Background and career
Reza Pahlavi (born 31 October 1960) is an Iranian political activist and the former Crown Prince of Iran. He is the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Pahlavi Shah of Iran, and his wife, Empress Farah. He lives in the United States as a dissident in exile. Born in Tehran, Reza Pahlavi was officially designated Crown Prince of Iran during his father's coronation in 1967. As a cadet in the Imperial Iranian Air Force, he moved to the United States to undergo pilot training at Reese Air Force Base in 1978. The following year, his father left Iran and the monarchy was abolished during the Islamic Revolution led by Ruhollah Khomeini. In 1980, following the death of his father in exile in Cairo, Reza Pahlavi declared himself Shah of Iran, adopting the title "Reza Shah II", and became active in political opposition to the Islamic Republic from abroad. In 2013, he co-founded the Iran National Council (INC). Reza Pahlavi has advocated holding a nationwide referendum to determine the country’s future system of government. Pahlavi has urged Iranians to protest against the Islamic Republic and has called for the removal of the current regime. He has also advocated for Iran to become an ally of the Western world and Israel. While many Iranians have voiced support for Pahlavi, his support among the entirety of the opposition remains unclear. He has been described as a prominent opposition figure during the 2025–2026 Iranian protests, and as an influential figure for supporters of the monarchy. However, others have described him as a polarizing figure, with some critics pointing out his reliance on foreign backing. Pahlavi has positioned himself as a potential transitional leader of a democratic Iran should the ruling Islamic government be toppled.
Reza Pahlavi was born in Tehran as the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran and Farah Pahlavi, the Shahbanu. Pahlavi's siblings include his sister Farahnaz, brother Ali Reza, and sister Leila, as well as a half-sister, Shahnaz. When he was born, the Shah pardoned 98 political prisoners, and the government declared a 20 percent reduction in income tax.
In his youth, he was a keen football player and spectator. He was a fan of the capital's football club Esteghlal, then known as Taj (lit. 'Crown'), and his support was even televised by the National Iranian Radio and Television. The club participated in annual rallies organized on his birthday, identifying the club with the Pahlavi regime. He was also a supporter of Taj Abadan football club, another Iranian football team of the era.
He studied at the eponymous "Reza Pahlavi School," a private school located in the royal palace and restricted to the imperial family and court associates. He was trained as a pilot; his first solo flight was at the age of 11, and he obtained his license a year later. As a cadet of the Imperial Iranian Air Force, he was sent to the United States in August 1978 to continue his pilot training. He was one of 43 cadet pilots in the one-year pilot training program at the Reese Air Force Base near Lubbock, Texas, which included flying the Cessna T-37 Tweet and Northrop T-38 Talon. As a result of the Iranian Revolution, he left the base in March 1979, about four months earlier than planned. He then joined his family in their travels, under tight security, from Morocco to the Bahamas to Mexico.
Pahlavi began studies at Williams College in September 1979, but dropped out in 1980. He then enrolled at The American University in Cairo as a political science student, but his attendance was irregular. In 1981, he had reportedly dropped out of the program and continued his studies privately with Iranian professors, with a focus on Persian culture and history, philosophy, and oil in Iran. While living in Morocco, Pahlavi obtained a B.S. in political science by correspondence from the University of Southern California in 1985. He is fluent in English and French in addition to his native Persian.
Reza Pahlavi is first in the line of succession to his late father. His younger brother Ali-Reza was second in line until his death by suicide in 2011. Before Reza Pahlavi's birth, the presumptive heir was Patrick Ali Pahlavi, the crown prince's cousin. On his website, Pahlavi has declared his eldest daughter, Noor Pahlavi as his heir, emphasizing his belief "in the inherent equal rights between men and women".
