King without a kingdom: Pahlavi wants democracy

While much of Iran celebrated the 1979 revolution that overturned the country's monarchy, a 17-year-old Reza Pahlavi, heir to the throne, fled the country with his father, the late deposed king Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Twenty-two years later, a theocratic Iranian government has recently been facing weeks of protests over a soccer defeat, and Pahlavi is struggling to find a way back home.

MAC CAPLAN/YH Heir to the Iranian throne Reza Pahlavi strugtgles to find a way home in the face of widespread protests in his native country.

Pahlavi, an exiled monarch whose only access to the Iranian people has been through the international media, argues for a secular democratic government in Iran. He makes regular visits to universities, including a visit on Mon., Oct. 29 to Yale, where he gave a talk entitled, "Iran's Dilemma: The Islamic Republic and the Current Crisis in the Middle East." For years his letters and interviews have appeared in newspapers around the world.

During his talk, Pahlavi highlighted the repressive nature of Iran's current government and a need for non-violent political reform. The exiled heir to the throne said he finds inspiration in the Iranian people—a people only a generation apart from the very revolutionaries who forced his father from power. "I have a duty toward my country," Pahlavi said.

In 1978, Pahlavi lived in the U.S., training as a fighter pilot. The next year he returned home briefly, just before the revolution forced him to leave his country. His family fled aboard a private Boeing 707 piloted by his father, the deposed king. Pahlavi returned to the U.S. to finish his pilot training as though nothing had changed.

But life had changed for Pahlavi. With his father's death in 1980, Pahlavi was left a king without a kingdom.

His future still unsure, Pahlavi attended the University of Southern California, where he received his undergraduate degree in political science.

Pahlavi said he is committed to a democratic alternative to what he calls "clerical" rule in the Middle East. "My agenda is limited to one preoccupation: How can I assist in democratic change through a national referendum?" he said. "What ultimate form it takes is secondary. My role today is most important as being a catalyst for that change."

Pahlavi has pushed for change by making his arguments as pub-lic as possible. He credits much of his publicity to the website operated under his name, which has received over 20 million hits since the start of this year. In fact, the website reads like a campaign platform: "I envision an Iran: wherein its prosperous economy gives every Iranian an equal chance for hope and opportunity."

Despite what many view as political ambitions, Pahlavi insists that the rule of Iran is not his goal. "I will be happy the day people go to the polls," Pahlavi said. He said that he would serve his country either as a monarch or a citizen, so long as the voice of the people is heard.

Unrest in Iran's streets began when the Iranian national soccer team defeated Iraq. The victory spurred bursts of celebration, but the government was quick to respond with arrests, at first by the hundreds. The number of arrests has now climbed to more than 2,000. The Iranian soccer team subsequently lost to Behrain, and there was speculation that the government asked the team to throw the game. Protests have since spread throughout Iran's major urban centers.

Seizing this moment of political unrest, Pahlavi has raised his voice, urging substantive reform in Iran. He has continued to stress Iran as a key component to stability in the Middle East. "Anything that can be changed for the better in [the Middle East] can be affected by what Iran can do," he said.

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