Patrick Wintour: Reza Pahlavi: The Shadow of a Throne or a Symbol of Protest?

“As the collapse of the rial triggers a new wave of unrest across Iran, the slogans echoing through the streets of Tehran and Mashhad have taken a nostalgic turn. ‘Reza Shah, bless your soul’ is heard with increasing frequency. However, diplomatic observers and those close to the protest movement warn against misinterpreting these cries as a coherent demand for the restoration of the Pahlavi monarchy.

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah living in exile in the US, has moved quickly to position himself as the ‘natural leader’ of this transition. He speaks of a ‘Cyrus Union’ and a secular future. Yet, for a significant portion of the Iranian population—particularly the youth and the ethnic minorities—the Pahlavi name carries the baggage of an authoritarian past that feels too similar to the current repression they seek to escape.

The reality on the ground suggests that the Iranian people are engaged in a ‘search for an exit’ from the Islamic Republic, rather than a ‘return to the past.’ The Pahlavi brand serves as a convenient, recognizable anti-regime symbol in the absence of organized domestic leadership, but it lacks the deep institutional and pluralistic support required to build a democratic successor state.

Furthermore, the complex ethnic tapestry of Iran, including the powerful Azerbaijani Turkic voice, remains wary of the Persian-centric nationalism that defined the Pahlavi era. For them, and for many urban liberals, the goal is not a new monarch, but a constitutional breakthrough that finally realizes the dormant promises of the 1906 Revolution—a goal that requires a collective civil leap, not just a change of crown.”

By Patrick Wintour