How did the National Front participate in opposition to the shah?

During the 1970s, the National Front—a coalition of nationalists, clerics, and noncommunist left-wing parties—was largely marginalized or outlawed by the shah’s regime, which maintained minimal outlets for political participation.1

Despite this repression, the National Front joined with the ulama and other groups, such as the Tūdeh Party, to form a broad opposition movement against the shah. Secular intellectuals within these circles, who had previously sought to limit the power of the religious establishment, shifted their strategy to align with the Shiʿi clergy, believing that a unified front could successfully overthrow the monarchy.1

By 1978, as protests against the regime intensified, these opposition efforts became increasingly subsumed under the influence of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Following the shah's departure in 1979, the prime minister appointed by the monarch, Shahpur Bakhtiar, was unable to reach a compromise with his former colleagues in the National Front or with Khomeini, ultimately leading to the collapse of the regime.123