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In Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince, at the age of 7, has declared himself as the next potential successor. After the death of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the hands of the United States and Israeli strikes, Pahlavi is doing everything he can to bop to the top of the totem pole. Will he become Iran’s next potential political leader?
While Israel and the U.S. began combat operations in Iran on Saturday in order to destroy the country’s military capabilities, Trump has urged Iranians to stay home during the bombing and take control of their government.
According to CNN, Pahlavi’s stance is brave and bold: “The Islamic Republic has only replaced its supreme leader once since it swept to power nearly half a century ago.” While a three-person leadership team (moderate president, Masoud Pezeshkian, head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and senior cleric, Alireza Arafi) holds power until the new leader is named, a body of 88 senior clerics known as the Assembly of Experts will select the next leader, evaluating Pahlavi against other contenders.
What should we know about this future leader? And more importantly, is Pahlavi the type of leader to create lasting and needed change for Iran?
Fact 1: Pahlavi’s Political Identity Has Been Formed In Isolation
Born and raised in Tehran in 1960, Pahlavi was just a teenager when he left Iran to become a jet fighter for the United States. According to the Christian Post, he never returned after the 1979 Islamic Revolution barred his family from power.
Since living in the U.S. with his wife, Yasmine Etemad Amini, and their three children, his profile has been built almost exclusively from exile. While Pahlavi has spent years positioning himself as a central figure for Iran, many believe “the country’s future system should be decided by Iranians through a constitutional process rather than by the automatic restoration of the monarchy.”
Does Pahlavi understand what the Iranian’s are truly experiencing? Does someone who left their own country deserve to reign over it? These are questions many are grappling with as decision day soon approaches.