Leila Rahimi

Few leaders of the 20th century faced a more relentless campaign of lies, smears, and betrayal than the late Shahanshah Aryamehr. When he built Iran into a modern regional power, they called him an American puppet. When he built one of the region's strongest militaries, they accused him of wasting money on weapons. When he industrialized the economy, built universities, hospitals, roads, dams and factories, and dramatically expanded women's rights and education, they called him a dictator. When he celebrated Iran's ancient Persian civilization and national identity, the mullahs called him an enemy of Islam. When he maintained relations with the West and Israel, they branded him a "Zionist spy." When he raised living standards, literacy and life expectancy, they dismissed it as propaganda. Whatever he accomplished for Iran, his enemies simply found another accusation. Marxists wanted to replace the Shah with a dictatorship modeled on the Soviet Union, while the Islamists sought the very revolution the Shah warned would "drag us back 1,500 years." They united to destroy the Shah, but they could never destroy the love many Iranians have for the Iran he represented. The Shah loved Iran more than he loved his throne. He dedicated his life to his country, and when faced with the possibility of civil war, chose exile rather than unleash bloodshed upon his people. He gave up his crown, but he never gave up Iran. Today every Iranian who raises their voice against tyranny and chants "Javid Shah" carries that legacy forward. The Pahlavi name is a powerful symbol of Iranian national pride, and the royalist movement continues to grow and inspire those who believe Iran's future should be free, secular, prosperous, and proudly connected to our great ancient civilization. We will never stop fighting for the restoration of dignity, freedom, and national greatness that Iran deserves. Javid Shah.