Far-right praise for shah’s secret police puts Reza Pahlavi on the spot

Reza Pahlavi, an Iranian political opposition leader in exile and the son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, speaks to supporters on 23 April 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Reza Pahlavi, an Iranian political opposition leader in exile and the son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, speaks to supporters on 23 April 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Far-right praise for shah’s secret police puts Reza Pahlavi on the spot Son of deposed shah forced to distance himself from once-dreaded Savak as some of his ‘fascistic’ supporters glorify it For decades, the Savak was seen as the most hated symbol of repression that kept Iran’s last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in power – and a main driving force behind the revolutionary fervor that toppled him in 1979. Now the deposed monarch’s son, Reza Pahlavi, has been forced to distance himself from the once-dreaded security agency after some of his most vociferous supporters glorified it as the defining emblem in their drive to install him on the throne in a royal restoration. Washington-based Pahlavi, 65, who has not been in Iran for 48 years, has portrayed himself as “uniquely positioned” to lead a transition to democracy to replace the current Islamic theocracy, which has been fighting for its survival since February when the US and Israel embarked on a campaign of military strikes, currently stalled amid a shaky ceasefire and Pakistani-mediated negotiations. He thrust himself forward as a potential leader after protesters chanted his name and “ javid shah ” (long live the shah), in reference to the Iran’s long history of monarchical rule in mass demonstrations that gripped Iran last January before being brutally crushed by regime security forces. But former Pahlavi allies say his credentials have been undermined by “fascistic” supporters who have staged rallies at which they have flown banners and worn T-shirts emblazoned with the emblem of the Savak . Trained by the US and Israel, the Savak was widely seen as an instrument of despotism which sustained his father’s rule by ruthlessly torturing and surveilling opponents. Following criticism that he had stayed silent, Pahlavi has belatedly denounced the displays in an awkwardly worded video message , calling the issue “relatively urgent”. “I don’t know where it is coming from,” he said. “I don’t want to get into a historical analysis of whether that organisation acted correctly or incorrectly, what it was not. “I will only say that it is a controversial issue. This is precisely the type of behaviour that gives an excuse to those that want to launch attacks on our movement.” Pahlavi’s denunciation was aired after his standing appeared to suffer a blow following revelations that the US and Israel had identified the former Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , as a likely replacement in the event of the Islamic regime collapsing. The scheme to install Ahmadinejad is believed to have fallen through