Recent events in Iran have, in the true sense of the word, made social media forget the Russia-Ukraine military confrontation. Now, the international community is closely following the irreconcilable government-opposition conflict escalating moment by moment in Iran. Figuratively speaking, those who are vehemently protesting against the government in Iran now wish to make the exiled son of Mohammad Reza Shah, whom their fathers forced to leave the country 47 years ago, on January 16, 1979, their Shah, tirelessly shouting in the streets and squares, “ این آخرین نبرده، پهلوی بر می گرده - This is the last battle, Pahlavi is returning”.
Protests that began in Tehran in late December of last year have rapidly spread nationwide, transforming from economic demands into political ones. The inflation, high prices, and unemployment gripping the country have fueled sharp public protests. In the last five years, protests have become commonplace in Iran. For example, the protests of December 2017, November 2019, and September 2022 are examples of this. However, the increasingly widespread protests now differ significantly from previous ones in their scope and the slogans being chanted. Approximately the same calls are being made everywhere. Moreover, these calls are being made in favor of Reza Pahlavi, who declared himself Shah in Cairo on October 31, 1980. Protesters are persistently chanting slogans such as “Long live the Shah - جاوید شاه“, “O Shah of Iran, return to Iran - ای شاه ایران، برگرد به ایران“, “Iran has no Shah, it has no reckoning - ایران كه شاه نداره حساب كتان نداره”, “Where are you, Crown Prince, come to our aid - ولیعهد كجایی، به داد ما بیایی“, “This is our national slogan - Reza, Reza Pahlavi - این است شعار ملی، رضا رضا پهلوی”, “Reza Shah, may your soul rest in peace – رضا شاه روحت شاد”, thereby seriously threatening the existence of the current regime. The support of US and Israeli leaders for the protesters has led to a further increase in the wave of protests.
Reza Pahlavi, whose name is loudly chanted by protesters in demonstrations, was born in Tehran on October 31, 1960. As the Crown Prince of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who reigned from 1941 to 1979, he grew up from childhood in an exceptionally privileged environment. Reza Pahlavi received education from private tutors and was prepared as the next heir to the throne. Like his father, he also studied at a military aviation school. At the age of 16, he carried out an independent test flight with an F-4 jet. At 17, he was sent to the US to train as a professional military pilot, but since his father was overthrown on January 16, 1979, Reza Pahlavi did not return to Iran and has lived in the US ever since. Reza Pahlavi is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Southern California. During the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, although he voluntarily expressed his readiness to fight as a military pilot for Iran, his offer was not accepted. Besides his native language, he is fluent in English and French. Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is half Turkish and half Persian by ethnic origin (his maternal grandfather Sohrab Diba (1900 - 1948), paternal grandmother Tajkhanum Ayrimli (1896 – 1982), and mother Shahbanu Farah Diba Pahlavi (1938) are ethnically Turkish), believes that all ethnic groups living in Iran must live under the same flag and in a unified country as a fundamental condition. According to Reza Pahlavi's view, Iran should be a liberal, democratic, and secular state, and religion should be separated from the state. Reza Pahlavi calls for a democratic transition instead of restoring the monarchy. Despite living in exile for decades, he is supported by the Iranian diaspora and the exiled opposition. He rejects violence, distances himself from armed groups, and calls for national referendums through peaceful means. Although he declared himself Shah in a symbolic coronation ceremony in Cairo in 1980, this is regarded as a blow to his subsequent democratic message. Reza Pahlavi's popularity within Iran has been variable over the decades; some people remember his era as a period of modernization and rapprochement with the West, while others recall the activities of SAVAK. Reza Pahlavi has recently become active on international stages. In the spring of 2023, he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and attended a Holocaust commemoration ceremony. This action of his created problems for monarchists within Iran. In his interviews, Reza Pahlavi presents himself as a symbol of national reconciliation and claims to be working towards free elections, the rule of law, and equal rights for women in Iran, stating that he supports determining the country's political regime, whether a restored monarchy or a republican structure, through a referendum. In an interview given to the press in 2023, Reza Pahlavi stated that his political mission is to ensure that the future of the Iranian people is determined through free and fair elections. He also stated that he is ready to assume a potential political leadership role during a critical transitional period while supporting a referendum. At a press conference in Paris, the Prince stated that he was not seeking political power, but merely wished to guide the people towards a democratic transition. He emphasized the importance of ensuring stability, freedom, and justice in this process. He also unveiled his plans for a democratic transition for Iran, as well as strategies based on the principles of territorial integrity, individual freedoms, and the separation of religion and state. Reza Pahlavi also expressed his views on Iran's constitutional monarchy structure.
Since the last days of last year, Reza Pahlavi's political course has sharply changed. He calls on protesters to take to the streets and tries to present himself as a de facto leader. While political experts consider his popularity abroad and his lineage as a potential factor that could play a certain role in Iran's transition process, many skeptics emphasize the difficulty for Pahlavi to convince the masses. As protests continue in Iran, anti-regime slogans have also intensified, and Reza Pahlavi's name is being chanted more frequently in the streets.
