The Shah’s Ghost Returns: Why Iranian Protesters Are Invoking a Monarchy Dead for 45 Years

In Toronto and Tehran alike, young Iranians who never lived under the Shah are chanting “Long Live the King”—a paradox that reveals the depths of the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy crisis.

A Revolution’s Unexpected Echo

The Iranian diaspora gathering in Toronto represents a broader phenomenon that would have seemed unthinkable just a decade ago: protesters explicitly calling for the restoration of the Pahlavi monarchy, which was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The chants of “Javid Shah” (Long Live the Shah) mark a dramatic shift in opposition rhetoric, moving beyond calls for reform to embrace what was once considered politically taboo—nostalgia for pre-revolutionary Iran.

This monarchist revival is particularly striking given the demographics involved. Many of these protesters, both in the diaspora and within Iran, were born after 1979 and have no personal memory of the Pahlavi era. Their embrace of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince who styles himself as a national leader, suggests that opposition to the Islamic Republic has reached such depths that even historically discredited alternatives appear preferable to the status quo.

The Power of Historical Amnesia

The rehabilitation of the Shah’s image speaks to a selective reading of history that has gained traction among younger Iranians. While the Pahlavi regime’s human rights abuses, corruption, and authoritarian practices are well-documented, these have been overshadowed in popular memory by the Islamic Republic’s own four decades of repression. Social media has accelerated this historical revisionism, with curated images of 1970s Tehran—showing unveiled women, Western fashions, and apparent prosperity—creating an idealized vision of pre-revolutionary life.

Reza Pahlavi’s strategic positioning as a unifying figure for the opposition reflects this shift. Unlike his father, who died in exile shortly after the revolution, the younger Pahlavi has cultivated an image as a democratic reformer rather than an absolute monarch. His video messages calling for diaspora mobilization tap into both nostalgic sentiment and contemporary frustrations, offering a ready-made alternative narrative to Islamic governance.

Policy Implications for the West

The emergence of pro-monarchist sentiment complicates Western policy calculations regarding Iran. While democratic governments have long called for reform and human rights improvements in Iran, the prospect of a monarchist restoration raises uncomfortable questions about supporting movements that may not align with democratic values. The Biden administration and European allies must now navigate between their stated support for Iranian protesters and their wariness of endorsing any specific opposition faction, particularly one with autocratic historical baggage.

As protests enter their seventh consecutive day with increasingly bold demands, the question isn’t merely whether the Islamic Republic can survive, but what might replace it. The fact that some Iranians are looking backward to monarchy rather than forward to new democratic models reveals both the depth of current desperation and the poverty of viable political alternatives that have emerged after four decades of authoritarian rule.