How the Iranian Resistance’s progress and internal defections are cornering a fragile regime

2026-03-23 - 17:40

Following the massive nationwide uprisings of December 2025 and January 2026, the Iranian regime finds itself at a historic impasse. The ruling clerics only managed to maintain their fragile grip on power through the massacre of thousands of protesters. This vulnerability has been compounded by severe inner turmoil following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a February 28 airstrike and the highly contested installation of his son, Mojtaba, on March 9. Amidst this wartime chaos, statements from top regime officials reveal an unprecedented fear of the organized Resistance—the PMOI and its National Liberation Army (NLA)—and mounting panic over mass defections within their own suppressive ranks. Pleading with the ranks: The fear of defection and the loss of the streets On March 22, 2026, Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Supreme Leader’s representative in Mashhad, made a desperate public plea, begging the regime’s suppressive forces to maintain their presence in the streets to prevent further popular uprisings. Revealing the regime’s plummeting morale, Alamolhoda explicitly warned his forces that failing to stay in the streets means they have “resigned” from being “Hezbollahis.” He anxiously questioned whether it is even possible to “turn back” from their allegiance, a clear admission of the regime’s fear that its foot soldiers are abandoning ship. He admitted that these street deployments are the regime’s only defense against the people, stating, “the enemy fears your gatherings more than missiles.” The IRGC’s nightmare: The rise of organized resistance units Just days earlier, on March 19, 2026, Hamidreza Moghaddam-Far, an adviser to the IRGC Commander, gave an interview that highlighted the regime’s absolute panic over the PMOI’s expanding operations. By invoking the PMOI’s powerful history of resistance against the regime in the 1980s, the IRGC adviser inadvertently confessed that the Resistance has successfully evolved into a highly capable, organized force today. Moghaddam-Far pointed specifically to the presence of “suspicious faces” and “masked motorcycle groups” operating cohesively. He described coordinated teams of two or three people—young men and women—moving boldly through the streets in cars and on motorcycles, systematically dismantling the regime’s machinery of repression. A justified panic: The NLA’s expanding operations and regime turmoil The regime’s fears are entirely justified. The localized Resistance Units have evolved into a National Liberation Army (NLA). This was undeniably displayed during the unprecedented February 23 assault on the Motahari Complex, the heavily fortified headquarters of the Supreme Leader in Tehran, where 250 PMOI fighters members breached defenses protected by 8,000 elite personnel. Despite heavily deploying armed personnel and tripling street patrols, the Resistance continues to strike. During the March 15 Fire Festival, PMOI Resistance Units carried out 15 coordinated operations across major cities, and an NLA unit launched a daring assault on the Ahvaz governorate building the following day in response to the brutal torture of inmates. These bold operations are happening precisely as the regime fractures from within. Mojtaba Khamenei’s installation faced significant internal backlash, with over 30 percent of the Assembly of Experts boycotting the vote. Only 44 members supported Mojtaba, who now controls assets exceeding $1 trillion. As the hereditary clerical dictatorship crumbles, the Iranian Resistance offers a clear, democratic alternative through the NCRI’s provisional government and Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan. It is becoming increasingly evident that the only solution to the decades of tyranny and terrorism is regime change by the people and the Resistance of Iran, a strategy that is becoming a reality with every passing day.