Investigations by Haaretz and TheMarker reported the existence of an Israeli-linked influence network aimed at shaping Iranian public opinion and promoting Pahlavi as a potential post–Islamic Republic leader. The reports claim the network was operated by a private entity funded by Israeli government resources, used artificial intelligence, and relied on fake online accounts, particularly Persian-language profiles. The network allegedly recruited Persian speakers who reposted content from Reza Pahlavi.[99]
Whether or not he claims so, he’s pro-US and pro-Israel so they are pushing hard to restore the monarchy. Any support you see for him is likely astroturfed
Edit: besides, trusting an autocrat who promises to “transition to democracy at some point in the future” is the stupidest thing one can do during a popular uprising
Pahlavi himself iirc never ruled and criticised his father who did, so not sure how correctly he can be characterized as an “autocrat”. He might well be genuine. But yes, it’s obvious that there’s foreign countries who’d much prefer him over the theocracy.
An (absolute) monarchy is by definition an autocracy, and a monarch an autocrat. And we don’t know whether he wants to rule as Shah or not based on his statements, because even if he did, it would be in his best interest to deny it and promise democratization. So again: trusting an autocrat at their word, especially if they are promising to bring you democracy if you just let them take the reigns first, is foolishly naïve.
His support numbers are certainly somewhat pushed up.
However, on Reddit (on the subreddit r/newiran, which I must note is disproportionately pro-Pahlavi) someone proposed a method of verifying how much of his support genuinely came from Iran.
They measured the drop in viewership of his videos at the beginning of the Internet blackout. They concluded that most viewers were from Iran, since traffic dropped several times with the blackout.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Pahlavi,_Crown_Prince_of_Iran
Whether or not he claims so, he’s pro-US and pro-Israel so they are pushing hard to restore the monarchy. Any support you see for him is likely astroturfed
Edit: besides, trusting an autocrat who promises to “transition to democracy at some point in the future” is the stupidest thing one can do during a popular uprising
Pahlavi himself iirc never ruled and criticised his father who did, so not sure how correctly he can be characterized as an “autocrat”. He might well be genuine. But yes, it’s obvious that there’s foreign countries who’d much prefer him over the theocracy.
An (absolute) monarchy is by definition an autocracy, and a monarch an autocrat. And we don’t know whether he wants to rule as Shah or not based on his statements, because even if he did, it would be in his best interest to deny it and promise democratization. So again: trusting an autocrat at their word, especially if they are promising to bring you democracy if you just let them take the reigns first, is foolishly naïve.
His support numbers are certainly somewhat pushed up.
However, on Reddit (on the subreddit r/newiran, which I must note is disproportionately pro-Pahlavi) someone proposed a method of verifying how much of his support genuinely came from Iran.
They measured the drop in viewership of his videos at the beginning of the Internet blackout. They concluded that most viewers were from Iran, since traffic dropped several times with the blackout.