New Delhi, March 1 -- Public tensions have surfaced between the exiled son of Iran's last shah and a coalition of Kurdish Iran dissident groups in recent days.

The frictions have highlighted cracks in the Iranian opposition in the wake of mass anti-government protests and a brutal crackdown and as the country faces a potential war if negotiations with the U.S. to reach a nuclear deal fail.

On Sunday, five Kurdish groups announced the formation of the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan. The group said in a statement that it aims to "struggle for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to achieve the Kurdish people's right to self-determination, and to establish a national and democratic entity based on the politica...