Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran

Reza Pahlavi
Crown Prince of Iran
During an event in Tempe, Arizona in 2015
Head of the House of Pahlavi
Tenure 27 July 1980 – present
Predecessor Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Born (1960-10-31) 31 October 1960
Tehran, Iran
Spouse
Yasmine Pahlavi (m. 1986)
Issue Princess Noor
Princess Iman
Princess Farah
Full name
English: Reza Pahlavi
Persian: رضا پهلوی‎
House Pahlavi
Father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mother Farah Diba
Personal details
Political party National Council of Iran
Residence Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.[1]
Alma mater University of Southern California
Signature
Website rezapahlavi.org

Reza Pahlavi (Persian: رضا پهلوی‎; born 31 October 1960) is the last heir apparent to the defunct throne of the Imperial State of Iran and is the current head of the exiled House of Pahlavi. He is the older son of the late Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his third wife Farah Diba.

Pahlavi is the founder and former leader of the self-styled National Council of Iran, an exiled opposition group,[2] and is a prominent critic of Iran's Islamic Republic government. In September 2017, Pahlavi left his position as the leader of the National Council of Iran.[3]

As Crown Prince of Iran, Pahlavi left Iran in 1977 at the age of 17 for air force training at Reese Air Force Base near Lubbock, Texas,[4] two years before the Iranian Revolution.

Early life and education

Mohammad Reza Shah and Queen Farah in hospital after birth of their son.

Reza Pahlavi was born in Tehran, Iran, the eldest legitimate son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran and Farah Pahlavi, the Shahbanu of Iran. Pahlavi's siblings include his sister Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi (born 12 March 1963), brother Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi (28 April 1966 – 4 January 2011), and sister Princess Leila Pahlavi (27 March 1970 – 10 June 2001), as well as a half-sister, Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi (born 27 October 1941).

Accepted into the Imperial Iranian Air Force as a junior officer following secondary schooling, he left Iran in 1977 at the age of 17 for air force flight training in the United States.[5] He spent a year at Williams College in the United States, but was forced to leave because of the turmoil in Iran. With the monarchy overthrown and an Islamic Republic established, Pahlavi did not return to Iran.

He obtained a BSc degree in political science by correspondence from the University of Southern California, because Williams did not offer that option.

Reza Pahlavi in 1973 as Crown Prince of Iran

The Crown Prince successfully completed the United States Air Force's Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) Program at the former Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas. Shortly thereafter, at the start of the Iran–Iraq War, Pahlavi wrote to General Valiollah Fallahi, Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic, offering to fly and fight as a pilot for the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. His offer was rebuffed.[6]

On the death of his father on 27 July 1980, Pahlavi became the Head of the House of Pahlavi.

Politics

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi sworn in as Head of the House of Pahlavi in 1980 at Koubbeh Palace, Cairo.
Crown Prince Reza with the Persian Community in the Netherlands, May 2012

Following in a line of Persian dynasties stretching back 3,000 years, the Pahlavi dynasty was founded early in the twentieth century. The 1979 revolution replaced the monarchy with an Islamic republic. After the death of his father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, he symbolically declared himself Shāhanshāh (literally King of Kings in Persian) at the age of 21.[7] He remains crown prince according to the former Constitution of 1906, as he is required to take the oath in the Iranian Parliament first.[8] His press releases refer to him as either "Reza Pahlavi" or "the former Crown Prince of Iran".

On his website, Pahlavi has said that the state of Iran should become democratic and secular, and human rights should be respected. Whether the form of government would be that of a constitutional monarchy or a republic is something that he would like to leave up to the people of Iran.[9][10]

Pahlavi has used his high profile as an Iranian abroad to campaign for human rights, democracy and unity among Iranians in and outside Iran.[11] On his website he calls for a separation of religion and state in Iran and for free and fair elections "for all freedom-loving individuals and political ideologies". He exhorts all groups dedicated to a democratic agenda to work together for a democratic and secular Iranian government.[12]

According to Reza Bayegan, Pahlavi believes in the separation of religion from politics. However, he avoids the "Islam bashing" that Bayegan writes occurs in some circles of the Iranian opposition. Rather, he believes that religion has a humanizing and ethical role in shaping individual character and infusing society with greater purpose.[13]

