Reza Pahlavi faces a critical reckoning as far-right Western figures increasingly praise the Savak, the brutal secret police of his father’s deposed regime. For decades, the exiled crown prince has positioned himself as a democratic alternative to the Islamic Republic. However, a growing faction of xenophobic and ultra-nationalist influencers in Europe and the United States has begun glorifying the Pahlavi dictatorship's intelligence apparatus. This toxic embrace directly undermines Pahlavi’s democratic credentials, alienates mainstream Western allies, and divisionally fractures the Iranian diaspora at a moment when unified opposition against Tehran is most desperately needed.
The strategy was supposed to be simple. Pahlavi spent years cultivating a statesmanlike image, wearing tailored suits, speaking at Western think tanks, and advocating for a secular, democratic transition in Iran. He repeatedly claimed he did not want to restore the monarchy unless the Iranian people chose it in a free referendum. He spoke the language of human rights.
Then came the online shift. Over the past year, a network of far-right commentators, anti-immigrant activists, and self-described "counter-jihadists" began adopting the pre-1979 lion and sun flag. They did not just praise the late Shah's Western-looking modernization efforts. They went further. They began posting memes celebrating the State Organization for Security and Intelligence, universally known as the Savak.
The Resurrection of the Monarchy's Darkest Shadow
Founded in 1957 with the assistance of the CIA and Mossad, Savak became synonymous with the systemic repression of domestic dissent under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The agency operated with near-total impunity. It monitored students, censored the press, and systematically tortured political dissidents, intellectuals, and religious conservatives alike.
The sudden rehabilitation of this agency by Western commentators is not accidental. It stems from a simplistic, binary worldview shared by many on the modern far-right. In this worldview, anyone who fights radical Islamists is a hero, regardless of their methods. To these foreign observers, the Savak was a highly effective bulwark against both communism and religious fundamentalism. They view the 1979 revolution not as a popular uprising against autocracy, but as a historic mistake that could have been prevented with more force.
This perspective ignores the historical reality that Savak’s brutal suppression of secular liberals and leftists actually cleared the path for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. By crushing the moderate political center, the secret police ensured that the only network capable of surviving the repression was the one organized through the mosques.
Pahlavi now finds himself trapped in a dangerous political paradox. To maintain his legitimacy among Western governments and the broader Iranian public, he must reject autocracy. Yet, a vocal segment of his own base, alongside these new foreign internet allies, openly craves a return to iron-fisted rule.
The Mechanics of Far Right Rebranding
The digital campaign to sanitize the pre-revolutionary regime relies on a mix of historical revisionism and modern grievance politics. Right-wing influencers use archival footage of 1970s Tehran—showing women in miniskirts and bustling, Westernized high streets—to contrast the Shah's era with the bleak reality of the current theological regime.
This visual shorthand is incredibly potent on social media. It presents a highly curated version of history that appeals directly to audiences unfamiliar with the systemic corruption, economic inequality, and political terror that defined the later years of the Pahlavi dynasty. The message is clear: Iran was a paradise until the religious fanatics took over, and the Savak was merely doing what was necessary to protect that paradise.
When these foreign accounts praise the secret police, they often receive thousands of likes and retweets from pro-monarchy Iranian bots and genuine activists. This creates a feedback loop. The foreign influencers gain a highly engaged, passionate new audience that boosts their algorithmic reach. In return, the hardline monarchists receive validation from Western voices, which they use to claim international backing.
The danger for Pahlavi is that this online ecosystem is increasingly dictating the tone of his movement. At rallies in London, Los Angeles, and Paris, counter-protesters from other Iranian opposition factions have been harassed by individuals carrying pictures of notorious Savak officials. This internal intimidation effectively paralyzes any attempt to build a broad, coalition-based opposition.
The Failure of Silence as a Strategy
Pahlavi has long preferred a strategy of strategic ambiguity. He frequently condemns the human rights abuses of the current regime while remaining vague or defensive about the abuses of his father’s government. When pressed on the Savak, he generally frames it as a historical institution that committed excesses but operated in a different era during the height of the Cold War.
That defense no longer holds up. By failing to forcefully and explicitly denounce the current glorification of the secret police, Pahlavi appears complicit to outside observers. His silence is interpreted as tacit approval by the extremists within his camp, encouraging them to become even more aggressive.
This ambiguity destroys his ability to appeal to the younger generation of protesters inside Iran. The Gen-Z and millennial activists who led the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement are hyper-aware of state oppression. They are risking their lives against the current regime's morality police and Revolutionary Guards. They have no desire to replace one unaccountable security state with the ghost of another.
Furthermore, this association damages Pahlavi's standing with mainstream Western policymakers. European and American diplomats are willing to meet with an exiled figure who represents democratic aspirations. They cannot, however, be seen aligning with a movement that openly nostalgicizes a torture apparatus. The far-right's praise acts as a political poison pill, isolating Pahlavi from the very centers of power he needs to influence.
A Fragmented Opposition Infrastructure
The broader Iranian opposition has always been notoriously fractured. It spans a wide ideological spectrum, including constitutional monarchists, leftists, ethnic minority groups, and the controversial Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The rehabilitation of the Savak supercharges these existing divisions.
For left-wing and liberal Iranians whose families were imprisoned or killed by the Shah’s regime, the sight of Pahlavi supporters cheering for the secret police is deeply traumatizing and highly offensive. It confirms their worst fears: that a Pahlavi restoration would lead to a campaign of retribution and the re-establishment of a police state.
This internal warfare plays directly into the hands of the Islamic Republic. The regime in Tehran has long used the threat of a return to Pahlavi autocracy as a tool to frighten the domestic population into submission. State media frequently highlights instances of pro-monarchist violence and far-right alignment abroad to convince citizens that the alternative to the current system is chaos or a vengeful dictatorship.
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Historical Savak Reality | Modern Far-Right Revisionism |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Systemic torture of dissidents | Necessary counter-terrorism |
| Crushed the secular political mid | Bulwark against radical Islam |
| Created vacuum filled by clerics | Maintained stability and progress |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
The intellectual dishonesty required to praise the Savak while advocating for Iranian freedom is staggering. You cannot credibly fight for democracy while honoring an organization that systematically dismantled it.
The Path Toward Total Irrelevance
If Pahlavi wants to salvage his political project, he must draw a hard, irreversible line. He needs to issue an explicit, unvocalized condemnation of the Savak and publicly distance his movement from any foreign or domestic figure who glorifies it. This means actively policing his own rallies and rejecting the support of far-right agitators who view the Iranian struggle merely as a prop for their own domestic culture wars.
This will undoubtedly alienate a portion of his most fervent, well-funded supporters. It will diminish his numbers on social media. But leadership requires sacrificing easy internet applause for long-term political credibility.
The alternative is a slow descent into total irrelevance. Without a clear break from the dark chapters of the past, Pahlavi will remain trapped as a figurehead for a regressive, nostalgic fringe, while the actual future of Iran is written by those on the ground who understand that liberty cannot be built on the foundations of old terror.
