Four-minute read
As Iran faces internal unrest and escalating international pressures, the regime in Tehran finds comfort in a familiar but misguided distraction: occasional foreign promotion of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the ousted monarchical dictator. While such gestures are often framed as support for change, they fail to reflect the realities on the ground in Iran. By spotlighting a divisive figure with no genuine support among Iranians, these efforts send the wrong signal—one that the regime is quick to exploit.
Attempts to Promote a Divisive Legacy Fall Flat
On October 22, 2024, Reza Pahlavi received the Architect of Peace award at an event hosted by the Nixon Library. Despite the ceremony’s attempts to draw attention, it hardly made an impact outside a few predictable circles. Pahlavi’s recent media coverage on Fox News, Sky News Arabic, and Voice of America has continued to present him as a moderate, advocating for regional stability and economic reform without proposing any radical shift in Iran’s political structure. His focus on external partnerships and gradual change highlights a longstanding approach that seeks a choreographed transition, including cooperation with existing regime elements, a stance that has long involved the IRGC.
While foreign platforms may try to cast him as a diplomatic alternative, his reluctance to push for a complete break from the existing power structures has made him a divisive figure. Iranian protesters continue to reject both the past monarchy and the current theocratic rule, signaling a demand for fundamental change that Pahlavi’s gradualist approach does not address.
Why Tehran Benefits from Foreign Distractions
The Iranian regime’s lack of resistance to these foreign gestures toward Pahlavi is telling. For Tehran, promoting remnants of the Shah regime is far from threatening—it is convenient. Whenever the regime faces significant challenges, whether through nationwide protests or international scrutiny, the monarchist distraction emerges, providing Tehran with an opportunity to deflect from its own vulnerabilities.
By focusing on a figure whose appeal is limited and whose plans are more about maintaining stability than promoting true transformation, foreign actors inadvertently reinforce the regime’s position. As Rep. Randy Weber articulated, “The Iranian people have rejected both the monarchical dictatorship and the current religious tyranny.” Elevating Pahlavi sends a message that foreign powers may be more interested in preserving a status quo that ensures stability, rather than supporting the legitimate aspirations of the Iranian people for a democratic, secular republic.
Shared Authoritarian Traits
Both the clerical regime and the remnants of the monarchy have, at times, found a convenient alignment in their interests. As Ingrid Betancourt noted during the 2020 Free Iran Global Summit, “The objective alliance between theocrats and monarchists is visible in the way they both attack the Iranian democratic forces… They play together to continue exploiting and robbing the country for their personal benefit.” Promoting figures like Pahlavi distracts from the organized resistance that seeks true democratic change, buying the regime more time and reinforcing the status quo.
Iran’s struggle is not a choice between two types of autocracy—it is a battle against all forms of dictatorship. The protests that have erupted across Iran in recent years, where slogans like “Death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Leader (Khamenei)” were chanted, clearly reflect this sentiment.
Prominent figures around the world have recognized the need to support the genuine opposition rather than entertain nostalgic notions of a monarchical return. John Bercow, former Speaker of the UK House of Commons, spoke clearly at a rally in Paris: “We detest dictatorship, and we demand democracy for the long-suffering people of Iran. We do not want to go back to those days under any circumstances whatsoever.” His remarks reflect a sentiment that Iranians have long held—replacing one form of dictatorship with another is not the solution.
Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield Jr. on "The Untold Story" podcast: Insights on life under the Shah, the rise of the #MEK, and the ongoing struggle for democracy and gender equality in Iran. #FreeIran2024 pic.twitter.com/1bslPqzWzM
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 21, 2024
A Call for True Change, Not Token Gestures
The path forward for Iran does not lie in revisiting a bygone era of monarchical rule. It lies in the future that Iranians are fighting for—a future of democracy, equality, and justice. By promoting figures like Reza Pahlavi, who proposes gradual changes without upsetting the structures that maintain autocracy, those promoting monarchy are not supporting Iran’s freedom. They are sending a signal that permanency, not change, is their priority.
As Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield highlighted, the oppressive tactics of the Shah’s era bear striking similarities to those of the current regime. Speaking on a recent podcast, he noted, “The Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, was notorious for its brutal methods, much like the current regime’s intelligence services. Both ruled through fear and suppression.” Bloomfield emphasized that this shared legacy of repression should serve as a warning against superficial attempts to revive a discredited dynasty.
The Iranian regime often exploits this issue, portraying efforts to replace the clerical regime as a bid to bring back the terror of the Shah’s era. “The vision for Iran must be one of peace, democracy, and gender equality,” Bloomfield remarked, urging international engagement to focus on supporting a truly democratic future, not on nostalgic ties to a rejected past.
How Promoting Reza Pahlavi Serves the Iranian Regime
The Iranian regime is well aware that the people of Iran want its overthrow and the establishment of a democratic republic. The uprisings from 2017 to 2022 have made this abundantly clear. Beyond the violent repression of the Iranian people, the regime has only one strategy to prevent its downfall: to eliminate the real, organized alternative. On one front, the regime brutally targets members and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), arresting, executing, and massacring them. Simultaneously, it runs a smear campaign against them. Essentially, the regime believes that if it can physically eliminate or discredit the real alternative — the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its core, the MEK — it can maintain power, even in the face of ongoing popular uprisings, by continuing its repression.
As part of this strategy, the regime embraces the promotion of Reza Pahlavi and the remnants of the former monarchy. They are viewed as the regime’s best option for diverting the movement for its overthrow. The regime is fully aware that the monarchists lack both the capability and popular support to topple it. Therefore, promoting them helps to obscure the presence of a true alternative. In essence, any promotion of the remnants of the monarchical dictatorship ultimately works to preserve the current regime, allowing it to continue its repression of the Iranian people, fuel conflict in the Middle East, and spread terrorism globally.