Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s former crown prince, says he is prepared to return as a unifying figure amid ongoing anti-government protests.
PARIS: Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince of Iran, has become a prominent rallying figure in protests shaking the Islamic republic.
The US-based 65-year-old has urged nightly protest actions in video messages, with chants of “Pahlavi will come back!” heard at demonstrations.
In a recent interview, Pahlavi said he was “prepared to return to Iran at the first possible opportunity”.
He has not set foot in Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted his father, ending millennia of monarchy.
Policy director Jason Brodsky noted Pahlavi’s “ability to turn out Iranians in the streets” during the latest protest wave.
“There is a nostalgia for the Pahlavi era that has been building for some time,” Brodsky added.
Analyst Clement Therme described Pahlavi as the “main popular opposition figure” within and outside Iran.
Pahlavi has always insisted he does not intend to be crowned king but is ready to lead a democratic transition.
He remains a polarising figure, even within Iran’s divided opposition.
He has never distanced himself from his father’s autocratic rule, enforced by the SAVAK secret police.
An attempt to unify the opposition in 2023 ended acrimoniously after Pahlavi’s uncoordinated visit to Israel.
Pro-Pahlavi social media accounts have energetically attacked other opposition figures, including supporters of imprisoned Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi.
Lecturer Arash Azizi said Pahlavi’s supporters “are still a minority in a highly divided country”.
“Most of his camp in recent years have helped alienate others and actively oppose them,” Azizi noted.
Pahlavi has yet to win international recognition as an alternative leader for Iran.
US President Donald Trump recently said it would not be “appropriate” to meet him.
Pahlavi has endured family tragedy, including the deaths of his sister Leila in 2001 and brother Ali Reza in 2011.
“The end of the regime is near… this is our Berlin Wall moment,” he told AFP in Paris.
“I am stepping in to lead this transition. I don’t believe I need a title to play that role.”
