Reza Pahlavi: Shah's son accepts award for Iranian people in Frankfurt am Main

The Iranian opposition politician Reza Pahlavi accepted the Freedom Prize from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Frankfurt am Main. The FDP-affiliated foundation presented Pahlavi with the prize on behalf of the harassed Iranian people.

According to the police, there were around 5,000 demonstrators throughout the city at lunchtime, mostly Pahlavi supporters. Among them were the first participants in a major rally in Ostpark, which was scheduled to begin in the afternoon. According to the city, a total of 30,000 people are registered for this.

Pahlavi is a son of the Shah who was overthrown in 1979 and lives in exile in the USA. He has put himself in play as an interim leader if the ruling government in Tehran were to fall. But many people also view him critically, simply because of the country's monarchist past under his autocratic father.

Pahlavi announced at the ceremony in Frankfurt's Paulskirche that he would one day place the award in the hands of the Iranian people. He sees his role as a bridge builder, “the Islamic Republic is not the legitimate government of Iran”. The largely Iranian audience in the Paulskirche, the symbol of German democracy, repeatedly drowned out the ceremony with chants: “Long live Shah, long live Iran!”

FDP MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann emphasized that Pahlavi had always said that the Iranian people themselves decided on their future. Not everyone agreed with the awarding of the prize to the Shah's son. “Then you always know that you are on the right track.”

According to police reports, around 3,000 people were out and about with flags and posters on the Römerberg and around the Paulskirche at midday - mostly Pahlavi supporters. The police have assembled a large number of emergency services in the city. According to police, a man was arrested in the area of ​​the rally. Officials said there was a reference to a live stream in which he was said to have announced crimes.