Who Would Be King (Shah) of Iran?

Iran's monarchy could theoretically return if the Islamic Republic falls, but restoration remains uncertain. Recent uprisings renewed interest in the exiled Pahlavi royal family. However, the collapse of the current political system would not automatically mean Iranians would choose to restore the monarchy.

Iran had some form of monarchy for more than 2,500 years before the 1979 revolution. The tradition is traced to Cyrus the Great, founder of the ancient Persian Empire. Several different dynasties ruled during that period, with the Pahlavis being the last.

Ismail I established the Safavid dynasty approximately 500 years ago. The Safavids emerged around the same period as the Ottoman Empire and restored a Persian ruling dynasty after centuries of foreign dynastic control.

The Safavids ended approximately 850 years of predominantly Arab and Turco-Mongol rule over Persia. Their rise represented the return of a Persian dynasty to the throne for the first time since before the Islamic conquests.

Iranian monarchs used the title Shah, an ancient Persian term meaning king or emperor. The title continued through the Safavid, Afsharid, Zand, Qajar, and Pahlavi dynasties.

Shah Abbas the Great brought the Safavid dynasty to its height and strengthened Shia Islam's position in Iran. His reign helped establish the religious identity that continues to distinguish Iran from many predominantly Sunni Muslim countries.

The Safavid dynasty ruled for approximately 230 years before losing much of its territory. Afghan Hotak forces, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia took advantage of the dynasty's decline and seized substantial territories.

Nader Shah recovered the lost Safavid territories and expanded Iranian control further. A former slave who became a military commander, he established the Afsharid dynasty. His assassination left a dynasty that failed to maintain power for long.

The Zand dynasty followed the Afsharids but was eventually replaced by the Qajars. This continued a succession of competing ruling families rather than an uninterrupted hereditary line.

The Qajar dynasty established Tehran as Iran's capital and ruled throughout the 19th century. Its members remained significant in Iranian history because of their role in the country's first constitutional reforms.

Two Qajar princesses became internet-famous because of historical Persian beauty standards. Their photographs circulated widely as examples of how ideals of physical attractiveness have changed over time.

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah approved Iran's first constitution shortly before his death. The constitution, adopted in 1906, established an elected parliament and introduced formal constitutional limits on royal authority.

Mohammad Ali Shah reversed his father's constitutional reforms. His opposition to parliamentary government produced a period known as the Minor Tyranny, during which the monarchy attempted to reclaim authority from constitutional institutions.

Constitutional forces overthrew Mohammad Ali Shah during the 1909 Triumph of Tehran. After approximately one year of intensified royal resistance, the constitutionalists removed him and installed his 11-year-old son, Ahmad Shah.

Ahmad Shah Qajar became monarch as a child but struggled to exercise effective authority. Britain and Russia exerted extensive influence over Iran during his reign, while the monarchy lacked the strength to prevent foreign interference.

Reza Khan emerged as Iran's dominant military figure following the 1921 coup. He consolidated political power, eventually became prime minister, and displaced the Qajar dynasty.

Reza Khan became Reza Shah in 1925, founding the Pahlavi dynasty. His accession ended Qajar rule and established the royal family that would govern Iran until 1979.

Reza Shah adopted the surname Pahlavi to connect his dynasty with Iran's ancient heritage. The name referred to an ancient Iranian language and helped associate the new monarchy with Persia's pre-Islamic history.

Reza Shah pursued modernization and encouraged international use of the name Iran instead of Persia. The change also reflected the fact that Iran included ethnic communities beyond Persians.

World War II ended Reza Shah's rule despite Iran's declared neutrality. His government's close connections with Germany contributed to the Allied decision to invade Iran in 1941.

The Allied invasion forced Reza Shah to abdicate in 1941. His eldest son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, succeeded him, preserving the dynasty under radically changed political circumstances.

Mohammad Reza Shah ruled Iran for approximately 38 years, from 1941 until 1979. He continued his father's modernization policies and became the final reigning monarch of Iran.

Mohammad Reza Shah introduced the White Revolution in 1963. The reform program included measures intended to modernize Iranian society and expand rights for women and minorities.

The term White Revolution referred to the reforms' intended peaceful character, not race. The name was meant to distinguish the Shah's state-directed reforms from violent revolutionary upheaval.

The Pahlavi monarchy emphasized Iran's ancient Persian identity over its Islamic history. This approach presented the royal family as the modern continuation of a civilization stretching back to Cyrus the Great.

Iran celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire in 1971. Mohammad Reza Shah used the occasion to celebrate Cyrus the Great's historical legacy, and a major monument was constructed to commemorate the anniversary.

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 abolished the Pahlavi monarchy and established an Islamic republic. Mohammad Reza Shah left Iran, ending the royal family's direct political authority.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became the Islamic Republic's first supreme leader, followed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The title ayatollah is used by certain senior Shia religious scholars.

Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei were not related despite their similar surnames. Their names refer to two distinct political and religious figures, rather than members of the same family.

The episode identified relatives of both supreme leaders as possible future successors. A son of Ali Khamenei and a grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini were discussed as potential candidates, illustrating how family connections could influence leadership succession even within a republic.

Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Shah, is the principal Pahlavi claimant to Iran's abolished throne. If the monarchy were restored under his family's claim, he would reign as Reza II.

Mohammad Reza Shah married three times, partly because producing a male heir was essential to the dynasty's succession. His marriages connected the Iranian monarchy to foreign royalty and prominent Iranian families.

The Shah's first wife was Princess Fawzia of Egypt. Their marriage produced a daughter, Shahnaz Pahlavi, but ended in divorce. The relationship is described as an unhappy political arrangement rather than a successful personal partnership.

