Exiled Shah’s Son Pushes to Lead Iran Protests

As widespread anti-government demonstrations grip Iran, fueled by economic despair and resentment towards the clerical regime’s repressive policies, a figure from the nation’s pre-revolutionary past has sought to galvanize the opposition from afar.

Reza Pahlavi, the 65-year-old exiled son of the last Shah of Iran, has leveraged social media to deliver impassioned messages from his home in the United States, praising protesters and explicitly calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic while presenting himself as ready to lead a transition to a secular democracy.

His support within Iran is complex and difficult to quantify, with some verified social media videos showing chants of “Long live the shah” amidst the crowds, though many protesters’ slogans remain focused on general discontent with Supreme Leader Khamenei and the crippled economy rather than royalist restoration.

Having lived in exile since before the 1979 revolution that ousted his father, Pahlavi has cultivated a dedicated following within the global Iranian diaspora through decades of activism, including a symbolically significant 2023 visit to Israel, a key adversary of the current Iranian government.

However, despite this profile and the ongoing unrest, he has failed to gain formal recognition or backing from Western governments like the United States, which remain wary of endorsing a monarchist figure, leaving his practical political influence and role in Iran’s future an open and contentious question.