TEHRAN, Iran — In a crackdown that has heightened tensions within Iran's political landscape, authorities arrested several prominent internal critics last month, signaling the regime's growing unease with domestic opposition voices. On January 31, activists Abdollah Momeni, Mehdi Mahmoudian, and Vida Rabbani were detained and transferred to prisons in northern Iran, away from their homes in Tehran. The trio, all former advocates for incremental reform who have since called for a complete overhaul of the Islamic Republic, were released on bail on February 17 after weeks in custody.
The arrests came amid a broader wave of suppression following deadly protests that claimed thousands of lives last month. According to Hassan Asadi Zeydabadi, a lawyer representing Rabbani and Momeni, the detentions were likely motivated by the activists' public demands for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's resignation. "The regime wants to prevent the formation of a national opposition inside the country," Zeydabadi said in an interview.
Mahmoudian, a screenwriter whose work on Jafar Panahi's 2025 Oscar-nominated film It Was Just an Accident drew international spotlight, had recently urged Khamenei to step down in a BBC Persian interview. Joined by imprisoned figures like former Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh and Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, the group advocated for a democratic transition and free elections to form a constituent assembly. Their bold stance appears to have rattled the regime, which views such calls as existential threats.
The sweep extended to reformist leaders as well. On February 8 or 9, Azar Mansouri, head of the Iranian Reformist Front, was arrested along with colleagues Javad Emam and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh. They were held until bail releases on February 13 and 14, accused of "undermining national unity" and "coordinating with enemy propaganda." Mansouri's group had supported President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist who rose to power with their backing, but recent actions suggest even loyal opposition is no longer tolerated.
During the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests, regime officials met with Mansouri to discuss public grievances, but this time, the response was swift detention. A source close to the reformists, speaking anonymously due to fear of reprisal, attributed the arrests to an emerging initiative called the National Assembly for the Salvation of Iran. This short-lived effort aimed to outline demands for fundamental change and had garnered support from various critics, including some reformists.
Anahita Hosseini-Lewis, an Iran expert at Birkbeck, University of London, described the regime's actions as stemming from "acute existential anxiety." She noted that the Islamic Republic has a history of stifling domestically rooted alternatives to maintain control. "The imperative to replace the Islamic Republic has become something close to a consensus across the Iranian opposition," Hosseini-Lewis said, adding that regime operatives are acutely aware of this shift.
While the crackdown targets internal figures, it occurs against the backdrop of a surging royalist movement centered on Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the former shah who left Iran in 1978. Pahlavi's supporters abroad have gained traction, but some domestic activists express skepticism about his leadership. Mohammad Karim Asayesh, a Tehran-based urban activist familiar with Momeni, Mahmoudian, and Rabbani, voiced a preference for these insiders over Pahlavi.
"Unlike Pahlavi, these three have a history of activism inside the country and they've paid a price for it," Asayesh told reporters. "They've harbored an ethical and responsible politics, have remained patriotic. And the fact that they are living in Iran means that they are more attuned to the realities of the Iranian people compared to Pahlavi, who hasn't lived in Iran since he was 18." At 40-something, the arrested activists are also seen as more relatable to Iran's youth than older political figures.
Jafar Panahi, the acclaimed filmmaker who shared time in Tehran's Evin Prison with Mahmoudian, praised the screenwriter's character. "He has already spent nine years of his life behind bars and is 'a rare ethical witness,'" Panahi said, highlighting Mahmoudian's sense of responsibility toward fellow inmates.
Despite their courage, not all view these figures as ready leaders. Hosseini-Lewis cautioned that the former reformists "don't currently function as a viable anti-regime leadership, either individually or collectively." An anonymous Tehran activist echoed this, saying of Momeni, Rabbani, and Mahmoudian: "Their courage is admirable, and they've taken the right positions. But the regime has created mistrust toward everybody, and their reformist pasts limit their prospects."
Iran's opposition remains fragmented, encompassing reformists, republicans, monarchists, and both domestic and exiled elements. Efforts to bridge these divides have faltered, though some advocate for unity. Amir Hossein Ganjbakhsh, a U.S.-based political activist, proposed linking supporters of Pahlavi with those of Mirhossein Mousavi, the house-arrested former prime minister and Green Movement icon who has recently called for democratic transition.
"These two men matter symbolically, as two ends of a spectrum, the two sides of the 1979 revolution," Ganjbakhsh explained. "But the coalition can also include everybody in between. Without losing our historical identities, we can join up together." He suggested even Mansouri's reformist group could participate, given their sympathy for protesters and the repercussions they've faced.
The arrests coincided with delicate U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks, raising questions about internal power plays. Hard-liners may fear that any agreement could empower moderates, prompting a move to consolidate control. Reformist former parliamentarian Mahmoud Sadeghi labeled the detentions a "pseudo-coup" in a post on X, implying a factional purge disguised as security measures.
Reformists still operate within the system as a loyal opposition, pushing boundaries while deferring to Khamenei's authority. Yet, the recent events underscore the regime's jitters, as even gentle critiques draw reprisals. The killings of thousands during last month's protests, followed by these high-profile arrests, paint a picture of a government on edge, determined to quash any unified challenge.
For Iran's opposition, the path forward hinges on overcoming divisions. Domestic voices like Momeni, Mahmoudian, and Rabbani represent a grounded alternative to exiled figures, but mistrust sown by decades of repression complicates alliances. As Hosseini-Lewis observed, the regime's strategy of isolation has pushed many Iranians to look abroad, yet true change may require bridging these worlds.
Looking ahead, the opposition's ability to coalesce could determine its influence amid ongoing diplomatic pressures and internal strife. With figures like Mousavi and Pahlavi symbolizing revolutionary poles, and reformists paying a steep price for dissent, the call for a broad coalition grows louder. Whether arrests like these will galvanize unity or further fracture the movement remains to be seen, but the regime's fear of domestic critics suggests their voices cannot be easily dismissed.