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Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran

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Not to be confused with his grandfather Reza Shah.

Reza Pahlavi
Crown Prince of Iran
Pahlavi in 2023
Head of the House of Pahlavi
Tenure31 October 1980[1] – present
PredecessorFarah Diba (as regent in pretence)[1]
Born (1960-10-31) 31 October 1960 (age 64)
Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1986)​
IssueNoor Pahlavi
Iman Pahlavi
Farah Pahlavi
FatherMohammad Reza Pahlavi
MotherFarah Diba
Party
Alma mater
Website
SignatureReza Pahlavi's signature
Styles of
Reza Pahlavi
Reference styleHis Imperial Highness
Spoken styleYour Imperial Highness

Reza Pahlavi (Persian: رضا پهلوی; born 31 October 1960) is the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, and his wife Farah Diba. Before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he was the crown prince and the last heir apparent to the throne of the Imperial State of Iran. Pahlavi resides in Great Falls, Virginia.

Pahlavi is the founder and leader of the self-styled National Council of Iran, an exiled opposition group,[3] participates in the Iranian democracy movement, and is a prominent critic of Iran's Islamic Republic government.

Early life and education

Pahlavi in 1973

Reza Pahlavi was born in Tehran as the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran and Farah Pahlavi, the Shahbanu of Iran. Pahlavi's siblings include his sister Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi (born 1963), brother Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi (1966–2011), and sister Princess Leila Pahlavi (1970–2001), as well as a half-sister, Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi (born 1940).

When he was born, the Shah pardoned 98 political prisoners, and the government declared a 20% reduction in income tax.[4] He studied at the eponymous "Reza Pahlavi School", a private school located in the royal palace and restricted to the imperial family and court associates.[5] He was trained as a pilot; his first solo flight was at the age of 11, and he obtained his license a year later.[6] He was a supporter of Taj Abadan football club.[7]

As a cadet of the Imperial Iranian Air Force, he was sent to the United States in August 1978 to continue his pilot training. He was one of 43 cadet pilots in the one-year pilot training program at the former Reese Air Force Base, TX, which included flying the Cessna T-37 Tweet and Northrop T-38 Talon. As a result of the Iranian Revolution, he left the base in March 1979, about four months earlier than planned.[6][8]

Pahlavi began studies at Williams College in September 1979,[9] but dropped out in 1980.[10] He then enrolled at The American University in Cairo as a political science student, but his attendance was irregular.[11] 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, Islamic philosophy, and oil in Iran.[12]

Pahlavi obtained a BSc degree 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.[9]

Political activities in exile

Reza Pahlavi's swearing in as the new king of Iran on 31 October 1980 at Koubbeh Palace, Cairo

Reza Pahlavi came to Cairo, Egypt, in March 1980 with his family.[1] When his father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ill and in the last weeks of his life, media reported that some monarchist elements had advised the Shah to oust Reza in favor of his younger son Ali Reza (who was 13 at the time) and a regency council, suggesting that Reza's background, training and interest in public affairs were too limited to become his successor. The Shah was understood to have rejected the idea and abdicated himself in favor of one of his two sons.[13] When the Shah died on 27 July 1980, Farah Pahlavi proclaimed herself as the regent, a title in pretense.[1] On his 20th birthday on 31 October, Reza Pahlavi declared himself to be the new king of Iran, Reza Shah II, and the rightful successor to the throne of Pahlavi dynasty.[14] Immediately afterward a spokesman for the United States Department of State, John Trattner, disassociated the U.S. government from Reza Pahlavi by stating that his government did not intend to support him, assuring that they recognized the Iranian government.[15]

During 1981, Pahlavi remained in the Koubbeh Palace and developed close ties to pro-monarchy groups while facing rejection from other opposition groups, including left-wing dissidents.[12] In March, he issued a statement for the Persian New Year. He urged all opponents of the Iranian government to unite behind him and wage a "national resistance". Still, he chose to remain silent and made no reaction when President Abolhassan Banisadr was deposed, and the assassination of tens of officials including Chief Justice Mohammad Beheshti took place in June.[12] In August, Pahlavi announced that he had been secretly planning to overthrow the Iranian government, stating, "So far I have been unwilling to unveil the existence of the concerted plans for I do not wish to jeopardize the lives of some of our best children... many of our actions have been unknown to you, but I want to assure you that the necessary steps are being taken in the best orderly way to save Iran".[16]

