For more than four decades, the Islamic Republic has confronted a persistent challenge that it has never been able to eliminate: an organized resistance committed to ending clerical rule and establishing a democratic alternative in Iran.

This distinction is increasingly important as Iran experiences repeated waves of popular unrest. The protests of 2009, 2017-18, 2019, 2022, and particularly 2026, demonstrated the depth of public anger toward the regime. But they also raised a critical question for anyone assessing Iran’s future: What happens when spontaneous public anger encounters a government prepared to use overwhelming force?

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The answer depends in part on organization.

THE HANGING OF AN IRANIAN ACTIVIST EXPOSES A REGIME AT THE END OF ITS ROPE

The Iranian opposition is often portrayed abroad as a collection of dissidents, activists, and diaspora groups. That description overlooks a significant reality: There is an organized resistance operating inside Iran, with networks capable of surviving one of the most repressive security systems in the world, and even growing.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran is a coalition of democratic opposition groups and individuals. Its principal and largest constituent organization is the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. The distinction matters because the Resistance Units operating inside Iran are affiliated with the PMOI/MEK.

These resistance units are not simply another name for street protesters. They are part of an........

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