Death Of The Ayatollah : Son of Shah Predicts Troubled Times in Post-Khomeini Iran

The son of the former Shah of Iran predicted trouble in his homeland in the wake of the death of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Reza Pahlavi, the self-proclaimed Shah Reza II, who has lived in exile in Europe and the United States, is not optimistic.

“In view of the circumstances in the country, the division of power and the conflict of interest, the conflict among various people who all have a claim to power, we are certain to see not a smooth transition at all,” Pahlavi told CNN television late Saturday night before the announcement that President Ali Khamenei would succeed Khomeini.

“There are several elements that do indeed have some role to play in terms of the transition of power. . . . And it is very likely that the situation that we see today in Iran will have a great chance to deteriorate even further,” he said.

Pahlavi said Khomeini’s death came as no surprise.

“The news was not unexpected because we were aware of the state of Khomeini’s illness. But (with) his passing away, we are entering a new era in Iranian history.”

However, he added: “By no means is the passing away of Khomeini the end of the particular regime.”

Later, a spokesman in New York for the Pahlavi family said, “The shah predicts a period of uncertainty, turmoil and feuding among the factions.”

Robert Armao, an adviser to the late Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, said security reasons prohibited his revealing where Reza Pahlavi resides, but he said it is somewhere in the United States.

Khomeini came to power after months of street protests and strikes that led to the ouster of the shah in 1979. He died in exile in 1980.