Pahlavi is certainly controversial in the Iranian opposition. His support of Israel has drawn significant criticism from many Iranians and members of opposition groups in the past, particularly after attacks on Iran in June 2025. The fact that the name of the Shah’s family is repeatedly invoked does not necessarily mean that citizens also want to see Pahlavi in power. Many, among others, writes the American radio station NPR on its website, could also long for the times before the mullahs’ regime.
video | Fires are blazing in Iran: angry crowds take to the streets
Player is loading
Experts also see the reason for the support in the failure of the mullahs. “The more the Islamic Republic has failed, the more it has strengthened its antithesis,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert at the Washington Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, told the Washington Post. “The success of the crown prince and his team is to draw a sharp contrast between the normality of what was and the promise of what could be, on the one hand, and, on the other, the nightmare and current plight that is the reality for so many Iranians.”
According to Barbara Slavin, an Iran expert and distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, Pahlavi’s rhetoric during Israel’s attacks on Iran was “counterproductive.” Slavin told Al Jazeera that Pahlavi had largely lost touch with the feelings and perspectives within Iran, having not been there since his youth. His refusal to condemn Israel’s bombing of civilians turned off many people.
Pahlavi’s popularity rose particularly during US President Donald Trump’s first term in office. Yet at the time, Trump and other world leaders were reluctant to support him. Even during the recent protests, Trump held back from highlighting the Shah’s son. Apparently the US President wants to wait and see whether the Iranians themselves can bring about a change of power and whether people who live in the country can come to government.
