Iran’s exiled crown prince rises as a figure in protests

DUBAI: He has been in exile for nearly 50 years. His father — Iran’s shah — was so widely hated that millions took the streets against

him in 1979, forcing him from power.

Nevertheless, Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is trying to position himself as a player in his country’s future.

Pahlavi successfully spurred protesters onto the streets Thursday night in a massive escalation of the protests sweeping Iran. Initially sparked by the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy, the

demonstrations have become a serious challenge to its theocracy, battered by years of nationwide protests and a 12-day war in June launched by Israel that saw the US bomb nuclear

enrichment sites.

Pahlavi has issued calls, rebroadcast by Farsi-language satellite news channels and websites abroad, for Iranians to return to the streets Friday night.