Exiled Crown Prince at centre of Iranian protests

Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has found himself at the centre of the protests sweeping across the Middle Eastern country.

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, 65, has been in exile for over 40 years, since his father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s overthrow during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Although he resides in the United States, the Crown Prince has been a vocal critic of the authoritarian regime of Ayatollah Khamenei and has encouraged Iranians to rise up against the repressive government.  

As demonstrations have continued to spread across Iran, protestors have been heard chanting in support of the man who, in a different world, would be the current monarch. Many shared videos of Iranians chanting, “Long live the Shah”, and photos of people waving Iran’s flag under the Pahlavi dynasty. Messages of support for the Iranian royals have been painted on billboards and walls throughout the nation.

This came after he called on Iranians to take to the streets on 8 January, on what became a massive escalation of the protests. Internet access was cut by the regime during the demonstrations, and at least 62 people were killed.

After US President Trump showed his support for the protestors and threatened to step in if the regime killed them, the Ayatollah took to social media to blast Trump and the late Shah, saying, “The US President who judges arrogantly about the whole world should know that tyrants & arrogant rulers of the world, such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Mohammad Reza [Pahlavi] & other such rulers saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris. He too will [sic] fall.”

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has called on Trump to “be prepared to intervene to help the people of Iran” against the brutal regime.

The exiled royal believes Iran should be secular and democratic. He has also repeatedly said he wants the Iranian people to decide if they want a return to the monarchy or a republic.

The Crown Prince has said, “My role is not to tip the scales in favour of either monarchy or republic. I will remain entirely impartial in the process to help ensure that Iranians finally have the right to choose freely. What unites people today is a rejection of clerical rule, and a demand for a secular, accountable government. And as you see from the chants throughout Iran, they have called on me to lead them there. Yes, many of them support monarchy, and they will have the right to vote for that. So will republicans, for their system.

What I fight for is to guarantee that the people will have the right to choose the form and constitution of the future government through free and fair elections.”

Western governments have shown support for the Iranian opposition. X (formerly known as Twitter) even changed the Iranian flag emoji from the current flag of the regime to the flag with the lion and sun that represented the country under the former monarchy.

While it is not known if the monarchy will be restored and if Reza Pahlavi has enough support to lead the country, the exiled royal is keeping attention on the Middle Eastern nation in hopes that the oppressive regime will finally be overthrown.