"Long Live the Shah": Iranian Diaspora Rallies in Washington to Back the War and Pahlavi

The Rally

On Sunday, March 29, 2026, a rally and march was held in Washington, D.C., organized in response to a call by Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's last shah. The march proceeded from the US Congress toward the White House in support of regime change in Iran. (Source: Wikipedia, "2026 Iranian diaspora protests," citing Iran International; AFP via Lebanon Democrat.)

Attendees flew the pre-Islamic Revolution "Lion and Sun" flag of Iran, American flags, and Israeli flags. NPR reporter Ramtin Arablouei, who was present at the National Mall, described the scene: "There is a demonstration taking place in support of Reza Pahlavi, who many Iranian Americans support as a potential future leader of Iran if the Islamic republic were to fall." He described a diverse crowd of Iranians, "mostly Iranian Americans," holding Pahlavi's image. (Source: NPR, March 29, 2026.)

One attendee interviewed by NPR, identified as Leila Rak, explained why some in the crowd carried Israeli flags: "They are bringing peace in the whole world... Israel, of course, with the help of United States, which we are very grateful because Israel — they know what we are going through. You have to have been living under this fascist regime so that you understand what is this." (Source: NPR, March 29, 2026.)

Crowd chants recorded at the event included "This is the final battle. Pahlavi will return," according to NPR's on-scene reporter. Pahlavi addressed the crowd and urged Iranians inside Iran to prepare to resume protests as the Islamic Republic "collapses," according to Wikipedia citing Iran International. (Source: Wikipedia, "2026 Iranian diaspora protests.")

The Crowd Count Dispute

Organizers told NPR reporter Arablouei they expected "upwards of a hundred thousand" attendees. Arablouei reported from the scene: "We're nowhere near that number right now, I feel." He estimated the crowd at "about a couple of thousand people." (Source: NPR, March 29, 2026.)

AFP, whose report was carried by multiple regional US newspapers, put the figure at "more than 1,000 people of Iranian descent." (Source: AFP via Lebanon Democrat, March 30, 2026.)

The organizer claim of 100,000 was not independently verified by any outlet present. Ranked does not report unverified organizer crowd estimates as fact. The independently reported range is approximately 1,000 to a few thousand attendees at the DC event specifically.

This is the same crowd-counting challenge that applies to the No Kings protests: organizer-claimed figures consistently exceed independent estimates. In both cases, Ranked reports independently verified numbers and notes discrepancies.

Who Is Reza Pahlavi?

Reza Pahlavi is the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iran's last monarch, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Now 65 years old, he has lived in the United States since 1984. He has emerged since the war began as the most prominent public figure among diaspora Iranians advocating for post-Islamic Republic governance, though he has no formal political power and his level of support inside Iran is not independently measurable given the internet blackout. (Source: NPR, March 29, 2026; AFP.)

NPR's Arablouei noted the support for Pahlavi is partly rooted in nostalgia: "I think a lot of people think about pre-1979 Iran, the time of the shah, and remembered it as a better time, that their material lives were better during the shah." (Source: NPR, March 29, 2026.)

A Movement Larger Than One Rally

The March 29 DC march was part of a sustained wave of Iranian diaspora protests that began in January 2026 and have taken place across at least 30 countries and 73 cities, according to Iran International and Wikipedia. The movement predates the February 28 US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Earlier rallies drew significantly larger crowds in cities with large Iranian diaspora populations:

• Munich, February 14: more than 250,000 attendees — described as the largest Iran-focused demonstration in European history, per Wikipedia citing Iran International.
• Toronto, February 14: approximately 350,000 attendees, per Wikipedia citing Iran International.
• Los Angeles, February 14: approximately 350,000 attendees, per Wikipedia citing Iran International.

These figures are from Iran International and have not been independently verified by a separate crowd-counting source. They are presented here as reported figures, not confirmed counts.

After the start of the Iran war on February 28, celebratory rallies against the Islamic Republic were held worldwide, led by the diaspora, per Wikipedia. The DC march on March 29 was among the most prominent in the US during the active war phase.

The Coverage Gap

The March 29 rally in Washington took place on the same day as the third round of No Kings protests, which organizers claimed drew 8 million participants across more than 3,300 events nationwide (unverified; No Kings organizer figures, per ABC7 and USA Today). The No Kings events received widespread national and international media coverage. The Iranian diaspora DC rally received significantly less.

The disparity in coverage has been noted by Iranian diaspora community members and conservative commentators online. The factual explanation is largely mechanical: the No Kings protests were numerically larger in total event count and had more reporters embedded across multiple cities. The DC diaspora rally, by independent estimates, drew between 1,000 and a few thousand people at a single location.

That said, the two events represent two very different political phenomena occurring simultaneously — one opposing Trump's foreign policy, one supporting it — and the contrast is a legitimate piece of the story of American public opinion on the Iran war.