{"id":344584,"date":"2026-04-23T14:06:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=344584"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:09:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:09:38","slug":"reza-pahlavis-berlin-visit-draws-sharp-rebuke-from-german-leaders-and-iranians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/fake-opposition\/reza-pahlavis-berlin-visit-draws-sharp-rebuke-from-german-leaders-and-iranians\/","title":{"rendered":"Reza Pahlavi\u2019s Berlin Visit Draws Sharp Rebuke from German Leaders and Iranians"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Iranian
File photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On April 23, 2026, Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran\u2019s deposed dictator, descended on the German capital for a carefully staged press conference and private meetings with some Bundestag lawmakers. Far from the desired photo-ops, the visit stands as a stark reminder of how remnants of the old monarchy, backed by certain Western political currents and amplified by Tehran\u2019s divide-and-rule tactics, continue to obscure the genuine popular demand for a secular democratic republic.<\/p>\n

The backlash was swift and authoritative. On April 21, twenty-one of Germany\u2019s respected voices \u2014 including former UN Human Rights Council President Ambassador Dr. Joachim R\u00fccker, Prof. Dr. Horst Teltschik (longtime Munich Security Conference chairman and adviser to Chancellor Helmut Kohl), former Bundestag members Leo Dautzenberg, Martin Patzelt, Thomas Lutze and Sandra Weeser, and prominent academics and human-rights figures \u2014 published an uncompromising open letter<\/a> to Bundestag President Julia Kl\u00f6ckner and all faction leaders. The document, now circulating in German media, delivers a devastating indictment: granting Pahlavi any platform risks \u201clegitimizing an authoritarian political model and undermining the genuine democratic aspirations of the Iranian people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The signatories refuse to indulge Pahlavi\u2019s revisionist nostalgia. He has repeatedly declared himself<\/a> \u201cproud\u201d of his family\u2019s record without once condemning the ethnic massacres, one-party dictatorship, systematic torture, political repression and omnipresent surveillance imposed by his father\u2019s secret police, the SAVAK. As the letter rightly notes, welcoming such a figure is \u201can insult to the millions of Iranians who overthrew the dictatorship of the shah\u201d in 1979. In February 2026, Pahlavi went further, branding a Kurdish political alliance fighting for a secular, democratic Iran as \u201cseparatists\u201d<\/a> and openly suggesting the army should suppress them after regime change \u2014 rhetoric that mirrors the repressive playbook of both the Pahlavi monarchy and the current theocratic regime.<\/p>\n

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\u2026Reza Pahlavi im Bundestag? Keine gute Idee. @JuliaKloeckner<\/a> #Iran<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/UblN8OmRIf<\/a><\/p>\n

— Joachim Ruecker (@jrstoc) April 21, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n