Who is Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah exiled in the US who wants to return to Iran?

BarcelonaVideos of the protests in Iran that manage to bypass the internet blackouts imposed by the regime show Many protesters are demanding the return of Reza Pahlavi, The son of the last Shah, the king of Iran who was deposed in the 1979 revolution. From his exile in the United States, Pahlavi has called on Iranians to take to the streets and blockade urban centers, and is positioning himself to lead a transition after 47 years of the Islamic Republic.

Pahlavi, born in 1960 in Tehran, grew up surrounded by luxury and educated by private tutors to inherit the throne. At 17, he was sent to Texas to train as a military pilot, and it was there that he was caught up in the revolution that overthrew his father, who ruled the country with an iron fist with the support of the United States and European powers, who were dividing up the country's oil. The establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran made the prince and his family stateless, surrounded by a circle of loyalists in exile. The young prince continued his life in Washington, where he studied political science, married Yasmine, an Iranian-American lawyer, and had three daughters. He lived with them in a residential neighborhood of Washington, where he was often seen walking the streets without significant security measures.

Supporters and detractors

Pahlavi has always been a powerful symbol for Iranian monarchists, who hail his father's era as a period of modernization and friendship with the West. Conversely, his detractors recall the repression by SAVAK, the Shah's secret police, notorious for all manner of abuses against dissent and the mass imprisonment of opponents. In recent years, Pahlavi has attempted to position himself as an alternative to the Islamic Republic regime, aiming to "finish the mission" of his father, who died of cancer in Egypt.

The Shah's son's popularity within Iran has fluctuated. In 1980, he staged a symbolic coronation ceremony in Cairo, where he proclaimed himself king. This memory, among older generations, undermines the credibility of his current message of democratic reform. The Shah's heir is positioning himself to lead a peaceful transition and says he will submit the restoration of the monarchy to a referendum.

Pahlavi has so far unsuccessfully attempted to sponsor a political opposition within Iran. In the 2017 anti-government protests, which ended in a bloody crackdown, and in those that erupted in 2022 after the murder of young Mahsa Gina Amini by the morality police—which sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom movement—his figure did not play a leading role.

What internal support does he have?

In 2023, he made a controversial visit to Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Twelve-Day War last June, with the coordinated attacks by Israel and the United States against Iran, put Pahlavi in a difficult position. The Shah's son neither supported the aggression nor condemned it, declaring that "anything that weakens the regime" would be welcome by Iranians.

Under the Ayatollahs' regime, which suppresses all dissent, it is difficult to gauge the Shah's son's actual support within the country. He presents himself as a figure of democratization and national reconciliation with US backing, but he has never been able to establish a political force within the country. The cry of "Long live the King!" in the streets reflects a complete rejection of the regime, but it is not clear that a majority of Iranians are willing to replace the Supreme Leader with an unelected monarch after so many decades of struggle against authoritarianism.