Exiled Shah's son Reza Pahlavi vows to return to Iran

WASHINGTON - Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Iranian shah who was overthrown in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, on Sunday vowed to return to Iran from exile in the United States, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

The 65-year-old did not specify a date and it remains unclear whether he will be allowed to enter Iran and what consequences he faces as an opposition politician. 

Protests erupted across Iran in late December over a deepening economic crisis and soaring inflation, before rapidly escalating into broader demonstrations against the Islamic Republic's authoritarian system.

Pahlavi said in a video message on X that the people of Iran were demanding "a credible new path" forward. 

"The battle in Iran today is between occupation and liberation. The Iranian people have called for me to lead. I will return to Iran," he wrote.

Iranians were taking action on the ground and it was now time for the international community to join them, he said.

"I will return to Iran. The people of Iran have risen to reclaim their country. History will honour those who stand with them."

Pahlavi, who was designated crown prince by his father, the late shah of Persia, has lived in exile in the US for decades.

The protests may have resulted in between 16,500 and 18,000 deaths, according to figures compiled by medical staff and reported by Britain's Sunday Times, although the toll remains impossible to independently verify.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday acknowledged for the first time that thousands had been killed during the nationwide unrest.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed 3,308 deaths so far, with a further 4,382 cases under review. 

All figures remain unverified, as reporting on casualties has been hampered by a nationwide internet shutdown imposed by Iranian authorities on January 8. - BERNAMA-dpa