In 1982, Yaakov Nimrodi told BBC in a radio interview that along with Adolph Schwimmer and Adnan Khashoggi, he was involved with Pahlavi and Gen. Said Razvani to scheme a coup d'état and install him in Iran.[17] According to Samuel Segev, the plan had the approval of both the CIA and the Israeli cabinet, but it was abandoned when Menachem Begin resigned in 1983 and the new leadership "thought Israel should not be involved in a new adventure".[17]

On 1 May 1986, Pahlavi disclosed that he had recently formed a government-in-exile to establish a constitutional monarchy again in Iran.[18]

On his website, Pahlavi has said that the state of Iran should become democratic and secular, and human rights should be respected. Whether the form of government would be that of a constitutional monarchy or a republic, he would like to leave up to the people of Iran.[19][20]

Pahlavi has used his high profile as an Iranian abroad to campaign for human rights, democracy, and unity among Iranians in and outside Iran.[21] On his website, he calls for a separation of religion and state in Iran and free and fair elections "for all freedom-loving individuals and political ideologies". He exhorts all groups dedicated to a democratic agenda to work together for a democratic and secular Iranian government.[22]

In February 2011, after violence erupted in Tehran, Pahlavi said that Iran's youth were determined to get rid of an authoritarian government tainted by corruption and misrule in the hope of installing a democracy. "Fundamental and necessary change is long overdue for our region, and we have a whole generation of young Egyptians and Iranians not willing to take no for an answer", he told The Daily Telegraph. "Democratization is now imperative that cannot be denied. It is only a matter of time before the whole region can transform itself."[23]

In June 2018, he commented: "I believe Iran must be a secular, parliamentary democracy. The final form has to be decided by the people."[24] In a presentation at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in December 2018, Pahlavi called for the non-military support of those in Iran who were trying to replace the Islamist regime with a secular democracy. According to a news report, he was "not openly calling for the restoration of the Peacock Throne ... He casts himself more as a symbol than a politician, but has called himself 'ready to serve my country'".[25]

During anti-government demonstrations in Iran in 2022 following the Abadan building collapse, Pahlavi predicted that the Islamic regime would collapse in the near future as events such as the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, bans on importing foreign COVID-19 vaccines and tests into the country and rising food prices had led to unnecessary deaths and would provoke further anger at government mismanagement from the population. He also urged members of the Iranian armed forces who oppose the Islamic Republic but work for the government to engage in peaceful disruption and called for a coordinated front against the regime. While acknowledging support from Iranian demonstrators chanting for the return of the monarchy, he also stated, "The most important thing I do in response to the Iranian people's trust is to reinforce their voices. I don't tell them what to do. I'm not a political leader."[26]

In February 2023 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Pahlavi called on the British and European governments to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arguing such a move would be "pulling out the biggest tooth the regime has." In the interview, he also argued his belief that the Islamic Republic was more likely to fall in the near future than it had been in previous decades as Iranian reformists had switched tactics to wanting to completely overthrow the regime as opposed to changing it. He acknowledged many Iranian dissidents wanted him to play a central role in creating a new government but reiterated that he would leave it to the people of Iran on whether to restore the throne and that he would not run for political office if the regime fell. Pahlavi also predicted that the greatest challenge for a new secular, liberal democratic Iran would be the question of controlling the military and seeking justice against officials in the regime. He concluded that higher-ranking members of the Islamic regime would face trials for human rights abuses but lower ranking members could be pardoned to allow reintegration into society, citing the Nuremberg trials in which top Nazi officials were prosecuted while lower ranking members were reintegrated back into Germany, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in South Africa after the end of apartheid as examples to follow.[27]

