days.

IRANIAN JOURNALIST URGES TRUMP TO 'FINISH THE JOB,' SAYS IRANIANS FEAR 'WOUNDED REGIME'

Its Paris-based leader, Maryam Rajavi, says she supports a secular provisional government. Ali Safavi, an authoritative with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital, the enactment "has consistently argued that unity indispensable beryllium built connected principles — republicanism, fashionable sovereignty, quality rights and the separation of religion and authorities — alternatively than connected personalities oregon nostalgia for past systems."

The NCRI is the umbrella enactment for groups that autumn nether the rubric of MEK.

Andrew Ghalili, the argumentation manager for the National Union for Democracy successful Iran (NUFDI), defended Pahlavi's standing: "There is nary fig wrong the Islamic Republic who has legitimacy with the Iranian radical oregon who would beryllium a credible spouse for the U.S."

TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S SUCCESSION BENCH WIPED OUT AS ISRAELI STRIKE HITS LEADERSHIP DELIBERATIONS

He added, "As for absorption unity, the pro-democracy absorption is much agreed than it gets recognition for. At the Munich Security Conference successful 2025, a wide conjugation came unneurotic astir Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and 4 halfway principles for antiauthoritarian transition. That includes monarchists, republicans, quality rights advocates, taste number representatives — each committed to a democratic, territorially intact Iran."

On Jan 10, 2026, successful Madrid, Spain, members of the Iranian assemblage stitchery astatine Plaza de Cibeles for a objection successful enactment of the anti-regime protests. (Francesco Militello Mirto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Ghalili claimed, "When radical accidental the absorption is ‘fractured,’ they're usually lumping successful groups similar the MEK, which is universally reviled wrong Iran and has nary antiauthoritarian credentials oregon aspirations, oregon separatist movements that don't bespeak what Iranians, including taste minorities, really want. The existent pro-democracy absorption is already uniting. The world, and planetary media, should admit it."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Bazargan warned that "If the West genuinely wants stableness and not a Venezuela-style managed authoritarian transition, it should not anoint personalities. It should propulsion for a structured modulation that guarantees escaped and just elections wrong 12 months, with distributed authorization and existent safeguards against attraction of power. Iran does not request different ultimate figure, adjacent a secular one. It needs an accountable transitional model truthful each Iranian feels they person a involvement successful their future. Without that, fragmentation volition continue, and fragmentation lone helps the authorities survive."

Her informing was echoed by Memarsadeghi, who said, "The Iranian radical volition not spot successful immoderate process that leaves successful powerfulness immoderate vestige of the authorities that massacred them."

Related Article