“Dear President, (…) the people will be on the streets again, I ask you for help. Please be ready to intervene to help the Iranian people. » Behind this solemn message addressed to Donald Trump: Reza Pahlavi, crown prince of Iran. For several days, in the streets of the Persian nation, slogans evoking the last Shah, such as “Javid Shah, Long live the Shah! » Or “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return,” resurface. From the United States, where he lives, the latter’s son calls on the Iranians to overthrow the mullahs’ regime.
Support for the “Woman, Life, Liberty” movement
At 64, Reza Pahlavi has lived in exile since the Iranian revolution of 1979. After briefly training as a fighter pilot in the United States, he joined his family in Morocco, before moving to Maryland where he now resides with his wife and daughters. Until now, he has never set foot on his native land. Which does not prevent him from doing everything to influence Iranian political life… and to prepare his return to the Persian throne.
After decades punctuated by relative silence, it was in 2013 that Reza Pahlavi came out of the woods. He founded the Iranian National Council, an organization that advocates for democratic elections in Iran. In 2024, he actively supports the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, bloodily repressed by the forces of the Islamic regime. Alongside other opposition figures, such as the Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi or the journalist Masih Alinejad, he proposes to form a united front against the mullahs. His supporters are launching a vast online petition accompanied by the message “Prince Reza Pahlavi is my representative”.
“This is your last chance to rally around the nation and dissociate your destiny from that of the Islamic Republic”
The crown prince will then tour the chancelleries in search of support. In Israel, he was warmly welcomed by Benjamin Netanyahu, who would become one of his most loyal supporters. During the Jewish State’s military operation against Iran in June 2025, Reza Pahlavi does not hesitate to qualify the bombings “opportunity”, while his wife claims that Iranians are ” behind “ the Israelis.
A dictator father
Since the recent protests in Iran, Reza Pahlavi’s popularity and media prominence have never been stronger. During his last intervention, this Wednesday, the crown prince posed in front of the Iranian flag before the Islamic revolution in a suit and tie. “This is your last chance to rally around the nation and dissociate your destiny from that of the Islamic Republic, a sinking ship,” said to the Iranian police officers the one who seems to be impatiently awaiting his return.
The prince prepared a “plan for the future of Iran” and is optimistic about the fall of the mullahs. A fervent supporter of Donald Trump, Reza Pahlavi does not, however, benefit from the support of the American president. “I’ve observed him, he seems like a nice person, but I’m not sure it’s appropriate to meet him as president,” declared the tenant of the White House about him at the beginning of the week. The heir to the shah dynasty is also not unanimous in Iran: his father was a highly unpopular dictator, whose abuses led – in part – to his fall.
