Like Newsmax, WorldNetDaily is touting claims by the son of the shah of Iran. Joe Kovacs wrote in a June 15 article:
Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor who is also of Iranian heritage, says the people of Iran want to change the Islamic regime, and she suggests Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran, be the one to take over power.
Appearing on the BBC on Sunday, the left-leaning Amanpour said: “There is no doubt, and Pahlavi is right, and everybody who has reported, I grew up under the Pahlavis in Iran, and the people, you know, first of all chose the Islamic Republic instead of them, but now have seen that the Islamic Republic is so much harsher, is so much more punitive, gives so much fewer rights and is isolated from the world and the economy is appalling and it affects the people.
“So yes, I think from all my reporting, they want to change. He’s the only one with name recognition, and whether it’s for transitional or permanent leadership, I don’t know what he wants, but he’s considered the only one with any name recognition and any kind of support inside.”
Kovacs offered no evidence that Amanpour is “left-leaning.” He followed up in a June 17 article:
As President Donald Trump considers having U.S. Armed Forces join Israel in its effort to end Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, the exiled crown prince of Iran says, “The Islamic Republic has come to its end and is collapsing.”
In a post Tuesday on X, Reza Pahlavi said of Iran’s supreme leader: “Khamenei, like a frightened rat, has gone into hiding underground and has lost control of the situation. What has begun is irreversible. The future is bright, and together, we will pass through this sharp turn in history.”
As we’ve noted, Pahlavi is the son of one of the most hated people in Iran — so much so that the people overthrew him — and is known for little more than pro-Trump platitudes.
Kovacs generated more pro-Trump platitudes from Pahlavi in a Jan. 11 article:
The last time Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran, was in his home country was July of 1978.
“It’s been a long time, but I’ll be there soon,” Pahlavi vowed on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel, as massive protests have erupted that could finally topple the Islamist government in Tehran.
And now Pahlavi has a message for U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Mr. President, you have already established your legacy as a man committed to peace and fighting evil forces,” Pahlavi began. “There’s a reason why people in Iran are renaming streets after your name. They know that you’re total opposite to Barack Obama or Joe Biden. They know that you’re not going to throw them under the bus as they have had before.
“This why they believe that they are empowered by the hope that you have their back. Your words of solidarity with the Iranian people and your administration has had tremendous positive effect. Let’s hope that we can permanently seal this legacy by liberating Iran so that we and you can make Iran great again. Let’s partner on this and have a better future for our countries and for our people. This is an opportunity that has presented itself.”
Kovacs didn’t mention the history of the royal family in Iran.