Again, it’s difficult to generalize. Monarchism, as you mentioned, is represented by Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah of Iran, who has been living in exile, mostly in the US, for nearly fifty years. Monarchism did not really have grassroots support in Iran until it developed some kind of foothold in recent years.
Of course, we have to distinguish between the Iranian diaspora and what is happening inside the country. Monarchism has emerged at the forefront of opposition in the diaspora because of the support it receives from the Trump administration and Israel.
I was at a demonstration two days ago in the city of Santa Ana in Southern California, near where I live. There was an antiwar rally of about a hundred or so people, and a counterrally of about a hundred or so monarchists. They attacked us and tried to beat us up. I left unscathed, fortunately, but they have a presence in this country.
On the ground in Iran, on the other hand, do they have a presence? It’s very doubtful. There don’t seem to be any monarchist organizations. We hear from Iranian civil society dissenters and oppositionists inside of Iran, none of whom are monarchists. But I would say there is a broad and diffuse monarchist sentiment even inside Iran.
Monarchism has emerged at the forefront of opposition in the diaspora because of the support it receives from the Trump administration and Israel.
My guess is that as this war continues and its impact is hurting civilians, as people see their family members being killed by US and Israeli attacks, the monarchist argument that this war is a positive thing will become more and more unpopular. They go out and say, “Thank you, Donald Trump.” It’s a very strange form of gratitude: “Thank you for bombing my country,” as if that bombing campaign were going to liberate Iran and deliver it into the hands of somebody on a silver platter. Nothing like that is going to happen.
My own sense is that the position of the…
Auteur: Afshin Matin-Asgari