In March 2023, Pahlavi embarked on a tour of the United Kingdom and gave a speech to the Oxford Union. During the speech, he argued that "secular[ism] is a prerequisite to democracy" and that Islamic regimes fail by not accepting freedom of religion. He called for the right to Internet access to be restored to Iran to help communication between dissident movements and for non-violent tactics to be used in bringing down the Iranian regime. During the speech, a large demonstration took place outside in support of Pahlavi calling for his restoration.[28][29]

On 17 April 2023, he and his wife Yasmine visited Israel in "an effort to rebuild the historic relations between Iran and Israel." Upon his arrival to Israel, he visited the Western Wall and Yad Vashem on the occasion of Yom HaShoah, and met with President of Israel Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.[30][31][32] He also paid a condolence call to the bereaved Dee family at their home in the West Bank settlement of Efrat on Tuesday, after the deaths of sisters Maia and Rina and their mother Lucy in a deadly terror shooting during the Passover holiday.[33]

Succession

Reza Pahlavi II is first in the line of succession to his late father. In contrast, his younger brother Ali-Reza Pahlavi II was second in line until his death by suicide in 2011.[34] Before Reza Pahlavi's birth, the presumptive heir was Patrick Ali Pahlavi, the crown prince's cousin.

In February 2019, Reza Pahlavi launched the Phoenix Project of Iran initiative. According to the National Interest, this is "designed to bring the various strains of the opposition closer to a common vision for a post-clerical Iran".[35]

Within Iran

A report published by the Brookings Institution in 2009 said that Pahlavi lacked an organized following within Iran since there was no serious monarchist movement in Iran itself. The report described Pahlavi as having "little in common with the intellectuals and students who make up the core of the reform movement".[36]

During 2017–18 Iranian protests, some videos on social media showed demonstrators chanting slogans in favor of Pahlavi's grandfather and calling for his return.[37][38] On many occasions the videos indicated the royalist slogans prompt others in the crowd to shout the slogans down.[39]

In January 2023, New York-based Iranian scholar and writer Arash Azizi noted that among younger Iranians on social media and at public demonstrations support for Pahlavi has become more visible and argued "To any fair observer of Iran, Pahlavi has a certain degree of support in Iranian society, although it is hard to discern just how wide this support is." He also noted that a number of Iranian dissident activists and celebrities including Dariush Eghbali (who had been imprisoned under the Shah's rule), actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, actor Hamid Farrokhnezhad and Olympian Kimia Alizadeh have come out in support of Pahlavi being a figurehead to unite anti-regime movements. Tehran based intellectual Khashayar Dayhimi opined "I believe that, if there was a referendum today and Reza Pahlavi was on the ballot, he'd easily win because people don't know anyone other than him."[40]

Among Iranian expatriates

Pahlavi enjoys wide popularity with the older generation of Iranian expatriates that left Iran during the 1979 revolution and with some people in Iran.[41][better source needed] In 2006, Connie Bruck of The New Yorker wrote that Los Angeles is home to about 600,000 Iranian expatriates, and said it was a monarchist stronghold.[42]

A 2013 survey of Iranian-Americans conducted by George Mason University's Center for Social Science Research found that 85% of respondents did not support any Iranian opposition groups or figures. Of the remaining 15% who expressed support, 20% backed him.[43]

Support during the Mahsa Amini protests

Main article: Alliance for Democracy and Freedom in Iran

In a recent attempt in 2023 to garner support for Reza Pahlavi as a representative for transition, a petition was created on the platform Change.org that has amassed over 460,000 signatures.[44]

Reza Pahlavi asked Iranians worldwide to protest against the Islamic Republic on its 44th anniversary, February 11, 2023. As a result, people rallied in multiple cities in the US, Europe, Australia, and Canada.[45][46][47] Reza Pahlavi himself participated in LA rally where a crowd of more than 80,000 showed up.[48]

