Belgium’s Francophone liberal MR party, and specifically its leader Georges-Louis Bouchez, wants to invite Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran, to the Belgian Parliament.
The request was discussed on Wednesday at the chairs’ conference, but as this is considered a sensitive matter, the Foreign Office will first be asked for its advice, Belga News Agency reports based on information from a reliable source.
Bouchez met Reza Pahlavi, 65 years old, in Paris last summer. At the time, he had argued in favour of Belgian diplomats “establishing contact” with this figure of the Iranian opposition in exile. He had also indicated that he would invite him to Brussels.
Pahlavi’s father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ruled Iran as a pro-Western monarch until he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Since then, Iran has been an Islamic republic.
The son of the former Shah is a key figure in the Iranian opposition and is positioning himself as a potential transitional leader should the Ayatollah regime fall.
However, the Iranian diaspora is deeply divided internally, and Pahlavi does not have the support of every faction.
As Bouchez is not only the MR party leader but also a federal MP, he would now like to invite Pahlavi to Brussels. The opposition leader in exile could address the parliament there.
