Key Insights into How Reza Pahlavi Serves the Iranian Regime
Key Insights into How Reza Pahlavi Serves the Iranian Regime
Despite portraying himself as an opponent of the Islamic Republic, Reza Pahlavi — the son of the overthrown Shah — has repeatedly played a role that benefits the regime. Far from offering a credible alternative, his passive stance, ambiguous rhetoric, and failure to align with the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people have made him a useful tool for the theocracy. Even regime-affiliated media such as Vatan-e Emrooz have admitted that monarchists “played their part” in preventing the 2022 uprising from evolving into a full-fledged revolution.
The regime has long relied on the shadow of the monarchy to create fear among older Iranians and to present a false dichotomy: either accept the Islamic Republic or return to the tyranny of the Shah. In this scheme, Reza Pahlavi serves as a convenient figurehead — a controlled opposition whose actions, or lack thereof, help reinforce the regime’s narrative that no viable, democratic alternative exists.
A telling example came during the 2018–2019 wave of protests when political prisoner and teacher activist Hashem Khastar revealed that regime MOIS agents had approached him and advising him to collaborate with Reza Pahlavi, even offering to call him directly from their phones. Khastar, a steadfast advocate for a secular democratic republic, refused — recognizing this for what it was: a ploy to defuse a revolutionary uprising by steering it into a dead-end monarchist framework.
This calculated maneuver by the regime exposed the depth of its strategy: using the monarchy as a decoy to divide the opposition and slow momentum toward regime change. Reza Pahlavi's reluctance to call for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, his silence in face of key events like the death of Soleimani, and his deliberate efforts against the organized resistance — especially the NCRI and MEK — have consistently served to demobilize real efforts for liberation.
His attempts to whitewash the Pahlavi regime’s legacy, despite its record of torture, executions, and foreign dependence. By trying to resuscitate a buried monarchy, he gives the regime the perfect excuse to discredit the opposition as backward-looking or foreign-imposed.
In short, Reza Pahlavi’s role in the Iranian political scene is not one of resistance but of deflection. His image helps the regime distract, divide, and delay. His presence benefits Tehran far more than it challenges it — a sobering reality that Iranians seeking freedom can no longer ignore.
Despite portraying himself as an opponent of the Islamic Republic, Reza Pahlavi — the son of the overthrown Shah — has repeatedly played a role that benefits the regime. Far from offering a credible alternative, his passive stance, ambiguous rhetoric, and failure to align with the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people have made him a useful tool for the theocracy. Even regime-affiliated media such as Vatan-e Emrooz have admitted that monarchists “played their part” in preventing the 2022 uprising from evolving into a full-fledged revolution.
The regime has long relied on the shadow of the monarchy to create fear among older Iranians and to present a false dichotomy: either accept the Islamic Republic or return to the tyranny of the Shah. In this scheme, Reza Pahlavi serves as a convenient figurehead — a controlled opposition whose actions, or lack thereof, help reinforce the regime’s narrative that no viable, democratic alternative exists.
A telling example came during the 2018–2019 wave of protests when political prisoner and teacher activist Hashem Khastar revealed that regime MOIS agents had approached him and advising him to collaborate with Reza Pahlavi, even offering to call him directly from their phones. Khastar, a steadfast advocate for a secular democratic republic, refused — recognizing this for what it was: a ploy to defuse a revolutionary uprising by steering it into a dead-end monarchist framework.
This calculated maneuver by the regime exposed the depth of its strategy: using the monarchy as a decoy to divide the opposition and slow momentum toward regime change. Reza Pahlavi's reluctance to call for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, his silence in face of key events like the death of Soleimani, and his deliberate efforts against the organized resistance — especially the NCRI and MEK — have consistently served to demobilize real efforts for liberation.
His attempts to whitewash the Pahlavi regime’s legacy, despite its record of torture, executions, and foreign dependence. By trying to resuscitate a buried monarchy, he gives the regime the perfect excuse to discredit the opposition as backward-looking or foreign-imposed.
In short, Reza Pahlavi’s role in the Iranian political scene is not one of resistance but of deflection. His image helps the regime distract, divide, and delay. His presence benefits Tehran far more than it challenges it — a sobering reality that Iranians seeking freedom can no longer ignore.
