World News | The son of the last Iranian Shah will visit Israel for the first time

JERUSALEM, April 17 (AP) — Iran’s exiled crown prince is scheduled to visit Israel this week, reflecting his father’s once friendly relationship with Israel and the current hostility between Israel and the Islamic Republic.

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah who ruled Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, said on Sunday he would deliver a “message of friendship from the Iranian people”.

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Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamlier said he would receive him on Monday night at Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial service. He will also visit a desalination plant, tour the Western Wall and meet representatives of the local Baha’i community and Iranian-Israeli Jews, she said.

Gamliel praised Pahlavi for what she called a “courageous decision” to visit Israel for the first time. “In stark contrast to the extremists who rule Iran, the Crown Prince embodies a different leadership from the Ayatollah regime, espousing the values ​​of peace and tolerance,” she said.

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Pahlavi left Iran for military flight school in the United States at age 17, just before his cancer-stricken father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, abdicated the throne and went into exile. A revolution ensued, and the Islamic Republic was established, taking over the US embassy in Tehran and sweeping away the last remnants of the US-backed monarchy.

Pahlavi, who still lives in the United States, has called for a peaceful revolution that would replace clerical rule with a parliamentary monarchy, guarantee human rights and modernize its state-run economy.

Whether he will be able to rally support for his return to power remains to be seen. His father ruled extravagantly and repressively in 1953, benefiting from a CIA-backed coup. The late king also had close diplomatic and military ties with Israel.

It all ended in 1979, when Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini declared Israel “the enemy of Islam” and severed all ties. Today, these countries are old enemies. Israel sees Iran as its biggest threat, citing the country’s demands for Israel’s destruction, support for hostile militant groups on Israel’s borders and its nuclear program. Iran denies allegations by Israel and its Western allies that it is developing a nuclear bomb.

“I want the people of Israel to know that the Islamic Republic does not represent the people of Iran. The ancient bond between our people can be rekindled for the good of both countries,” Pahlavi said on Twitter.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)