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"The people called me to lead"/ The son of the deposed shah warns of return to Iran

2026-01-19 09:59:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

"The people called me to lead"/ The son of the deposed shah warns of

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah deposed in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has said he will return to Iran from exile in the United States. The 65-year-old Pahlavi did not give an exact date for his return, and it remains unclear whether he will be allowed to enter Iran and what consequences he will face as an opposition politician.

Protests erupted across Iran in late December over a deep economic crisis and soaring inflation, quickly escalating into wider demonstrations against the Islamic Republic's authoritarian system. Pahlavi said in a video message posted on X that the Iranian people are seeking a new, credible path forward.

"The battle in Iran today is between occupation and liberation. The Iranian people have called me to lead. I will return to Iran," he added.

The Iranians are taking action on the ground and it is time for the international community to join them, he said.

"I will return to Iran. The people of Iran have risen to demand the return of their country. History will honor those who stand by it ," he said.

Pahlavi, who was appointed crown prince by his father, the former Shah, has lived in exile in the United States for decades. The protests may have killed 16,500 to 18,000 people, according to figures from medical personnel published in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper on Sunday, although the exact death toll could not be confirmed.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei acknowledged for the first time on Saturday that thousands of people had been killed in the unrest across the country. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed 3,308 deaths so far and was looking into 4,382 more.

The figures cannot be confirmed because information on casualties has not been published since Iranian authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown on January 8. /CNA





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