AhlulBayt News Agency: Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s deposed Shah, is reportedly striving at any cost—even by collaborating with enemies in invading the homeland or supporting the killing of women and children by armed terrorists—to realize his failed dream of monarchy. This comes even as he is aware that his father and grandfather both came to power under foreign pressure, yet neither of them died or were buried on Iranian soil.
The recent unrest in Iran has received extensive coverage in international and Western media. What began as a labor-related protest by a small group of merchants in Tehran’s bazaars was quickly exploited and co-opted by certain media outlets and political factions.
Gilad Erdan, former Israeli representative to the United Nations, recently told Israel’s Channel 12 that the Mossad and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) planned to direct the protests in Iran and even went as far as arming the rioters.
Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired U.S. colonel, also acknowledged the role of Israeli and Western intelligence services in escalating the unrest. He stated that Iran’s protests, financed by Trump’s “killing machine,” were hijacked by Mossad, the CIA, and MI6.
Ultimately, these orchestrated operations by armed terrorists across various regions of Iran resulted in the martyrdom of more than 2,400 ordinary citizens and security personnel.
This terrorist incident can be analyzed and investigated from multiple angles, but in this piece, the focus is on one of the key leaders and main perpetrators of this blatant crime against the Iranian people. On the surface, he bears little resemblance to the stereotypical image portrayed by Western media of Salafi terrorists in Iraq or Syria. On the contrary, he even promotes slogans of secularism and democracy and has lived for years in the U.S. and Europe. At first glance, one might assume he must be a spy for a hostile country or a psychopathic individual who takes pleasure in killing and harming others. However, this person is none other than the son of Iran’s deposed Shah, known as “Prince Reza Pahlavi.”
super-debtor with 90 million creditors
During his 37-year reign, the former Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, gradually transferred vast sums of money out of the country up until his departure in January 1979. Most of these funds came from the sale of Iran’s national oil and, following the Shah’s death, were inherited by his eldest son, Reza Pahlavi.
In a detailed report dated December 5, 1979, The New York Times wrote that officials from Iran’s Central Bank under the revolutionary government had uncovered and shared documents with the newspaper showing that over $1 billion of identifiable funds had been embezzled by the former Shah and his family from Iranian banks and other institutions.
According to the report, part of these financial violations involved the Pahlavi Foundation, which was ostensibly a “charitable organization” controlled by Mohammad Reza Shah. A significant portion of the Shah’s unpaid bank loans—at least $180 million—belonged to Omran Bank of Iran, which was entirely owned by the Pahlavi Foundation. Researchers also noted that over $50 million in transfers linked to the Shah had been moved from Iran to secret bank accounts in the year prior to his overthrow.
The website Celebrity Net Worth estimated the personal net worth of Iran’s former Shah at the time of his death in 1980 at $2 billion, equivalent to roughly $7.2 billion today. His wealth stemmed from a vast network of assets across nearly every major sector of Iran’s economy, income streams from the country’s enormous oil reserves, and opaque financial instruments such as the Pahlavi Foundation.
It is estimated that by the time Mohammad Reza Shah fled Iran, he and his extended family had transferred $4 billion abroad. Of this, the Shah directly controlled at least $1 billion, primarily held in Swiss bank accounts. Independent estimates put the total wealth of the Pahlavi family at $20 billion or more.
According to the Telegraph on January 26, 2026, 65-year-old Reza Pahlavi resides in a seven-bedroom luxury home in the affluent suburbs of Washington, D.C., near the Potomac River. In a 2023 interview, he admitted that even if the Iranian monarchy were restored to him, he would not live in Iran due to the presence of his family and friends in Washington, opting instead to travel back and forth between Tehran and the U.S.
The Telegraph report adds that Reza Pahlavi’s source of income over the past 47 years living abroad has been the very funds his father took from Iran. This enormous inheritance left him never needing to consider any occupation other than “being a prince.” Some Iranian journalists and media activists who have had close interactions with him claim that he even dreams at night of commanding his imaginary army.
