Iranian dissidents are composed of scattered groups that reject the current government and by extension the
previous regime, and instead seek the establishment of
democratic institutions.
Notable dissidents
*
Shapour Bakhtiar - the leader of the
National Resistance Movement of Iran
*
Ruhollah Khomeini - exiled in 1964 for opposing the
shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
's rule, he later became the
Supreme Leader of Iran
The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the executive system and judicial system of the Islamic theocratic government and is the co ...
after the
1979 revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
.
*
Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
Reza Pahlavi ( fa, رضا پهلوی; born 31 October 1960) is the oldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, and his wife Farah Diba. Prior to the Iranian Revolution in 1979, he was the crown prince and the last heir apparen ...
- eldest son of the deposed shah
*
Maryam Rajavi
Maryam Rajavi ( fa, مریم رجوی, , fa, مریم قجر عضدانلو) is a leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), an organization advocating for the overthrow of the Iranian government, and president-elect of its National Counc ...
- the wife of Massoud Rajavi, leader of the
People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...
.
*
Massoud Rajavi
Massoud Rajavi ( fa, مسعود رجوی, born 18 August 1948 – disappeared 13 March 2003) became the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) in 1979. In 1985, he married Maryam Rajavi, who became the co-leader of the MEK. After leaving ...
- the leader of the
People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...
.
* And other national groups, secular democrats, monarchists, and Republicans.
References
Dissidents
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...
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