Financial Times:

Abigail Hauslohner in Washington and Peter Andringa and Sam Joiner in London

Reza Pahlavi was an 18-year-old studying in Texas when his father was deposed as the Shah of Iran in 1979. He declared himself the country’s rightful ruler the following year.

Few took his political aspirations seriously and Pahlavi — who has not set foot in Iran for five decades — appeared destined for a life of quiet prosperity in Washington’s suburbs, occasionally appearing at think-tank events, book launches and gala dinners.

He is now hoping that may change. As mass protests have rocked Iran in recent years, and as Donald Trump has threatened military action, Pahlavi has launched a campaign to position himself as the country’s leader-in-waiting.

Over the past month — in the wake of major demonstrations in Iran against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s theocratic regime and a brutal crackdown — Pahlavi has stepped up his lobbying as Trump wavered on his initial resolve to “rescue” the protesters and embraced fresh US-Iran talks.

Several US lawmakers and foreign diplomats in Washington said Pahlavi had reached out to their offices, requesting meetings. This weekend Pahlavi plans to attend the gathering of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference.

“He’s making the case that the Iranian people want the US to militarily intervene,” said Justin Forsyth, a UK-based adviser to Pahlavi. “The Iranian people want and need the US help.”

In Iran, some demonstrators have chanted Pahlavi’s name and called for the monarchy’s return. His social media presence has taken off, adding a meteoric 3.4mn new followers on Instagram in recent weeks, something researchers suggest may have been partly fuelled by fake accounts.

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