"Days later, 10 other well-known diaspora figures were tagged in a menacing anonymous message on X: "Soon you'll have to find the corpses of many." But when Masjoody's body was found in March, the investigation did not point toward the Islamic Republic. Instead, the Canadian police brought murder charges against two followers of Reza Pahlavi, the 65-year-old son of Iran's last shah and the most prominent leader in the Iranian opposition."
"Masjoody, a fierce critic of Pahlavi's, had been denouncing the prince's movement for months and had singled out the two suspects by name, saying that they were plotting to silence him. The murder, in other words, appears to have been part of a war within the Iranian opposition-one that pits Pahlavi against a growing host of critics who see him and his movement as dangerously autocratic."
"This rift has revolved in part around Pahlavi's decision to hitch his movement to Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In late February, well before the American and Israeli military campaign against Iran began, Pahlavi and his supporters telegraphed their eagerness for war, claiming that more than 100,000 defectors were waiting to help the former crown prince usher in a new era."
"Pahlavi seemed almost to expect the kind of welcome granted to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who flew back from exile to Tehran in 1979 and was greeted by millions of adoring people and the banner headline, "He Has Returned." Pahlavi has not returned. More than two months into the war, the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked, and the Iranian regime is still firmly in place."
Masood Masjoody, an Iranian exile and critic of Reza Pahlavi, disappeared in Canada in early February while global attention focused on a looming Persian Gulf war. After his body was found in March, Canadian police brought murder charges against two followers of Pahlavi. Masjoody had publicly denounced Pahlavi’s movement for months and had named the suspects as people plotting to silence him. The killing appears connected to conflict within the Iranian opposition, where Pahlavi faces critics who view his movement as dangerously autocratic. The rift includes Pahlavi’s alignment with Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu and his claims that large numbers of defectors were ready to help him. Despite expectations of a rapid regime change, the Iranian regime remained firmly in place and the Strait of Hormuz stayed blocked.
#iranian-opposition #reza-pahlavi #political-violence #canada-criminal-investigation #persian-gulf-conflict
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