Reza Pahlavi has been speaking in a more assertive manner recently, announcing his 100-day plan for interim governance. He persistently calls on Iranians to seize streets and squares in city centers and states that he will return to the country soon. Analysts, however, note that the sudden formation of a democratic system in Iran is difficult, as the regime possesses a strong institutional and security base.
Reza Pahlavi and his family, living in exile, receive strong support from Iranian diaspora communities. Many of the groups openly supporting him have strong influence on social media. Since social media faces severe restrictions within Iran, it is difficult to assess what those living in Iran think about Reza Pahlavi. Moreover, as the new generation does not recognize the monarchy, a thought-provoking question arises: does the public truly support Reza Pahlavi's return?
Exiled Reza Pahlavi attempts to present himself as a de facto leader. In Iran, supporting the overthrown monarchy is forbidden, considered a crime, and calling for an uprising to restore the monarchical regime is an unacceptable concept. According to analysts, the reason for 65-year-old Reza Pahlavi's eagerness for power is unclear. They wonder whether Iranians truly support the restoration of the monarchy, or are simply tired of the theocracy? It is also a reality that Reza Pahlavi has recently increased his political influence and managed to present himself as a leading figure in the political opposition camp. Economic crises, gripping Iran like a chronic illness, have exhausted the patience of citizens, strengthened the opposition, and created conditions for a political figure like Reza Pahlavi to emerge. He managed to attract the attention of the international community after the downing of a passenger plane flying from Tehran to Ukraine in Iran in 2020. It is an undeniable fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is his strongest supporter. Reza Pahlavi was severely criticized last June for his support of Israel after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. He has been called a “traitor” by many Iranian opposition figures, including high-ranking political prisoners in Iran. Last Friday, Reza Pahlavi's words, “I am preparing to return to the homeland so that I can be with the great Iranian people at the moment of victory of our national revolution,” caused the wrath of the ruling circles. Although there was talk in political circles about the possibility of Reza Pahlavi meeting with the US President, US President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of meeting with Prince Reza Pahlavi, who declared himself the “heir to the throne” of Iran, and stated that Washington was not yet ready to support a figure who would succeed the Iranian government if it collapsed. D. Trump, on The Hugh Hewitt Show podcast, called Pahlavi, the son of the Shah overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a “good man” but added that it would not be appropriate for him to meet with him as president: “I think we have to let everyp come out and see who comes out.” It should be recalled that Reza Pahlavi leads the monarchist wing of the Iranian opposition. Donald Trump's statements indicate that the US does not support Reza Pahlavi in his offer to “lead the transitional period” in governance in Iran, should the current system collapse. Following the increase in Reza Pahlavi's calls for protest, the Iranian authorities cut off internet access starting last Thursday with the aim of suppressing the protest movement. The US President had previously warned that he would intervene if the Iranian government used violence against protesters. In response to these warnings, Reza Pahlavi thanked Donald Trump and stated that “millions of Iranians love him.”
Over the past two years, the shrinking network of allies has dealt serious blows to Iran's foreign policy. Thus, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by armed opposition forces in December 2024; Hezbollah was dismantled as a result of Israeli attacks; and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, was taken to the US by US military personnel, bound hand and foot, from his bedroom in his residence. Despite this, the Iranian political elite continues to reject US threats: “We will not bow to the enemy; we will bring him to our knees.” The “Vatan-e Emruz” ( وطن امروز ) newspaper assessed Reza Pahlavi's call to the opposition as an armed act of terrorism against the police and Basij forces. Official circles view the US and Israel as the activating force behind Pahlavi.
In October 2025, a study conducted jointly by the daily “Haaretz” (הארץ -Homeland) newspaper, published in Israel, and the Citizen Lab laboratory at the University of Toronto, reported that an Israel-linked digital influence campaign was promoting Reza Pahlavi among Farsi-speaking audiences. The study determined that within the framework of the operation, fake social media accounts and AI-generated videos were used to amplify pro-monarchy messages. Citizen Lab's analysis indicated that the campaign's activities were synchronized with Israel's military operations in Iran.
According to researchers, in October 2025, a highly organized media network combining professional public relations services and inauthentic online accounts purposefully promoted Reza Pahlavi on social media. While this manipulation increased his popularity internationally, it made it difficult to determine his real level of mass support in Iran, leading to debates around the AI-generated image of popularity. In such a scenario, upon hearing the slogan “In akharin nabarde, Pahlavi barmigarde - این آخرین نبرده، پهلوی بر می گرده -” chanted in unison by protesters in various locations, one inevitably wonders: is “Pahlavi truly returning?”
Prof. Ramazan SİRACOĞLU
