Amid the escalating protest actions in Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the son of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, has also become active. He is making calls to the protesters, stating that he will return to the country soon. Some protesters in Iran also support the restoration of the monarchy, overthrown by popular protests in 1979, and the return of the Pahlavi dynasty to power.
However, the Pahlavis' return to power is not at all positively received in South Azerbaijan; in fact, they are hated there. The slogan popular in South Azerbaijan, "Azerbaijan is honor, Pahlavi is dishonor," is clear proof of this.
There are historical reasons for this hatred of the Pahlavis by South Azerbaijanis.
Speaking to Modern.az, Ilgar Niftaliyev, Doctor of Philosophy in History, stated that the Pahlavis' attitude towards South Azerbaijanis was extremely harsh:
“The Pahlavis came to power in 1925. During this period, the Khiyabani movement had just ended. The demand for autonomy for South Azerbaijan had been put forward. Undoubtedly, during Reza Pahlavi's era, education in the Azerbaijani language and the publication of newspapers were forbidden. At that time, the south of Azerbaijan was divided into separate ostans (provinces), and a pan-Iranist policy was implemented. A special authoritarian regime had been established in the country. Pahlavi leaned towards Germany in foreign policy. Relations with the USSR had deteriorated, and borders were closed. Therefore, ties between South Azerbaijan and North Azerbaijan were severed. For a period in Soviet Azerbaijan – in the 1920s – special trade fairs were organized. People came from the south to trade there. But these trade fairs were also banned. In Azerbaijan itself, during the era of Mir Jafar Baghirov, very harsh repressions were carried out against Iranian espionage. In January 1938, a decision was made that Iranian subjects living in Soviet Azerbaijan should either return to Iran or accept Soviet citizenship and be exiled to Kazakhstan.”
The historian also spoke about the brutal suppression of the “21 Azar” movement:
“Under the leadership of Seyid Jafar Pishevari, the “21 Azar” movement took place in 1941-45. It is known how the “21 Azar” movement was suppressed in December 1946 by Reza Shah's Prime Minister, Ahmad Qavam. Participants of the movement were subjected to repressions; some of them moved north and lived in Soviet Azerbaijan. They even had their own national committees. Later, in 1978-79, during the Iranian Revolution, our compatriots harbored great hopes that the rights of South Azerbaijanis would be restored, and that the language issue would even be addressed in the constitution. However, the Islamic Republic also did not grant autonomy to Azerbaijan, continuing the old Shah regime's policy of Persianization and restricting the rights of national minorities,” the expert noted.
