Son of Iran’s Last Shah To Visit Israel, Attend Holocaust Memorial Ceremony
The son of the last Shah to rule Iran before 1979’s Islamic Revolution is set to visit Israel this week and participate in Monday night’s official Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony. According to an Israeli government statement, he is the “most senior Iranian personality” to visit Israel.
Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi wrote in a tweet on Sunday that he intends to “deliver a message of friendship from the Iranian people.” In the attached press statement, he noted his plans to attend the state Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, speak with experts in Israel’s water technology field, visit Jewish and Baha’i holy sites, and meet with Israelis of Iranian descent.
Pahlavi will be hosted by Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel. She shared Pahlavi’s tweet on Sunday, adding that she looked forward to hosting Pahlavi and to “starting to build bridges between our nations.”
Today, Israel regards Iran as its greatest threat, but under the rule of Pahlavi’s father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran and Israel had close ties.
Millions of Iranians “reject the regime’s genocidal anti-Israel and anti-Semitic policies and yearn for cultural, scientific, and economic exchange with Israel. A democratic Iran will seek to reestablish ties with Israel and our Arab neighbors,” Pahlavi said in the press statement he released on Twitter.
