Memories of Monarchies Revived

Reza Pahlavi of Iran

Probably the most ambitious and active exiled king is the eldest son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was toppled by the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Born in 1960, his supporters refer to him as His Imperial Majesty, Reza Shah II. He trained as a jet fighter pilot in the US and studied political science at the University of Southern California. He never returned after the exile of his father, living in Morocco, Egypt and the US. He set aside differences, however, and offered his services to Iran during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988. The Islamic Republic, however, turned down his offer and is highly sensitive when it comes to the royal family, whose image has greatly been tarnished - as the case with Egypt - by the clerics who came to power in 1979. After September 11, 2001, the young Shah repeatedly stated that he thought a democratic monarchy would best serve Iran's interests and end conflict with the international community, particularly the US. He insists on democracy to attract people into his orbit, knowing that his father's era was an unpopular, autocratic one, remembered for its prisons and the Shah's secret police, SAVAK. The young prince carries none of the blame for his father's mistakes, and on the contrary projects himself as an Iranian nationalist who actively campaigns for human rights and democracy in Tehran. He has given numerous interviews projecting himself as a possible candidate for regime change in Iran - but has tried to distance himself from the US, seeing how American endorsement ruined former Iraqi dissidents like Chalabi in the eyes of ordinary Iraqis. Of all the exiled kings, the young Shah is the most prominent because of his country's relationship with the US and all the talk about an upcoming war between Tehran and Washington. Pahlavi has vigorously opposed coming to power by US might, saying, "As a matter of principle, there is no way I can support any kind of military intervention, regardless of the crisis, because I cannot even imagine the fact that my country could be attacked." In May 2006 he said in an interview that he was in contact with elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps within Iran, to launch civil disobedience leading to revolution that would topple the ayatollahs. When asked about Israel, and straying as far as possible from the policies of current President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, the young Shah said: "Since when has Israel been a threat to anyone? Israel just wants to be left alone and live in peace side-by-side with its neighbors. As far as I am concerned, Israel never had any ambition to territorially go and invade." He added, "As far as regional politics, I believe, I think many Iranians believe so, that as much as Israel has a right to exist, so should the Palestinians. They have to work out the problem between each other. And we have no business interfering, and we need to help get as much stability in the region. A democratic regime in Iran would be doing that, but a clerical regime in Tehran that sends money to Hamas and to Hezbollah and to all the terrorists around the globe obviously is not promoting stability and peace, it is doing the reverse."