The red-and-black reactionaries: Hostility toward the Pahlavi dynasty - opinion

An opinion piece by Erfan Fard attacks what it calls the 'red-and-black reactionaries' — a triangle of the Islamic regime, the MEK, and Kurdish separatist organizations — for hostility toward the Pahlavi dynasty. Fard accuses these groups of spreading lies about Iran's former king and concealing their alliance with the mullahs in 1979, while detailing historical rivalries among Kurdish leaders.

An opinion piece by Erfan Fard in The Jerusalem Post attacks what it calls the 'red-and-black reactionaries' — a triangle comprising the Islamic regime, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), and Kurdish separatist organizations — for their hostility toward the Pahlavi dynasty. The article was prompted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation awarding its Freedom Prize to the Iranian people, with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi accepting on their behalf. Fard accuses these groups of spreading lies about Iran's former king and concealing their alliance with the mullahs during the 1979 upheaval. The piece details historical rivalries among Kurdish leaders Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, Ahmad Tofiq, and Mustafa Barzani, alleging internal murders, betrayals, and ties to Saddam Hussein and the Soviet Union. Fard claims Kurdish organizations tried to hijack the 2022 protests after Mahsa Amini's murder and have never sought regime change in Tehran. The framing relies on emotionally charged vocabulary without procedural sourcing.