The son of Iran’s former Shah has urged Western nations to join the ongoing conflict with Iran, while criticising the German government for declining to meet him during his visit to Berlin on Thursday.
Reza Pahlavi — whose father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution that brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power — accused European countries of standing by while Tehran continued what he described as a brutal crackdown on protests that killed thousands late last year.
“The question is not whether change will come. Change is on the way,” Pahlavi said at a press conference in Berlin. “The real question is how many Iranians will lose their lives while Western democracies continue to merely watch.”
His visit sparked demonstrations by both supporters and critics in central Berlin, where one person was detained after Pahlavi was splashed with a red liquid during a public appearance.
Potential opposition figure
Pahlavi, who has spent most of his life in exile, has emerged as a possible opposition leader following widespread anti-government protests in Tehran and other cities last year. However, Iran’s opposition remains deeply fragmented, and Western governments have been cautious about backing him, given uncertainty over his domestic support nearly five decades after the monarchy’s fall.
European nations, including Germany, have so far ruled out joining the United States and Israel, which launched the conflict on February 28 with airstrikes that reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Pahlavi also expressed disappointment that the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not meet him during his visit. “Exercise your prerogative. As democracies, you’re entitled to talk to whoever you want,” he said.
His trip comes amid stalled diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, with both Iran and the United States maintaining blockades around the Strait of Hormuz — a critical route for roughly a fifth of global oil shipments.
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