Reza Pahlavi in Frankfurt: A Prize for the Iranian People—and Protest

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Reza Pahlavi in Frankfurt: A Prize for the Iranian People—and Protest.

Around 5,000 people were out in Frankfurt at midday, most of them supporters of Reza Pahlavi. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation presented the Iranian opposition leader with the Freedom Prize at the Paulskirche—explicitly on behalf of the Iranian people. According to the city, 30,000 people had registered for the larger rally in the Ostpark later in the day. The presentation was therefore not merely a symbolic tribute, but part of a political day on which support, criticism and security forces all converged in the same city.

A Trustee for a People—and a Clear Claim to Its Return

Reza Pahlavi, the 65-year-old son of the Shah overthrown in 1979 and an Iranian opposition leader living in exile, did not accept the award for himself personally. Frankfurt’s mayor Nils Kößler announced him on Saturday as the award’s proxy recipient. Pahlavi himself framed his acceptance as an act of trusteeship: “Someone who holds something of great value that belongs to others. And when the time comes, they return it in its entirety.”

In his acceptance speech, Pahlavi said that one day he would place the Freedom Prize in the hands of the “legitimate owners”: “the Iranian people. And not on foreign soil, but in the capital, Tehran.” His role as proxy was thus also a political message. The prize was not meant to remain with Pahlavi, but to return to the population for whom the Foundation intended it.

The tribute was explicitly directed at the Iranian people. In his speech, Pahlavi recalled the millions of Iranians who have fought for freedom and democracy for decades—according to his account, not only since the latest protests against the Mullah regime, but since the struggle for the first Iranian constitution in 1906.

The Paulskirche Became a Stage for the Opposition’s Message

The Paulskirche was not merely the setting for the award ceremony. In his welcoming remarks, Kößler recalled its history as the “cradle of German democracy” and said that it told a story of “light and shadow.” His message was explicitly aimed at the people who had demonstrated in Iran and who, in his view, “were killed in the most brutal way.” Frankfurt stood by the “brave people in Iran.”

According to a report by Der Spiegel, the audience at the Paulskirche was predominantly of Iranian origin and repeatedly interrupted the celebratory occasion with chants: “Long live the Shah, long live Iran!” This reaction matched the explanation given by the Foundation’s chairman, Steffen Saebisch: “His name is chanted during the protests in Iran.”

The FDP-affiliated Foundation justified the award by saying that Pahlavi advocates peace in the Middle East, reconciliation between Iran and its neighbors and Israel, free elections and an end to the “senseless bloodshed.” He himself was described in the speech as a bridge-builder. As a representative of an opposition political movement, he thus received an award that officially was intended for an entire people.

The Controversy Over the Recipient Remained Unresolved

According to Saebisch, there was vociferous criticism of the decision to award the prize to Pahlavi. At the same time, he acknowledged: “But the support was louder.” In doing so, the Foundation itself described the core of the controversy. On the one hand, Pahlavi is invoked in Iran as a symbol of resistance to the Islamic Republic. On the other, many people consider his role problematic because of his father’s autocratic rule as Shah.

In his speech, Saebisch recalled Aida Aghili, a 34-year-old woman who was deliberately shot in the head by Iranian security forces during the demonstrations in Tehran in January. Aghili had become a symbol of the resistance movement. The Freedom Prize was therefore intended to commemorate the people who continue to campaign for democracy and fundamental rights despite repression.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, an FDP politician and member of the European Parliament, also placed the victims at the center of her remarks. According to estimates by human rights organizations, as many as 30,000 people died during the suppression of the protests. She recalled that the regime had shut down the internet, but that the demonstrations in Iran had continued to be visible. “Today, we are sending the message: You are not alone,” she said.

5,000 Demonstrators, 30,000 Registered for Later—the Situation Remained Peaceful

The award ceremony was secured by numerous police officers across the city due to the many demonstrations and counterdemonstrations. According to Tagesschau, around 5,000 demonstrators were out across the city at midday, most of them supporters of Pahlavi. The Tagesschau report also described how the first participants in the large rally in the Ostpark had already arrived at the Paulskirche. According to the city, a total of 30,000 people had registered for the later event in the Ostpark.

Der Spiegel put the midday figure at around 3,000 people carrying flags and placards on Römerberg and around the Paulskirche. The differing figures refer to different locations and samples: once to the entire city area, and once to the surroundings of the award ceremony. What is clear is that Pahlavi’s mobilization was highly visible.

Police also recorded one arrest in the area of the rallies. There had been a report of a livestream in which criminal offenses had been announced. Nevertheless, according to the authorities, the situation remained peaceful. The dual image remains: Pahlavi received a prize intended for a people, while thousands carried his message and the choice of representative was also sharply criticized.

A Signal Against Forgetting

Pahlavi called on Iranians to continue resisting. He recalled the bloody suppression of the protests on January 8 and 9, during which, according to his account, thousands were killed and murdered. “They prove it every time they face unarmed men with machine guns,” he said. “A people who stand together in the hail of bullets can also go to the polling booth together.”

In his laudatio, Bijan Djir-Sarai, a member of the FDP’s national executive board, spoke about the risks of campaigning for freedom and human rights in Iran: imprisonment, torture, serious injury or death. “You do not have to be Iranian to understand the struggle for freedom in Iran. You only have to be human.” Amid applause, he wished the Islamic Republic a place on the “scrapheap of history.”

The award ceremony thus encapsulated a concrete political conflict: the Freedom Prize was intended for the protesting population, but it was accepted by an opposition politician with a monarchist family history. In Frankfurt, 5,000 people in the city area and the 30,000 participants registered for the afternoon made clear how intensely people were debating the right voice for the Iranian people.