Titular Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is set to make his first visit to Israel. He has stated he will be giving “a message of friendship from the Iranian People,” an important visit in face of increased hostility between Israel and the Islamic Republic.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Crown Prince of Iran, is set to make his first visit to Israel, announcing this on Sunday, April 16. The Prince, who is the son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran resides in the USA since the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew his Father.
On Monday night, the Crown Prince is scheduled to take part in the annual Holocaust memorial ceremony, according to his host Gila Gamliel, the Israeli Minister of Intelligence. Alongside this, he is also scheduled to visit other sites such as an Israeli desalination plant and see the Western Wall. Apart from these visits, he will meet local representatives such as those of the Bahai Community (which has origins in Iran) as well as representatives of the Jews of the Iranian diaspora in Israel.
Reza Pahlavi has stated that on this visit he will be bringing “a message of friendship from the Iranian people” to Israel.
His host, Gamliel has praised his “brave” decision to make this first visit. She further added that “The crown prince symbolizes a leadership different from that of the Ayatollah regime, and leads values of peace and tolerance in contrast to the extremists who rule Iran.”
He has been a major social and political leader, especially for the Iranian refugee and diaspora community in Europe and the United States. Pahlavi has been a vocal opponent of the current Islamic regime in Tehran and has called for a peaceful revolution that would replace the current clerical theocratic rule with a parliamentary monarchy, enshrining human rights, and modernizing it’s state-run economy.
Who is Reza Pahlavi?
Pahlavi is an important figure both for the international Iranian diaspora, but also for opposition movements to the current clerical regime in Tehran. He represents the largest figure in opposition who could provide an alternative to the Ayatollah. But whether support could materialize inside the nation itself is questionable.
His father was an American-backed monarch in the region who led a lavish lifestyle while ruling and suppressing any opposition or calls for democracy. The Prince then aged 17 left in 1979 for flight school in America, just before his father was exiled by the Islamic revolution which formed the current regime that rules in Tehran. He has not returned since.
The Israel – Iran relationship
Imperial Iran at the time was one of the few staunch US allies in the region also supporting Israel and having good relations with them. The 1979 Revolution changed this too as the new regime was strongly ideologically opposed to Israel, with its first leader Ayatollah Khomeini declaring it an “enemy of Islam”. Today, both states are enemies not only ideologically but geopolitically.
Israel considers Tehran its biggest threat due to it’s leadership’s repeated calls for Israel’s destruction, its support for militant groups opposed to it such as Hezbollah and also alleges that it is developing nuclear weapons.
In this tense geopolitical climate, Israel’s support for Iran’s former Prince and major opposition leader makes more sense.
Israel and the Iranian Opposition
Pahlavi, as with his father, is open to a positive relationship with Israel, stating on Twitter, “I want the people of Israel to know that the Islamic Republic (the current regime) does not represent the Iranian people. The ancient bond between our people can be rekindled for the benefit of both nations.“
This represents a shift that has in the second decade of the 21st century seen Israel grow more and more concerned about the current Iranian regime as its biggest threat and has engaged in both hard and soft power methods to counter this.