July 2024 speech

In July 2024, Pahlavi was invited to speak at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C. In his speech, Pahlavi blamed the Iranian regime for the spread of radical Islam to other nations in the Middle East and the West following the revolution and promised that Iranians will take Iran back in the near future. He also argued that Masoud Pezeshkian was not a "moderate" politician due to his friendship with Hezbollah. He warned United States not to launch a military campaign against the regime, arguing "the problem that began in Iran must be ended in Iran" and concluded "the soon to be free Iran, doesn’t seek your patronage. It seeks your partnership. It doesn’t seek your funding. It seeks your friendship.”[49]

In an essay for the The Daily Telegraph, he called IRGC to be designated terror group by British government for its funding of Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthis and suppression of Zan Zendegi Azadi.[50]

Foreign support

Bob Woodward wrote in 1986 that the Reagan administration authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to support and fund Iranian exiles, including Pahlavi. The agency transmitted his 11-minute speech during which he vowed "I will return" to Iranian television by pirating its frequency.[51] The Tower Commission report, published in 1987, also acknowledged that the CIA was behind this event[52] while a group in Paris calling itself 'Flag of Freedom' had taken responsibility for the act in September 1986.[53]

James Mann wrote in February 1989 that when he asked the CIA about whether they helped Pahlavi, they refused to comment, and a spokesperson of the agency told him, "We would not confirm nor deny an intelligence matter".[54]

In 2006, Connie Bruck of The New Yorker wrote that "Pahlavi had CIA funding for several years in the eighties, but it ended after the Iran-Contra scandal".[42] Andrew Friedman of Haverford College states that Pahlavi began cooperation with the CIA after he met director William J. Casey and received a monthly stipend, citing Pahlavi's financial advisor and other observers. Friedman also connects his residence in Great Falls, Virginia to its proximity to George Bush Center for Intelligence, headquarters of the service.[55]

In 2009, Pahlavi denied receiving U.S. government or foreign aid in an interview with The New York Times. Pahlavi said "No, no. I don't rely on any sources other than my own compatriots" and denied allegations of working with the CIA, calling the allegations "absolutely and unequivocally false".[56] However, in 2017 he told Jon Gambrell of the Associated Press: "My focus right now is on liberating Iran, and I will find any means that I can, without compromising the national interests and independence, with anyone who is willing to give us a hand, whether it is the U.S. or the Saudis or the Israelis or whomever it is."[57]

Personal life

Iranian imperial family

Empress Farah

Relationships and marriage

According to a People article published in 1978, Pahlavi dated a "blond, blue-eyed Swedish model he met in Rome".[58] The same publication also reported that he lived with his girlfriend in Lubbock, Texas.[58] As of 1980, he had an Egyptian girlfriend who was a student of The American University in Cairo, reportedly "closely guarded" by bodyguards.[11]

Pahlavi began a relationship with Yasmine Etemad-Amini in 1985, and a year later married her, then aged 17, at 25.[9] The couple have three daughters: Noor (born 3 April 1992), Iman (born 12 September 1993), and Farah (born 17 January 2004).

In 2004, Pahlavi was named the "unofficial godfather" of Princess Louise of Belgium, the eighth granddaughter of King Albert II of the Belgians.[59]

Hobbies

Pahlavi was a keen football player and spectator. He was a fan of the capital's football club Esteghlal, then known as Taj (lit. 'Crown'), and his support was even televised by the National Iranian Radio and Television. The club performed in annual rallies organized on his birthday, identifying the club with the Pahlavi regime.[60]

In 1981, UPI reported that Pahlavi attended the elite Gueziro Club in Cairo to watch tennis and was occasionally seen in discotheques at hotels in the vicinity of the Nile.[12]

Religious beliefs

When interviewed about religion, Pahlavi said, "That's a private matter, but if you must know, I am, of course, by education and conviction, a Shia Muslim. I am very much a man of faith."[56] Iranian writer Reza Bayegan also notes that Crown Prince Reza is alleged "deeply attached" to his Muslim faith. He has performed the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.[61]

Occupation

In 1989, The Washington Post reported that Pahlavi was unemployed.[9] Asked about his sources of income, he replied that he had been financially supported by "friends and family" in the past seven years.[9] In 2017, he told the Associated Press that since 1979 he had had no "side occupation" (about political activities), adding that his money came from his family and "many Iranians who have supported the cause".[57] According to a December 2018 news report by Politico, "he is thought to live mainly on what's left of his family wealth, his only full-time job being speaking out about Iran".[62]