The Shah's second wife was Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, the daughter of an Iranian diplomat. The Shah reportedly loved her deeply, but their marriage ended because they had no children and the monarchy required an heir.

The Shah's third marriage was to Farah Diba, who became Empress Farah Pahlavi. Their marriage produced Reza Pahlavi, securing a direct male successor to the throne.

Mohammad Reza Shah and Farah were formally crowned emperor and empress in 1967. The elaborate coronation established Farah's position as empress and publicly reinforced the dynasty's continuity.

Reza Pahlavi was formally designated crown prince during the 1967 coronation, when he was six years old. His position as the Shah's eldest son made him the expected successor under the monarchy's hereditary rules.

The 1979 revolution ended Reza Pahlavi's prospect of automatically succeeding his father as Iran's reigning monarch. He was still a teenager when the dynasty lost power and the royal family entered exile.

Mohammad Reza Shah died in 1980, shortly after losing his throne. Following his father's death, Reza Pahlavi proclaimed himself the rightful Shah, although he possessed no governing authority in Iran.

Reza Pahlavi has spent most of his adult life in the United States. His political and dynastic position has consequently developed from exile rather than through direct participation in Iran's government.

Reza Pahlavi married Yasmine Etemad-Amini, an Iranian woman he met in the United States. They have three daughters, making the question of female succession important to the family's future.

The former Iranian constitution restricted succession to male heirs. Under those rules, Reza Pahlavi's daughters would not automatically inherit the throne, creating a conflict between the historic succession system and his preferred arrangement.

Reza Pahlavi regards his eldest daughter, Noor Pahlavi, as his heir. This departs from the former constitution's male-only succession rules and implies that a restored monarchy would need to address the legal position of female heirs.

Noor Pahlavi was unmarried at the time discussed in the episode. Her position as her father's preferred successor is based on her place as his eldest daughter, rather than on marriage to another royal family.

Reza Pahlavi's second daughter, Iman Pahlavi, married Bradley Sherman in 2025. Sherman is a Jewish American technology entrepreneur, making the marriage a notable connection between the exiled Iranian royal family and an American Jewish family.

Two of Reza Pahlavi's younger siblings died prematurely. Their deaths reduced the number of direct descendants of Mohammad Reza Shah who could potentially figure in a restored royal succession.

Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi died by suicide in 2011. His death removed Reza Pahlavi's younger brother from the potential male line of succession.

Princess Leila Pahlavi died from a drug overdose in 2001. The episode notes that her death may also have been a suicide, although that possibility is presented as uncertain.

Ali Reza Pahlavi left one child, a daughter. Under the former male-only inheritance rules, his daughter would not continue the eligible male line through her father.

The absence of sons in Reza Pahlavi's immediate family complicates succession under the old constitution. Even if Reza became Shah, identifying his successor would depend on whether Iran retained the previous rules or adopted new ones.

Davoud Pahlavi is identified as a possible successor through another male branch of the dynasty. The episode points to him when considering succession under the old rules, rather than the arrangement favored by Reza Pahlavi.

Davoud Pahlavi also has only daughters, creating another potential succession problem under male-only inheritance. If his branch could not produce an eligible male successor, the claim could move to his brothers or more distant male relatives.

The wider Pahlavi family contains additional male branches that could become relevant. The episode indicates that succession might eventually require tracing descendants of earlier generations rather than relying on Mohammad Reza Shah's immediate descendants.

Restoring the monarchy would not necessarily require restoring the Pahlavi dynasty. The Qajar family, which ruled before the Pahlavis, also retains descendants with historical claims to the Iranian throne.

The Qajar claim survives through descendants of the dynasty's last reigning monarch and his relatives. Although the narrator considers a Qajar restoration politically unlikely, the family's hereditary succession has continued in exile.

Ahmad Shah Qajar died in exile in 1930, five years after losing his throne. His only son, Fereydoun Mirza, was approximately eight years old at the time.

Mohammad Hassan Mirza, Ahmad Shah's brother and former crown prince, claimed the Qajar throne after Ahmad's death. His position as an adult male from the royal family gave him a competing claim while Fereydoun was still a child.

The Qajar succession later passed to Fereydoun Mirza following Mohammad Hassan Mirza's death. Fereydoun did not actively pursue restoration of the monarchy and instead established his life in Switzerland.

Fereydoun Mirza's marriage to a commoner complicated his descendants' eligibility under the dynasty's succession rules. The episode describes this marriage as the reason his children were excluded from the line being considered.

The Qajar claim subsequently moved to Hamid Mirza, a son of Mohammad Hassan Mirza. This transferred the principal claim away from Ahmad Shah's direct descendants to another branch of the same family.

Hamid Mirza's claim passed to his son, Mohammad Hassan Mirza II. He is identified as the present Qajar claimant to the abolished Iranian throne.

The Qajar claimant to the throne and the head of the Qajar family are not the same person. Mohammad Hassan Mirza II holds the dynastic claim described in the episode, while a cousin from another branch serves as head of the house.

The distinction between the Qajar heir and head of house reflects two different forms of dynastic authority. One concerns the historical right to claim the throne; the other concerns leadership or representation of the wider royal family. The episode does not establish the precise responsibilities attached to the latter position.

The Pahlavi and Qajar families both preserve hereditary claims despite having no sovereign authority. Their continued existence means that a future restoration would involve political choices about which dynasty, if any, should return.

Reza Pahlavi's position is considerably more straightforward than the question of who would succeed him. As the last Shah's eldest son and designated crown prince, he has a clear historical claim, but his lack of sons creates a conflict between the old constitution and his recognition of Noor as heir.

The ultimate question of Iran's monarchy cannot be settled by genealogy alone. The episode establishes who possesses historical dynastic claims, but actual restoration would require the collapse or replacement of the existing political system and a decision to reintroduce hereditary rule.