Shah’s Son Reza Pahlavi Says He Is Ready to Lead IranWorld

Speaking at the ceremony, Pahlavi said Iran was not a country waiting to be taught democracy. “Iran is a country not waiting to be taught democracy, this is a country being prevented from practising it,” he said. “A people ready to die for the right to vote is willing to exercise the right to vote.” He said he accepted the prize only as a trustee. “I hold it only temporarily,” he told the audience. “One day I will place it in the hands of its rightful owners, not on foreign soil but in the capital, Tehran.”

Pahlavi, who lives in exile in the United States, has put himself forward as a transitional leader should the current government in Tehran fall. At a press conference in Paris, he said he was submitting himself to his compatriots to lead them toward peace and a democratic transition, calling the moment Iran’s “Berlin Wall moment”. He said he did not seek power for himself, but wanted to guide the country toward stability, freedom and justice, based on three principles: Iran’s territorial integrity, individual liberties and equality for all citizens, and the separation of religion and state. The final form of government, he has said, should be decided by Iranians in a national referendum.

Thousands of demonstrators, many of them his supporters waving pre-revolutionary Iranian flags, gathered in Frankfurt for the ceremony, according to police. Inside, the largely Iranian-origin audience repeatedly interrupted the ceremony with chants of “Long live the shah, long live Iran!”

The award was not welcomed by everyone. About 200 prisoners held in Iran signed a letter protesting against Pahlavi receiving the prize, according to a spokeswoman for the Society for German-Iranians in Hesse, who said they considered him a symbol of a “bygone dictatorship”. The Frankfurt branches of the centre-left Social Democrats and the Greens boycotted the event, arguing Pahlavi could not be considered a legitimate representative of the Iranian people. Critics also point to his vocal support for Israel and say he has failed to distance himself sufficiently from his father’s autocratic rule. His father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was the last shah of Iran, who fled into exile in 1979 ahead of the revolution that overthrew the monarchy.

Anti-government protests broke out in Iran late last year and were suppressed in a January crackdown that rights groups say killed tens of thousands. His appearance came as tensions between the United States and Iran remain high: President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that US forces had carried out limited strikes against Iranian air defences on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran said its air defences had shot down American drones there, a claim Washington has not confirmed.