The bitter irony is that, despite this opaque and controversial financial background, Reza Pahlavi portrays himself in interviews as a supporter of Iran’s lower classes, encouraging them to protest, strike, and sabotage the Islamic Republic. This is in stark contrast to the reality: according to World Bank data, in 1977—just one year before the fall of the Pahlavi monarchy—around 46 percent of Iranians lived below the poverty line.
From coup to military invasion: Democracy the Pahlavi way
According to Fairobserver, Reza Shah Mirpanj, the grandfather of Prince Reza Pahlavi, came to power through a coup on February 22, 1921, carried out with the direct involvement and support of Britain against the then-ruling Qajar dynasty. Five years later, he officially declared himself Shah of Iran and remained in power until September 16, 1941, when Allied forces, including Russia and Britain, invaded Iran from the north and south during World War II.
Polish journalist and author Ryszard Kapuściński writes in his book Shah of Shahs: “After occupying Iran, Britain sent a message to Reza Shah asking him to abdicate and hand the throne over to his heir.” In other words, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty came to power through a foreign-backed coup and was later overthrown by the very same foreign powers.
The story of the second Pahlavi monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah, is not unlike that of his father. According to a CNN report dated June 18, 2025, by Helen Regan, Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iran’s prime minister from 1951 to 1953, was democratically elected and became widely popular after nationalizing the oil industry and ending British control over Iranian oil.
Fearing Mosaddegh’s success and popularity as a threat to the survival of the monarchy, the Shah, with American assistance, orchestrated a coup against Mosaddegh’s national government on August 19, 1953, in an operation known as “Operation Ajax.”
In 2013, newly released CIA documents officially confirmed, for the first time, the agency’s role in the coup. Former U.S. President Barack Obama also acknowledged U.S. involvement in the overthrow of Mosaddegh’s government in 2009.
The Guardian reported in October 2023 that the CIA admitted the 1953 coup in Iran, which it supported, was undemocratic. However, Reza Pahlavi, who presents himself as the full heir to his father’s and grandfather’s legacy, has not formally condemned his father’s actions nor provided clear answers to the lingering questions surrounding the coup.
The subsequent 25 years of Mohammad Reza Shah’s reign after the 1953 coup were marked by repression under the SAVAK (the National Intelligence and Security Organization) and continued interference by Western powers in Iran’s affairs. These policies caused widespread public discontent and ultimately led to the uprising against him under the leadership of Imam Khomeini (God bless his soul). Nevertheless, like his father, the Shah continued to attribute his downfall to foreign powers until the end of his life.
Now, 72 years after those events, Reza Pahlavi seems to have realized, like his ancestors, that he enjoys little popular support among the Iranian people. To pursue his long-standing dream of reviving the monarchy and ascending the “Peacock Throne”—as acknowledged by The Telegraph—he has, instead of following conventional political struggle or democratic competition, resorted to seeking foreign backing in hopes of being placed on the throne, just as his predecessors were.
A Washington Post article dated June 19, 2025, referencing the U.S. role in the 1953 coup against Prime Minister Mosaddegh, cited Israel’s imposed war against Iran as a convenient opportunity for regime change in the country.
Al Jazeera, in a report titled “The U.S. Supported Regime Change in Iran in 1953: Is Trump Planning to Repeat It?”, noted that Israel’s military operation named “Lion’s Rise” carries symbolic significance, referencing the flag of the former Pahlavi regime. The Telegraph also identified Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as one of the biggest supporters of Prince Reza Pahlavi.
Meanwhile, New Arab reported on April 18, 2023, in response to Reza Pahlavi’s visit to the occupied Palestinian territories, that the trip sparked criticism and ridicule from a wide spectrum of Iranians with diverse political views. For instance, Ali Afshari, a critic of the Islamic Republic, condemned Pahlavi for traveling to the territories to convey “the friendship of the Iranian people,” saying:
“Reza Pahlavi can only deliver the message of his own friendship, and at best, that of his supporters, to Israel. He does not represent the Iranian people.”
