UW News

May 2, 2002

Shah of Iran’s son to speak May 6

Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah of Iran, will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, May 6 in 120 Kane about the current situation in Iran and the future of democracy there.

Pahlavi was described in a recent Time magazine article as “the most significant symbol of external opposition” to Iran’s current rulers. His father, Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was deposed and exiled by a regime led by fundamentalist Islamic clerics in 1979.

At the time, the younger Pahlavi was studying to be a fighter pilot in Texas. He now lives near Washington, D.C., and makes regular satellite TV broadcasts to Iran (which are illegally but widely watched). He told Time that he has no intention of re-establishing the monarchy but supports Iranians’ right to self-determination.

His UW appearance is sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilization, the Middle East Center of the Jackson School of International Studies; and the College of Arts & Sciences.