Reza Pahlavi is the exiled son of the shah who was overthrown in Iran's 1979 revolution. He fled Iran in 1979 and lives near Washington, DC. For decades only diehard royalists took him seriously; Iran's regime, its opponents and Western diplomats dismissed him as the "Clown Prince". Donald Trump considers him "a nice man" but has brushed aside his requests to meet.
On January 8th 2026 Pahlavi called on Iranians to take to the streets en masse, turning a provincial rally into a mass mobilisation that swept Tehran and other cities. Cries of "Javid Shah" ("Long live the king!") were widespread. He told The Economist on January 14th: "This regime is on the verge of collapse. And what it's doing right now is a last-gasp effort to intimidate." He stresses the importance of non-violence and civil disobedience but argues people have the right to defend themselves. He describes himself as a "neutral arbiter" who would lead a temporary government.
His 169-page "Emergency Phase Booklet", published in July 2025, promises a referendum within four months on restoring the monarchy or setting up a parliamentary republic; if voters chose the former, he would be crowned two months later. The plan vows to seek national reconciliation, integrate the IRGC into the army, retain police and civil servants, and warns against vengeance and purges. It also proposes vetting minor civil servants in key ministries for ideological and intelligence ties and repealing laws against homosexuality. He says he would establish diplomatic ties with Israel (his father never did) and abandon the nuclear programme for sanctions relief.
Many supporters of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a one-time hardline populist, have switched allegiance to Pahlavi. Iranians are ditching religious symbols for royalist ones—the lion and sun—and their chants and hashtags are openly anti-Islamic. Pahlavi has emphasised Iranians' right to defend themselves from the regime and has urged America to strike. Royalists inside and outside Iran increasingly argue that protest is futile against a regime willing to kill on such a scale, and are wondering how to smuggle arms into the country, soliciting Israel's help. Elders in Lorestan and Ilam—peripheral provinces where tribal loyalties are prevalent and weapons prized—have taken to social media in military fatigues, brandishing rifles and vowing revenge.
Iran's ethnic minorities remember his father's suppression of their languages and heritage in the name of Persian grandeur. Kurdish nationalist movements prefer secession. Pahlavi has never united the regime's critics in exile. "Death to the satemgar (tyrant)," goes a chant in Tehran, "whether Pahlavi or the rahbar (leader)." His supporters denounce exiled Iranians who refuse to endorse a monarchy.
After the start of the 2026 Gulf war, Pahlavi's rallies dwindled in size. He was accused of showing greater sympathy for fallen American soldiers than for more than 1,500 Iranian civilians bombed to death. Critics say his alignment with Israel makes him "a useful idiot". Iran International, an opposition satellite channel based in London, backs the war and the restoration of the Pahlavis.
On March 28th 2026 a rival group, the Iran Freedom Congress, was launched in London by an unusually broad coalition of political, ethnic and religious groups. It says it will keep its distance from America and Israel; speakers denounced the war as a catastrophe that had strengthened the regime just as domestic unrest had begun to push for a democratic transition. Pahlavi's supporters protested outside the gathering, deriding it as a front for leftists and covert regime sympathisers.
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