Before him stands one clear objective – to overthrow the regime that took power from his father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in 1979, 47 years ago.

Born into royalty

The Iranian Crown Prince was born on October 31, 1960, in Tehran, 19 years after his father inherited power from his grandfather. At that time, he did not imagine that he would never serve as the leader of the Persian Empire.

بدانید که تنها نیستید. هم‌میهنان‌تان در سراسر جهان، صدای شما را با افتخار فریاد می‌زنند که حتما تصاویر حضور پرشمار و گسترده آنها را از طریق صفحه تلویزیون می‌بینید. دنیا امروز کنار انقلاب ملی شما ایستاده است و شهامت شما را تحسین می‌کند. به‌ویژه پرزیدنت ترامپ، به عنوان رهبر جهان… pic.twitter.com/D3JjErJ7QM

— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) January 11, 2026

Reza Pahlavi studied at the Reza Pahlavi School, named after him, which was established within the walls of Niavaran Palace in northern Tehran, and lived a life of luxury. A biographer of his father noted that the talented Crown Prince once played rock music at the palace during a visit by then-US President Jimmy Carter to Tehran on New Year's Eve – shortly before losing power.

In 1978, at age 18, Reza left Iran for a flight course at the US Air Force base in Texas, and has essentially not returned to his country since. A year later, in 1979, the Islamic Revolution broke out in Iran, which toppled the monarchical regime after nearly 50 years. His father, the Shah, fled the country, and Reza found himself in exile.

With his father's death in 1980, Reza officially became Crown Prince on his 20th birthday, but obviously with the title and without the crown. In a speech he gave then, he addressed the Iranian people and said, "I can understand and sympathize with your suffering and your inner torments. I shed the tears that you must hide. But there is, I am sure, light beyond the darkness. Deep in your hearts, you can be certain that this nightmare, like others in our history, will pass."

In the early 1980s, he settled in exile in the United States, in cities like Los Angeles and Washington DC, while his mother, Shahbanu (title for Iranian empress) Farah Pahlavi, lived in Paris.

The visit to Israel and hope after Operation Rising Lion

Over the years that passed, the Crown Prince invested efforts to undermine the terror regime of the Ayatollahs, but the chance for a reversal seemed slim until Trump's arrival. Alongside the imposition of economic sanctions, the prince returned to political activity which he intensified, activity that also included a visit in April 2023 to Israel.

He arrived in the country together with his wife, at the invitation of Minister Gila Gamliel, and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The program then included an emotional appearance at mandatory sites, such as the Western Wall and Yad Vashem, and an equally moving condolence visit to Rabbi Leo Dee, who lost his wife and two daughters in a terror attack in the Jordan Valley.

"To peace, to freedom, to security, human dignity, to live together. I bless the people of Iran and Israel," the Shah's son wrote in the Western Wall guestbook.

The special connection between Pahlavi and Minister Gamliel has continued even after the October 7 massacre. Pahlavi condemned the massacre in the harshest terms, and placed responsibility on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's regime for the barbaric murder of 1,200 Israelis.

In an interview with Israel Hayom, days after the launch of Operation Rising Lion, the Iranian Crown Prince expressed hope for change. Pahlavi was convinced that the blows Israel delivered to the Ayatollahs' regime had shaken its grip on the country.

"The overwhelming majority of the Iranian people oppose this oppressive regime. Despite the risks, they continue to make their voices heard – something that constitutes proof of the depth and breadth of the opposition. Very few are truly willing to sacrifice themselves for the regime. A low percentage directly benefit from its mechanisms of corruption and oppression, and from it only a small minority truly adhere to the regime's extremist ideology," Pahlavi said. "My vision is a democratic and secular Iran, based on human rights, equality, prosperity and peace, a nation that earns partnership and respect from the international community, and that is governed according to the will of the Iranian people."

In the same interview he expressed desire for cooperation with all countries of the region including Israel. "Iran and Israel can and should cultivate relations of mutual respect and mutual benefit, that will be based on diplomacy, economic cooperation, regional stability and peaceful coexistence. We will also aspire to similar relations with all our neighbors in the Arab world – from Saudi Arabia, through Jordan and to the United Arab Emirates."

"You are the complete opposite of Obama and Joe Biden"

In an interview he recently gave to Fox News, Reza addressed US President Donald Trump and called for overthrowing the regime while establishing relations with the State of Israel. "Mr. President, you have already established your legacy as a man committed to peace and fighting the forces of evil. There is a reason why Iranians call your name in the streets. They know you are the complete opposite of Obama and Joe Biden. They know you won't throw them under the bus."

He added, "They draw strength from the hope that you have their back. Let's hope you can cement this legacy forever by liberating Iran, so that we and you can restore it to its greatness. I am ready to return to Iran at the first opportunity and I am planning this with the transition team. We hope that this time the Iranian people will win and they will win. Because they are willing to die for this cause. This is not just for us Iranians, it is for the entire world. To ensure that all the evil this regime has brought to the world will disappear. That we can finally breathe, and achieve good relations with our neighbors, with the Israelis and with the Arab neighbors and with the rest of the world."

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The event, titled "Artists for Aid," took place at a private location in the city, against the backdrop of what organizers described as the destruction in Gaza following the end of the war there and the severe humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

All proceeds from ticket sales were directed to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and the American Sudanese Physicians Association as part of an effort to provide urgent aid to affected communities. The evening was initiated by Mustafa Ahmed, a 29-year-old Canadian artist of Sudanese descent known by his stage name "Mustafa the Poet," who had already organized similar events this year in New Jersey and London to raise direct aid without explicit political involvement.

