During recent protests in Iran, some demonstrators chanted the name of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and carried the green-white-red flag with the lion and sword used before the 1979 revolution. For many young protesters, the shah’s era has come to symbolize a lost period of modernization, even though Iranians themselves overthrew the monarchy nearly half a century ago.
The article notes that interest in the son of the last shah is not new. As early as 2001, Professor Adel Darwish wrote that protesters were again chanting Reza Pahlavi’s name and linking him to hopes for a new “White Revolution,” this time on a democratic basis.
How the Pahlavi dynasty emerged
The dynasty’s founder, Reza Khan Pahlavi, came to power in 1925. According to regional experts, he ruled harshly but played for Iran a modernizing role comparable to Ataturk’s in Turkey. Under him, roads were built, industry expanded, a national bank was created, civil and criminal codes were introduced, and the country began officially using the name Iran instead of Persia.
“With an iron hand, he drove the country into modernization,” says an orientalist whose name is withheld.
At the same time, Reza Khan subordinated parliament and dealt ruthlessly with critics. In 1941, after Soviet and British troops entered Iran and Allied forces operated in the south, he was forced to abdicate, and power passed to his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Reforms, coup, and the shah’s return
The new shah inherited a country facing food shortages and political strain amid foreign involvement. In 1951, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh moved to nationalize the oil industry. Two years later, his government was overthrown: the CIA later acknowledged U.S. involvement in planning the 1953 coup, after which the shah returned to power.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi then pursued tighter personal rule and sweeping reforms known as the White Revolution. They included land redistribution, literacy campaigns, rural healthcare programs, and expanded women’s rights, including suffrage. Iran specialists say these measures accelerated modernization but also deepened conflict with the clergy and made the political system more closed.
The final part of the article says that after the shah died in exile in 1980, Reza Pahlavi declared himself ready to assume the title and gradually became one of the figures of the exile opposition. During protests in 1999, 2001, 2012, 2025, and 2026, his name again resurfaced among opponents of the Islamic Republic as a symbol of a possible political alternative.