A Finnish member of the European Parliament, Sebastian Tynkkynen, from the European Conservatives and Reformists political group and a member of the important foreign affairs committee, has called  on the parliament’s president Roberta Metsola to invite the son of the late Shah to address the plenary session of the EU assembly. The next plenary session is scheduled for next week in Strasbourg.

While the EU insists that its up tot he Iran people to choose its leaders, the European Parliament considers inviting Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Iranian Shah, who is one of the main opposition leaders to the Tehran regime, to address the 720 MEPs.

His name is included in a provisional list that the European Parliament’s committee on foreign affairs has drawn up to organise an exchange of views on the current situation in Iran at a next meeting.

According to Euronews, the list features seven people, among them lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and leaders of other parties and organisations opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran, such as the 7 Aban Front, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and the communist Tudeh Party. One seat is set to be left empty as a symbolic gesture to represent opposition leaders imprisoned in Iran who cannot join the conversation.

Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the U.S. since his chilhood, is the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, toppled by the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

He is the most famous Iranian opposition figure in the world and has good connections with the Trump administration. He has repeated in the last weeks that he wants to lead the transition of Iran to a democracy where there will be a strict separation between state and religion.

His name is regularly chanted by the Iranian diaspora protesting the mullahs regime during rallies in Paris, Los Angels or Brussels.

He was recently invited to address the Munich Security Conference where he advocated for a transition to a secular democracy in Iran and calling for international support against the Islamic Republic.

In comments to Politico, Pahlavi stressed that the US-Israeli military operation ”is a humanitarian rescue mission and will save many lives,” adding that  “Europe’s decision to proscribe the IRGC is welcome but it now needs to go further and support our transition plan to rebuild Iran. Europe has too long sat on the fence. This is the moment of decision. Stand with the Iranian people.”

Speaking to reporters alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the White House on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the possibility of Reza Pahlavi assuming leadership of Iran, saying he preferred that a figure from within the country take charge.

“Some people like him, and we haven’t been thinking too much about that,” Trump said, adding, “It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate.”

However, a Finnish member of the European Parliament, Sebastian Tynkkynen, from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group and  a member of the important foreign affairs committee, has called  on the parliament’s president Roberta Metsola to invite  Pahlavi to address the plenary session of the EU assembly. The next plenary session is scheduled for next week in Strasbourg.

On Tuesday, Pahlavi called on ethnic minorities in Iran to unite against the regime, saying it was nearing collapse.

Reza Pahlavi was born in Tehran in 1960. He was formally named crown prince at age 7 during his father’s coronation. At 17, he became one of the youngest licensed pilots in Iran before leaving for the U.S. to pursue advanced flight training. While he was abroad, the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew his father and abolished the monarchy, turning what was meant to be a temporary study into permanent exile. He has not returned to Iran since.

He lives in Maryland with his wife and three daughters, one of whom married a Jewish businessman. He has repeatedly stated that he does not seek to restore the monarchy, instead advocating for a secular, democratic system.

About two hours after the initial strikes in Iran, Pahlavi posted a video to X, encouraging Iranian forces to abandon the regime and telling the Iranian people that he will “announce to you precisely” when they “can return to the streets for the final action.”

Pahlavi is openly pro-Israel. He has traveled to Israe several timesl, prayed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and advocated for expanding the Abraham Accords into what he calls “Cyrus Accords” between Israel and a future Iran, describing the two nations as the “only two countries on this planet that can claim to have a biblical relationship.”