Shawn Mendes and Maggie Rogers performing Youth in support of Palestine and Sudan https://t.co/RfKuZx9iSw pic.twitter.com/oLFckMHt7P

— raya - shawn mendes (@ShawnFansRaya) January 11, 2026

The show was hosted by model Bella Hadid, who is known along with her family members for her pro-Palestinian positions and calls for a ceasefire while accusing Israel of war crimes, and actor Pedro Pascal, who called for a ceasefire in December 2023 through support for Doctors Without Borders and in 2025 published calls for aid to women and children in Gaza and spoke out against Hollywood's silence on Israel's actions.

Besides Mendes, additional names who took part in the show included figures such as Clairo, who recently blocked access to her music in Israel as part of the No Music For Genocide campaign, Blood Orange, Rex Orange County, Alex G, Daniel Caesar, Faye Webster, Lucy Dacus, rapper Noname, Omar Apollo, Raphael Saadiq, Snow Allegra, Tamino, and 070 Shake, with an emphasis on alternative indie works, parts of which were streamed on social networks.

Mendes himself signed a 2024 petition calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an "end to the occupation," published posts against violence from both sides with an emphasis on Palestinian suffering, and participated in videos of Palestinian poets' poetry, making his participation in the show a natural continuation of his positions perceived as pro-Palestinian. Initial reports indicate the show was a major success, with fundraising of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the audience at the venue and from the network, with potential for additional donations that will be transferred directly to field organizations, according to organizers' statements.

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"We couldn't contact our friends and family for two days," Dr. Goldie Ghamari, an Iranian exile and human rights activist, told Israel Hayom. She previously worked as a politician in Canada and now, with hundreds of thousands of social media followers, works to raise awareness in the West about the brutal oppression carried out by the ayatollah regime. At age one, she left Iran with her parents but has visited multiple times since. She describes a beautiful country and warm people suffering under the oppression of a terrorist and dictatorial regime.

According to her, "The situation has definitely escalated, the protests we're seeing now are something we haven't seen in 47 years, since the Islamic regime hijacked Iran. These are the largest protests on a national scale, with more than 120 cities and towns. Last night, there were tens of millions of Iranians across the country. In the footage we saw, Iranians are also burning mosques. The mosques in Iran are very similar to mosques in Gaza. The mosques serve terrorists as hiding places. Many of the regime's Basij forces go to mosques to receive military equipment. So Iranians are burning these mosques because they provide support to terrorists. This is very similar to how Hamas uses mosques in Gaza for terror."

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An email the Belgian citizen received from Belgium's Israeli consulate asserted she resides in a Jerusalem sector that fails to meet "international law recognition" standards. In correspondence with her attorney, Julian Cohen, shared on social media, consular officials informed her that her address renders the Belgian consulate in Jerusalem unauthorized to process her passport application, adding that she and her family had been expunged from the consulate's population records.

Consular staff clarified that relocating to an alternative address would trigger reconsideration of her application. "Should you transfer to an address beyond an unrecognized settlement, you may supply us with the requisite supporting documentation enabling us to update your records accordingly." The Jerusalem resident's remaining recourse involves a Belgian court appeal, though, absent favorable judicial intervention, she cannot secure passport renewal through Jerusalem's consulate.

Attorney Julian Cohen denounced the consulate's determination. "The Belgian consulate in Jerusalem just dispatched correspondence to a client seeking Belgian passport renewal who inhabits Jerusalem's incorrect geographic sector, consequently forfeiting consulate service eligibility... This consulate purportedly maintains jurisdiction over both Jerusalem and Palestinian territories, yet their position places her neither within Jerusalem nor the territories..."

Last September – preceding the Israel-Hamas ceasefire – coalition partners threatening governmental collapse, coupled with intra-party pressure, compelled Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to champion a comprehensive anti-Israel sanctions framework. The 12-section document, predominantly comprising Israeli sanctions, encompassed import prohibitions on Judea and Samaria settlement products plus east Jerusalem goods, weapons and war-applicable materials embargoes, visa denials for Israeli citizens from Judea and Samaria, Belgian airspace restrictions for military aircraft, targeted sanctions against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, plus additional provisions including consular service suspension for Belgian nationals inhabiting Israel, Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem.

The framework additionally mandated European Union-level anti-Israel initiatives, conditional Palestinian statehood recognition requiring Hamas disarmament and hostage liberation, alongside Hamas terror organization condemnations.

Jerusalem officials expressed disappointment regarding Belgium's sanction trajectory, though implementation appeared stalled until recently. Current developments reveal that the policy has transcended theoretical documentation, with sanctions progressively materializing operationally.

The stringent sanctions blindsided Israel, given Prime Minister De Wever's established pro-Israel credentials. Nevertheless, Belgium's domestic political pressures ultimately prevailed, forcing concessions that legitimized anti-Israel governmental resolutions. These determinations prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to characterize De Wever as "a feeble leader pursuing Islamic terror appeasement through Israeli sacrifice."

Ralph Pais, deputy president of Belgium's Jewish Center for Information and Documentation (JID), stated the "Jewish Center for Information and Documentation (JID) vehemently condemns the Belgian consulate's passport renewal refusal targeting a Belgian citizen domiciled in Israel, predicated exclusively upon residential location. This determination constitutes de facto sanctioning of a Belgian citizen, originating from Belgium's political Israel orientation."

Pais elaborated, "Passport access represents fundamental entitlement, not foreign policy instrumentation. Belgium imposes sanctions here not upon Israel but upon its citizenry. The reality that Belgian Jews residing in Israel bear this discrimination's impact renders it categorically unacceptable. Belgium's government effectively discriminates against its citizens based on political and religious alignment. This contravenes foundational legal principles and is unacceptable."

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