PARIS: As the U.S. and Israel went to war on Iran this year, a transformative moment seemed to have arrived for Reza Pahlavi, son of the autocratic shah who was overthrown in 1979.
Despite not having set foot in Iran in almost half a century, Pahlavi had been actively campaigning in the U.S. and Europe, giving speeches about a bright new future for his homeland, raising money and meeting elected officials. "The Iranian people have called on me to lead the transition after the regime is gone," he declared on the social-media platform X shortly after the war began in late February. "I have accepted that responsibility."