In February 2011, after violence erupted in Tehran, Pahlavi said that Iran's youth were determined to get rid of an authoritarian government tainted by corruption and misrule in the hope of installing a democracy. "Fundamental and necessary change is long overdue for our region and we have a whole generation of young Egyptians and Iranians not willing to take no for an answer", he told The Daily Telegraph. "Democratisation is now an imperative that cannot be denied. It is only a matter of time before the whole region can transform itself."[14]

Pahlavi's book Winds of Change: The Future of Democracy in Iran, in which he outlines possible scenarios for Iran's future, was published in 2002.[15]

Succession

Reza Pahlavi II is first in the line of succession to his late father, while his younger brother Ali-Reza Pahlavi II was second in line until his death in January 2011. His first cousin Prince Patrick Ali Pahlavi is now next in line to the throne.

Public support

Support within Iran

A report published by the Brookings Institution in 2009 said that Pahlavi lacks an organized following within Iran since there is no serious monarchist movement in Iran itself. The report described Pahlavi as having "little in common with the intellectuals and students who make up the core of the reform movement".[16]

However, during 2017–18 Iranian protests, some demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of Pahlavi’s grandfather and called for his return.[17][18]

Support among Iranian expatriates

Pahlavi enjoys wide popularity with the older generation of Iranian expatriates that left Iran at the time of the 1979 revolution and with some people in Iran.[19] In 2006, Connie Bruck of The New Yorker wrote that Los Angeles is home to about 600,000 Iranian expatriates, and said it was a monarchist stronghold.[20]

A 2013 survey of Iranian-Americans conducted by George Mason University's Center for Social Science Research found that 79% of respondents did not support any Iranian opposition groups or figures. Of the 15% that did, only 20% supported him.[21]

Alleged foreign support

Crown Prince Reza with US President Jimmy Carter in 1978

Bob Woodward wrote in 1986 that the Reagan administration authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to support and fund Iranian exiles, including Pahlavi. The agency transmitted his 11-minute speech during which he vowed "I will return" to Iranian television by pirating its frequency.[22] The Tower Commission report, published in 1987, acknowledged that the CIA was behind this event.[23] In 2006, Connie Bruck of The New Yorker wrote that "Pahlavi had CIA funding for a number of years in the eighties, but it ended after the Iran-Contra scandal".[20] Andrew Freedman of Haverford College states that Pahlavi began cooperation with the CIA after he met director William J. Casey and received a monthly stipend, citing Pahlavi's financial advisor and other observers. Freedman also connects his residence in Great Falls, Virginia to its close distance from the vicinity of George Bush Center for Intelligence, headquarters of the service.[24]

Pahlavi denied receiving U.S. government aid or any foreign aid. In an interview with The New York Times, Pahlavi said "No, no. I don't rely on any sources other than my own compatriots." He has also denied allegations of working with the CIA, calling the allegations "absolutely and unequivocally false".[1]

Personal life

Family

Reza married Yasmine Etemad-Amini on 12 June 1986. Yasmine, a graduate of the George Washington University School of Law, worked for ten years as a lawyer for the Children's Law Center as a legal advocate for at-risk youth. Yasmine also founded the Foundation for the Children of Iran in 1991, a non-profit foundation that provides health care services to Iranian children or children of Iranian origin. The couple have three daughters: Noor (born April 3, 1992), Iman (born September 12, 1993), and Farah (born January 17, 2004).

In 2004, Pahlavi was named as the "unofficial godfather"[25] of Princess Louise of Belgium, the eighth granddaughter of King Albert II of Belgium.[26]

Religious beliefs

When interviewed about religion, Pahlavi said, "That's a private matter; but if you must know, I am, of course, by education and by conviction, a Shia Muslim. I am very much a man of faith."[1] Iranian writer Reza Bayegan also notes that Crown Prince Reza is deeply attached to his Shi'a Muslim faith. He has performed the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.[13]

Sports

Pahlavi was a keen soccer player and spectator. He was fan of the capital's football club Esteghlal, then known as Taj (lit. Crown) and his support was even televised by the National Iranian Radio & Television. The club performed in annual rallies organized on his birthday, which as a result identified the club with the Pahlavi's regime.[27]

Titles, styles and honours

Styles of
Crown Prince Reza of Iran
Reference style His Imperial Highness
Spoken style Your Imperial Highness
Alternative style Sir
Standard of the Crown Prince

