Meet Reza Pahlavi, exiled Crown Prince behind anti-Khamenei protests in Iran, wants Trump’s support for…

Unrest intensified in Iran after exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called for mass demonstrations. Demonstrators set fire to the streets of Tehran and large crowds protested in cities such as Borujerd, Arsanjan and Gilan-e Gharb. According to Al Jazeera, eyewitnesses said that residents of the region took to the streets and shouted slogans from their homes, indicating a new phase of mobilization across the country. Pahlavi emerged as a key figure in the nationwide Iranian protests triggered by the economic collapse of late 2025. The protest gained momentum after Pahlavi addressed the citizens. His father, the last shah of Iran, fled the country shortly before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

According to the AP report, protesters shouted phrases such as “Pahlavi will return” and “Seyyed Ali will be overthrown”, referring to Religious Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This escalation of tension led authorities to impose a nationwide communications blackout.

Who is Rıza Pahlavi?

Reza Pahlavi is the son of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and Empress Farah Diba. He was born on 31 October 1960 and was officially named Crown Prince in 1967 at the age of seven. When he was 17, he moved to the United States for jet fighter training at Reese Air Force Base in Texas. The 1979 Islamic Revolution occurred while he was still in training, preventing him from returning and forcing the royal family into permanent exile. He holds a degree in political science from the University of Southern California. While some monarchists want him to be restored to the throne, Pahlavi officially advocates a secular democratic-parliamentary system in which the people decide on the form of government through a national referendum. The Pahlavi dynasty ruled Iran for more than fifty years before being overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Rıza Pahlavi thanked US Donald Trump

Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump for his “strong leadership and support” for the ongoing anti-Islamic Republic protests across Iran. The crown prince turned to added the Crown Prince. Trump responded to the US “rescue” of anti-regime demonstrators in Iran in case the Islamic Republic “shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters”, describing the US as “locked in, primed and ready to go” in such an event.