Afshari added that accepting an invitation from such a regime is not an honor, but a disgrace.
There are few individuals in world history who betray their homeland and rejoice at the invasion of their native land—but Reza Pahlavi and his advisors are arguably among the very few. Not only did they support the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran in June 2025, they also repeatedly encouraged American and Israeli officials to strike Iran both before and after the 12-day war that claimed the lives of over 1,000 Iranians.
Just as the prince prefers luxurious living in Washington with his friends over ruling and residing in Iran, he also shows little sense of responsibility toward his supporters.
For example, less than two weeks ago, Reza Pahlavi told CBS News in the U.S., referring to the unrest in Iran and the deaths of civilians:
“This is war, and every war has casualties.”
Additionally, several prominent monarchists, in the early days of Donald Trump’s first term, sent a letter urging him to intensify economic sanctions against Iran. According to a New York Times report on June 24, 2019, such sanctions clearly target the Iranian people, exacerbating poverty and inflation. Among the 30 signatories of the letter were Ahmad Batebi, Majid Mohammadi, Amirhossein Etemadi, Arash Sobhani, and several other advisors and close associates of Reza Pahlavi.
Please take me seriously!
Reza Pahlavi has long tried to secure the support and involvement of Western leaders for his cause. However, it seems that Western officials understand Iranian society and the political preferences of its people better than the “son of the Shah” himself.
According to a Telegraph report on January 12, 2026, Pahlavi made an urgent trip to Europe in February 2025, attempting to convince Western leaders to prepare for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. However, his invitations to key events were rejected, and he faced difficulties in arranging meetings with senior government officials.
The report adds that while Trump has suggested he could militarily intervene in Iran and has outlined potential attack options, some question how far Trump is really willing to support Reza Pahlavi. Experts observe that “these two men may live near each other, but in every other respect, they are far apart.”
Arash Azizi, author of Iranians Want What, argues that Pahlavi personally lacks the qualities to attract Trump and does not possess personal charisma. According to a Telegraph report, “most people” acknowledge that Reza Pahlavi is “by no means” a suitable candidate to replace Iran’s government.
In this context, Matt Gaetz, former U.S. Congressman, stated that Pahlavi is merely “the son of a corrupt man” whom the U.S. helped bring to power in Iran, only for him to be removed later. He added:
“It’s like a fevered dream—they think maybe Reza could return and run Iran—but he will not be accepted.”
Ali Javanmardi, senior advisor at Voice of America, recently stated that “engineered efforts” have reached a level where even one of America’s top ambassadors in Europe—the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, who had been given false information—participated in a group demonstration.”
He added: “It was exploited so much that he had to clarify that U.S. policy would follow Trump’s approach toward Iran (i.e., supporting Iranian protesters). This means misinformation, distortion, and manipulation! Restoring Iran to the past is not the goal.”
All of this comes as Trump, over the past month, tweeted repeatedly, expressing solidarity with Iranian protesters while simultaneously threatening military action against the Islamic Republic.
On January 15, 2026, BBC Persian reported on how Turkish media covered the recent events in Iran, noting that a significant portion of the content focused on Reza Pahlavi’s potential role.
“Most analysts on popular Turkish TV programs, including Habertürk and CNN Türk, emphasized that he does not have a meaningful social base inside Iran.”
Additionally, Ali Burak Darijili, a university professor, stated in a televised interview that Iranian protesters do not seek the return of the monarchy.
Newspapers and media outlets close to the Turkish government, including Hürriyet and Milliyet, have gone further by accusing Reza Pahlavi of maintaining close ties with Israel and the West. Some reports have compared his position in the protests to the story of the “Trojan Horse,” claiming that the West aims to use such unrest to establish a political structure in Iran aligned with its interests.
Even Turkish media critical of the government have expressed skepticism regarding the media branding and promotion of Reza Pahlavi.
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