Reza Pahlavi: 5 things to know about the man who wants to be Iran’s next leader
1. Pahlavi’s political identity has been formed almost entirely in exile
Born in Tehran in 1960, he left Iran as a teenager for jet fighter training in the United States and never returned after the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the monarchy and barred his family from power, according to Axios.
He has lived in the U.S. ever since with his wife, Yasmine Etemad Amini, and their three daughters, building his political profile largely from exile.
Over the years, he has sought to position himself as a central figure in Iran’s fragmented opposition while arguing the country’s future system should be decided by Iranians through a constitutional process rather than by the automatic restoration of the monarchy.
His long absence from Iran, however, continues to fuel debate over how much support he truly commands inside the country, a question that remains unresolved among analysts and opposition figures.