Titles and styles

  • His Imperial Highness The Crown Prince of Iran (1960–1979)
  • His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Reza of Iran (1979–present)

National honours

  • Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlavi (26 September 1967, Iran)
  • Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi Coronation Medal (26 October 1967, Iran)
  • 25th Centennial Anniversary Medal (14 October 1971, Iran)
  • Persepolis Medal (15 October 1971, Iran)

Foreign honours

Other recognitions

Publications

  • Reza Pahlavi, Iran: L'Heure du Choix [Iran: The Deciding Hour], Denoël, 2009.[35]
  • Reza Pahlavi, Winds of Change: The Future of Democracy in Iran, Regnery Publishing Inc., 2002, ISBN 0-89526-191-X.
  • Reza Pahlavi, Gozashteh va Ayandeh, London: Kayham Publishing, 2000.[36]

Pahlavi is the owner of Medina Development Company. He and his company were engaged in a civil lawsuit against a family member in the 1990s culminating in a favorable judgment in May 1997.[37]

Television network

In November 2014, Pahlavi founded his own television and radio network called Ofogh Iran.[38] In July 2017 it was reported that the Ofogh Iran International Media telethon no longer belongs to Reza Pahlavi.[39]

Ancestry

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 Soloman, Deborah (26 June 2009). "The Exile". The New York Times Magazine.
  2. ↑ Maciej Milczanowski (2014), "US Policy towards Iran under President Barack Obama's Administration" (PDF), Hemispheres: Studies on Cultures and Societies, Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures Polish Academy of Sciences, 29 (4): 53–66, ISSN 0239-8818
  3. ↑ "کناره‌گیری شاهزاده رضا پهلوی از شورای ملی ایران؛ اعضای جدید انتخاب شدند". صدای آمریکا (in Persian). Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013. . Rezapahlavi.org. Retrieved on 2 January 2013.
  5. ↑ Reza Pahlavi's biography on his official website
  6. ↑ An Interview with Reza Pahlavi. Mideastnews.com. February 2002. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  7. ↑ 'It is my duty' Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Rezapahlavi.org. 24 September 2010
  8. ↑ Iran's 1906 Constitution and Its Supplement, Rights of Members of the Assembly fis-iran.org
  9. ↑ April 2011 Q&A, Question 4 Archived 12 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. rezapahlavi.org
  10. ↑ December Q&A, Question 7 Archived 12 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. rezapahlavi.org
  11. ↑ Prinz Reza Pahlavi über den Iran: "Dieses Regime ist äußerst anti-religiös" Archived 4 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine.. (interview with Reza Pahlavi, in German) Zenit.org (31 March 2010). Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Reza Pahlavi. The Challenge Of Implementing Democracy And Human Rights In Iran. The International Society Of Human Rights – Bonn, Germany, 27 March 2010. Rezapahlavi.com
  13. 1 2 Reza Bayegan. "Reza Pahlavi and the Question of Religion". Payvand.
  14. ↑ Iran's Crown Prince calls on West to support anti-government protests. Telegraph. 16 February 2011. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "Winds of Change: The Future of Democracy in Iran". Middle East Quarterly. 14 (1). 1 June 2002. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  16. ↑ Kenneth M. Pollack, Daniel L. Byman, Martin S. Indyk, Suzanne Maloney (June 2009). "Toppling Tehran". Which Path to Persia?: Options for a New American Strategy toward Iran. Saban Center for Middle East Policy. Brookings Institution. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-8157-0379-2.
  17. ↑ Yeganeh Torbati, Paresh Dave and David Ingram (4 January 2018), John Walcott and James Dalgleish, eds., "U.S. should clear way for tech companies to help Iranians: former crown prince", Reuters, retrieved 1 February 2018
  18. ↑ Callum Paton (5 January 2018), "Iran Protests: Who are the Iranian Opposition and who will Rule if the Regime Falls", Newsweek, retrieved 1 February 2018
  19. ↑ Lone, Mahlia (July 1, 2016). "Memorable Romance: The Shah & I". Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  20. 1 2 Connie Bruck (6 March 2006). "Exiles: How Iran's Expatriates are Gaming the Nuclear Threat". The New Yorker. p. 48.
  21. ↑ "National Public Opinion Survey of Iranian Americans" (PDF), Center for Social Science Research, George Mason University, Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), p. 10, 2013, retrieved 11 June 2017
