"
Reza Pahlavi
Reza Pahlavi , who is based in the Washington area, founded the National Council for Iran. Reza Pahlavi, born in Tehran, Iran on 31 October 1960, in Tehran, Iran, is the eldest son of and the heir to the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Empress Farah Pahlavi. He was officially named Crown Prince in 1967 at the time of his father’s coronation. The Iranian monarchy was abolished in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution, which established the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since then, Reza Pahlavi has lived in exile, primarily in the United States, where he continues to advocate for democracy and human rights in Iran.
Reza Pahlavi is a prominent opposition figure to the current Iranian government, promoting secular democracy, civil liberties, and respect for human rights. His advocacy includes encouraging peaceful civil disobedience among Iranians, as well as appealing to the international community for support. Pahlavi has also supported women’s rights, especially evident in recent movements within Iran, including the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
Reza Pahlavi completed the United States Air Force Training Program. In 1978, at the age of 17, he left Iran for jet fighter training in the United States Air Force at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas. During this same period, the building unrest in Iran led to the royal family’s departure in January 1979. And, during the instability that followed, the Government of Iran was taken over by Islamists. The Islamists established a theocratic regime, preventing Reza Pahlavi’s return to his homeland. During his first exile years, he continued and completed his higher education with a degree in political science from the University of Southern California. As an accomplished jet fighter pilot, Reza Pahlavi volunteered to serve his country’s military as a fighter pilot during the Iran-Iraq War, but was declined by the clerical regime.
Despite being forced to live in exile, Reza Pahlavi’s commitment and patriotic duty to Iran endures. For over four decades, Reza Pahlavi has been a leader and advocate of the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights for his countrymen. He maintains constant contact with his compatriots and opposition groups, both inside and outside the country. Pahlavi travels the world meeting with heads of state, legislators, policy-makers, interest groups and student groups speaking about the plight of Iranians under the Islamic regime in Iran. He consistently speaks out against the widespread abuse and oppression of the Iranian people and calls for the establishment of a secular democracy in Iran. He calls for regime change through non-violent civil disobedience, and for a free and open referendum on a new government of Iran.
In addition to numerous articles published, Reza Pahlavi has written three books on the state of affairs in Iran: Gozashteh va Ayandeh (Kayhan Publishing, 2000); Winds of Change: The Future of Democracy in Iran (Regnery, 2002); and IRAN: L’Heure du Choix [IRAN: The Deciding Hour] (Denoël, 2009).
Reza Pahlavi has lived in exile since 1979. He married Yasmine Etemad-Amini on June 12, 1986. They have three daughters: Noor Pahlavi (born April 3, 1992), Iman Pahlavi (born September 12, 1993), and Farah Pahlavi (born January 17, 2004). Reza Pahlavi strongly believes in the inherent equal rights between men and women; and, as such, has stated that his daughters Noor, Iman and Farah are, successively, his heirs.
Yasmine Pahlavi graduated from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, obtaining a B.A. in Political Science; and later, a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from The George Washington University Law School. She worked for ten years as a staff attorney for the Children’s Law Center in Washington, DC, representing the rights and cases of hundreds youth in the DC family courts system. In 1991 she co-founded, and for 23 years was the Director of, the Foundation for the Children of Iran. The purpose of the Foundation was and remains to provide critical health care services to Iranian children or children of Iranian origin regardless of race, color, creed, religious or political affiliation.
Yasmine is currently a vocal supporter of the democracy movement in Iran, appearing at pro-democracy rallies, events and panels in many cities through the years. Reza Pahlavi’s four siblings include his half-sister, Shahnaz Pahlavi (October 27, 1940), sister Farahnaz Pahlavi (March 12, 1963), brother Ali-Reza Pahlavi (April 28, 1966-January 4, 2011), and sister Leila Pahlavi (March 27, 1970 - June 10, 2001).
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, urged the West to support a civil disobedience in Iran that would lead to the fall of the regime in Tehran and the establishment of what he described as "secular democratic rule" on its ruins. The heir to the Pahlavi dynasty that ruled Iran between 1925 and 1979, criticized the Iranian authorities' support for the Lebanese Hezbollah, and expressed his pride in what he called the "almost sacred relationship" between Jews and the Iranian people.
