Reza Pahlavi

Reza Pahlavi is the eldest son of the late Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Farah Pahlavi. He was designated Crown Prince in 1967 during his father's coronation. In August 1978, he left Iran to train as a fighter pilot at Reese Air Force Base in Texas and never returned after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He enrolled at Williams College in September 1979 but dropped out in 1980, later obtaining a B.S. in political science from the University of Southern California by correspondence in 1985.

Following his father's death in Cairo on 27 July 1980, he declared himself Shah of Iran (Reza Shah II) on his 20th birthday at Koubbeh Palace in Cairo — a claim the U.S. State Department immediately disassociated itself from. He later shifted his public stance toward advocacy for a secular democratic republic, positioning himself as a unifying figure for the Iranian opposition rather than claiming the throne.

In 1982, he was involved in a coup d'état scheme alongside Israeli businessman Yaakov Nimrodi, Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi, and General Said Razvani. The plan reportedly had CIA and Israeli cabinet approval but was abandoned in 1983 when Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin resigned. He announced formation of a government-in-exile in May 1986.

He married Yasmine Etemad-Amini in 1986. They have three daughters, including Noor Pahlavi, whom he declared heir to the Pahlavi succession in 2019 — a break from traditional male-line primogeniture. His siblings include Ali Reza Pahlavi (died 2011) and Leila Pahlavi (died 2001).

He co-founded the Iran National Council in 2013 as a platform for coordinating opposition activities, and launched the Phoenix Project of Iran think tank in Washington, D.C. in February 2019, focused on post-regime transition planning.

During the 2022–2023 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, he emerged as one of the most visible exile voices, calling for civil disobedience and international support. He organized a rally on 11 February 2023 that drew 80,000+ attendees in Los Angeles. A Change.org petition for Pahlavi as representative reached 460,000+ signatures. In March 2023, he spoke at the Oxford Union, and in April 2023 he visited Israel, meeting with President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His father's former confidant, Ahmad Ali Masoud Ansari (brother of historian Ali M. Ansari), has publicly alleged that Reza Pahlavi and his aides were funded by Saudi Arabia and the CIA — claims that Reza Pahlavi has not publicly addressed. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has characterized his supporters as "the opposition against opposition," suggesting his role is polarizing within the broader movement. He resides in Potomac, Maryland.