  22. ↑ Bob Woodward (19 November 1986). "CIA Support for Exiles, Other Covert Iran Activity Reported". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 May 2017 – via Los Angeles Times Archive.
  23. ↑ John Tower, John Goodwin Tower, Edmund S. Muskie, Brent Scowcroft (1987). "United States President's Special Review Board". The Tower Commission Report: The Full Text of the President's Special Review Board. A New York Times special. Bantam Books. p. 398. ISBN 9780553269680.
  24. ↑ Friedman, Andrew (2013). "Iran-Contra As Built Space". Covert Capital: Landscapes of Denial and the Making of U.S. Empire in the Suburbs of Northern Virginia. American Crossroads. 7. University of California Press. p. 274. ISBN 9780520274648. Not only was it not surprising that Reza Pahlavi ended up in the Northern Virginia suburbs, it would be hard to imagine him going anywhere else. Ex-CIA agents in McLean began offering Shah Reza Pahlavi estates and farms as retreats in Northern Virginia as early as 1979, swearing they could spirit him past immigration officials at Dulles Airport. A major reason the younger Pahlavi moved to Great Falls was political. Building his house some ten minutes away from Langley, he was, at the time, according to his advisor and other observers, receiving a monthly CIA stipend. After a meeting with Bill Casey in Rabat, they began what Pahlavi called "mutual cooperation in intelligence... for mutual benefits." Although he denied he took agency money, his financial advisor once claimed that Pahlavi's stipend rose at times to $150,000 a month. A large picture of him hung on the wall in Langley's Iran division at this time, accompanied by the moniker "The Hope of Democracy of Iran". This "Iran" in Iran-Contra at times created complexities for the arms-selling project. In September 1986, a CIA technical strike blocked TV signals on national Iranian TV to broadcast an eleven-minute speech by Reza Cyrus, then resident in Northern Virginia, into Iran.
  25. ↑ The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of the child being baptized, does not accept non-Catholics as godparents, given the religious nature of the role, so Pahlavi's role was downgraded to unofficial, not formal.
  26. ↑ Kadivar, Darius. "ROYAL CURTSY: Crown Prince Reza Godfather to Belgium's Prince Prince Laurent's Daughter". Iranian.com: Persian Realm.
  27. ↑ Kausik Bandyopadhyay, Sabyasachi Mallick (2013). Fringe Nations in World Soccer. Routledge. p. 87. ISBN 9781317998105.
  28. ↑ "PALHAVI S.A.I. Abdolreza, Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" (in Italian). Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  29. ↑ "Boletín Oficial del Estado" (PDF).
  30. ↑ "Reply to a parliamentary question" (pdf) (in German). p. 458. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  31. ↑ Guidance for Honours in the De Jure Kingdom of Rwanda
  32. ↑ RFE/RL (22 March 2012). "Farda Audience Picks Late Shah's Son As Iran's Person Of The Year". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  33. ↑ Talbot, Victoria (January 26, 2017). "Beverly Hills News – Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi Seeks Support For Peaceful Revolution".
  34. ↑ "The Mayor of Beverly Hills Presenting the Key to the City to The Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi". YouTube. January 2017.
  35. ↑ Iran l'heure du choix. Amazon.fr. ISBN 2207261034. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  36. ↑ Reza Pahlavi's Web site. Rezapahlavi.org. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  37. ↑ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, District Judge. (CA-95-1423-A, BK-93-11245). uscourts.gov (1997)
  38. ↑ "About - افق ایران". ofoghiran.tv.
  39. ↑ Behnegarsoft.com. "رسانه ايران - «افق ایران، دیگر متعلق به شاهزاده رضا پهلوی نیست»". rasanehiran.com. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
Born: 31 October 1960
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi		 — TITULAR —
Shahanshah of Iran
Light of the Aryans
27 July 1980 – present
Reason for succession failure:
Monarchy abolished in 1979		 Incumbent
Heir:
Patrick Ali Pahlavi
Lines of succession
Preceded by
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi		 Crown Prince of Iran
26 October 1967 – 11 February 1979		 Vacant
Party political offices
New title
Party established
 President of National Council of Iran
April 2013 – 16 September 2017		 Succeeded by
Leadership Council
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