Shahbazi v. Pahlavi

In 1990, Ali Haydar Shahbazi, a former Imperial Guard member who worked for Pahlavi as a longtime bodyguard, filed a lawsuit in the district court of Alexandria, Virginia, accusing Pahlavi of breaching Iranian tradition by breaking his pledge to take care of him financially.[63] Shahbazi, then aged 58, said in the court he abandoned more than $400,000 in property in Iran because Pahlavi assured him "I'm going to pay your expenses and everything. I'm going to take care of you better than my father [did]" when he was hired, and then fired him with a handshake and $9,000 in 1989.[63] Shahbazi asked compensation for the $30,000 in taxes and penalties as well as an undetermined amount of money for his retirement.[63] Pahlavi's attorney dismissed the claim, saying that Shahbazi has received gifts worth several thousand dollars and was allowed to live luxuriously in Pahlavi's house in Great Falls, Virginia, adding that the servant was fired because his client ran out of money.[64] Pahlavi agreed that Shahbazi was a loyal friend but he offered support as long as he could.[63] He also told the judge, "I was not involved in the day-to-day handling of my financial affairs".[63]

In 1991, District Judge Albert Vickers Bryan Jr. argued that Pahlavi "had little knowledge of how his estate's money was spent and could not be held personally accountable for employment agreements with servants", declaring the case dismissed.[64] According to media reports, Pahlavi began to cry in the court when the judge threw out the case.[65][64]

Ansari v. Pahlavi

In 1990, Pahlavi and Ahmad Ali Massoud Ansari, his close aide and financial adviser, filed lawsuits against each other.[66] Pahlavi accused Ansari of embezzlement amounting $24 million, while Ansari claimed $1.7 million lien against Pahlavi.[66] During the trial, Pahlavi's attorney told the court "[d]ue to the demands of his political responsibilities and his lack of experience in financial matters, Pahlavi had to trust completely in Ansari for the management of his funds... over the years, no one supplanted Ansari in any way in Pahlavi's trust. Conversely, no one betrayed Pahlavi's trust any more than Ansari", going further to accuse Ansari as "an agent" for the Islamic Republic of Iran.[66] Ansari denied the accusations and blamed Pahlavi for squandering the money with his extravagance, stating he faithfully carried out orders that Pahlavi was aware of.[66]

The court asked Ansari to provide a complete accounting of his money handling, but he alleged that the documents had been destroyed to prevent a potential seizure. In 1996, the court ruled that Ansari should repay $7.3 million to Pahlavi and fined him an additional $2 million.[66]

Television network

In November 2014, Pahlavi founded his own television and radio network called Ofogh Iran;[67] in July 2017 it was reported that the Ofogh Iran International Media telethon no longer belonged to Pahlavi.[68]

Bibliography

  • Gozashteh va Ayandeh, London: Kayham Publishing, 2000. (in Persian)
  • Winds of Change: The Future of Democracy in Iran, Regnery Publishing Inc., 2002, ISBN 0-89526-191-X.[69]
  • Iran: L'Heure du Choix, Denoël, 2009. (in French)

Honours

National

  • Sovereign and Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlavi (26 September 1967, Iran)
  • Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi Coronation Medal (26 October 1967, Iran)
  • 25th Centennial Anniversary Medal (14 October 1971, Iran)
  • Persepolis Medal (15 October 1971, Iran)

Foreign

Other recognitions

References

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Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
Born: 31 October 1960
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
Shah of Iran
27 July 1980 – present
Reason for succession failure:
Monarchy abolished in 1979 		Incumbent
Unofficial heir:
Princess Noor
Lines of succession
Vacant
Title last held by
Mohammad Reza 		Crown Prince of Iran
26 October 1967 – 11 February 1979 		Vacant
New title
Party established
 President of National Council of Iran
April 2013 – 16 September 2017 		Succeeded by
Leadership Council
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