In a press conference held 01 February 2009 in Paris on the occasion of the publication of his book entitled "Iran: The Hour of Decisiveness", Pahlavi also criticized the Western countries' efforts to establish a dialogue with the Tehran government. Pahlavi, who is preparing to reside in France after living in the United States for years, did not hide his desire for the proposed system to take the form of a “modern parliamentary monarchy like Sweden and Spain,” but he expressed his readiness to go along with the majority of the Iranian people if they preferred a “parliamentary republic.”
In response to a question from Al Jazeera Net about the existence of coordination between him and the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization , which is considered the largest opposition organization abroad, he said, “The behavior of this organization prevents it from joining the Iranian democratic opposition factions.”
Iranian opposition figures abroad from various factions announced the formation of the "National Iranian Council" 29 April 2013, and said that it calls for organizing free elections and establishing a secular system, and they appointed Reza Pahlavi - the son of the last Shah of Iran - as its official spokesman. This came at the conclusion of a conference hosted by the French capital last Saturday and Sunday, in which opposition figures from various backgrounds participated, including former leaders of the “Green Movement” that was formed during the 2009 presidential elections, supporters of the monarchy, liberal social movements, nationalists, and defenders of ethnic minorities.
"Our first demand is to hold free elections, and to achieve this we have all agreed that the regime must be overthrown through a non-violent civil disobedience campaign accompanied by general strikes," Pahlavi added, stressing the need to boycott the presidential elections scheduled for this year. The Iranian National Assembly approved a charter stipulating "the organization of free elections, the establishment of a secular democratic system that respects human rights, and the respect of Iran's international commitments, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
Reza Pahlavi told JNS at the Israeli-American Council summit Sep. 23, 2024 that “Iranians who stand in solidarity with the free world, with the Israelis, are the answer to the problem, not this regime.” “We have to put an end to this regime,” he told JNS, of the Islamic Republic of Tehran, after he addressed the IAC summit. The solution will come “at the hand of the Iranian people,” not via “foreign warfare or intervention,” Pahlavi told JNS. He added that Iranians, who “have been fighting alone,” need wider support. “We need to be able to organize campaigns,” he told JNS. “We need to be able to organize labor strikes in Iran, which is the quickest way to bring this regime down in paralysis.”
The exiled prince hearkened back to an interview he said he gave nearly 40 years ago. “I said, ‘Look, when you have a fire, you send and dispatch your fire trucks, and you may eventually extinguish those fires. But have you ever tried to find out who is the arsonist?’” Pahlavi said. “If you don’t find the arsonist, or if you don’t stop the arsonist, fires upon fires upon fires will be lit here, here and here,” he said.
“I think the role that America plays in this is critical. It goes without saying that the Israeli government has to be able to see eye-to-eye with some key governments in the region, whether it’s the Saudis or governments like the British, or the French, or the German government or the European Union,” he said. “If we get the proper leadership in place and coordination, I believe that we can succeed and prevail.”
“The eye of the octopus is sitting in Tehran. It’s not sitting in Beirut. It’s not sitting elsewhere,” he said. “Now, if you understand that an end to all these problems, that resolves many problems at the same time—the nuclear threat, terrorism financing of proxies, it’s all connected to the regime in Tehran—the best solution is to put an end to it, not because you asked for it, but because, first and foremost, the Iranian people asked for it.”
Reza Pahlavi, as the last crown prince of Iran, does not emphasize a claim to rule based on "divine right," even though historically, some monarchs have claimed divine or supernatural legitimacy. His approach diverges from traditional monarchical claims of divine mandate, focusing instead on secular principles and democratic ideals. In pre-revolutionary Iran, the Pahlavi monarchy did not explicitly use the concept of "divine right" in the same way as some European monarchies, where rulers were seen as ordained by God to lead. Instead, the Pahlavi dynasty’s legitimacy was rooted more in modernization, nationalism, and secularization efforts, aiming to transition Iran into a modern state. Mohammad Reza Shah, Reza Pahlavi’s father, emphasized Iran's ancient heritage and positioned himself as a stabilizing force against communism and religious extremism, but he did not claim a divine mandate as a basis for his rule.
Though Reza Pahlavi doesn’t actively seek the restoration of the monarchy, he remains a significant symbolic figure among some Iranians, especially those who look back at the Pahlavi era with a sense of nostalgia for its modernization efforts. However, he emphasizes that his primary goal is not to reinstate a monarchy but to contribute to a free and democratic Iran, allowing the Iranian people to determine their own political system through democratic means.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
