Reza Pahlavi
 Reza Pahlavi     ( politician) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 31 October 1960 Tehran, Iran |
| Nationality | • US • Iranian? |
| Alma mater | • Williams College • American University in Cairo • University of Southern California |
| Religion |  Shia Islam |
| Parents |  Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
| Spouse | Yasmine Etemad-Amini |
Reza Pahlavi is an Iranian politician and dissident living in exile in the United States. He is the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran and is one of the mainstream[Meaning what?] figures of the Iranian opposition to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In 1979, his father was overthrown and the monarchy was abolished in the wake of the Iranian Revolution led by Ruhollah Khomeini. In 1980, following the death of his father in exile in Cairo, Egypt, Reza Pahlavi declared himself Shah of Iran, styling himself "Reza Shah II".
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Education
Pahlavi began studies at Williams College in September 1979, but dropped out in 1980. He then enrolled at The American University in Cairo as a political science student, but his attendance was irregular. In 1981, it was reported that he had dropped out of the program and continued his studies privately with Iranian professors, with a focus on Persian culture and history, philosophy, and oil in Iran.
Pahlavi obtained a BSc in political science by correspondence from the University of Southern California in 1985. He is fluent in English and French in addition to his native Persian.[1]
Return from exile?
In a November 2018 interview with the London-based Iran International TV, Reza Shah was asked: “Will you run the risk of returning to Iran?” Pahlavi responded:
“It’s not about risk but duty. However, one must, as the saying goes, act rationally. The conditions must be present. We do not act in a suicidal but in a rational manner. We must take into consideration the emotional dimension by listening to our heart but we also have a brain and should put our faculty of reason to good use. It is a combination of both.”[2]
Losing support
On 3 July 2025, in an article entitled "After backing Israel, Iran’s self-styled crown prince loses support", Al Jazeera reported:
Hours before a ceasefire took effect between Israel and Iran on June 24, the son of Iran’s last shah, Reza Pahlavi, held a televised news conference in the French capital, Paris.
Dressed in a grey suit and blue tie with his hair combed back, the 64-year-old exiled (and self-styled) crown prince of the monarchy that Iranians overthrew in 1979 urged the United States not to give Iran’s government a “lifeline” by restarting diplomatic talks on its nuclear programme.
Pahlavi insisted that Iran’s Islamic Republic was collapsing. “This is our Berlin Wall moment,” he said, calling for ordinary Iranians to seize the opportunity afforded by Israel’s war and take to the streets, and for defections from the military and security forces.
But the mass protests Pahlavi encouraged never materialised.
Instead, many Iranians – including those opposed to the government – rallied around the flag in a moment of attack by a foreign force. It appears that Pahlavi, who said in his Paris speech that he was ready to replace Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and lead Iranians down a “road of peace and democratic transition”, had misread the room.
While he was willing to align with Israel in achieving what he perceives to be the greater goal of overthrowing the Islamic Republic, the majority of his compatriots were not.
If anything, Pahlavi may have squandered the little support he once had by choosing not to condemn Israel’s heavy bombardment of Iran, which killed more than 935 people, including many civilians, said Trita Parsi, an expert on Iran and the author of "Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States".
“He has – in my estimation – destroyed much of the brand name [of the shah] … by going on TV and making excuses for Israel when it was targeting our apartment buildings and killing civilians,” he told Al Jazeera.[3]
Friend of Netanyahu
On 14 January 2026, Ishmahil Blagrove posted on Facebook:
This is Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran who fled the country in 1979.
We are told by the Western media to believe that the Iranian people are calling for this man to lead the country. A man who is a friend of Benjamin Netanyahu and supports Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
It is not dissimilar to Ahmed Chalabi, who left Iraq in 1958 aged 14 years-old, grew up in the United States, became a CIA asset and then returned to Iraq 45 years later in 2003 as the US candidate to take over the country after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
The Western media headlines that we see today for Reza Pahlavi were the same for Chalabi - conditioning the Western audience for the installation of a Western puppet.[4]
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munich Security Conference/2026 | 13 February 2026 | 15 February 2026 | Germany Munich Bavaria | The 2026 Munich Security Conference had as theme "Under destruction". The solution is - as always - more spending on weapons |
References
This page imported content from Wikipedia on 11 January 2026.Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks. Original page source here
