An Israeli-funded digital influence operation aimed at promoting the son of Iran’s last Shah as the country’s “legitimate leader” has been exposed, revealing Israel’s covert efforts to foster unrest in Iran and potentially restore a pro-Western monarchy.
According to an investigative report by the Israeli publication Haaretz, citing research by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, the campaign—described as “indirectly funded” by the Israeli government—involved a network of think tanks, academics, and thousands of Persian-language online accounts. These networks used fake personas, bots, and AI-generated content to amplify messaging favorable to Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of former monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The Citizen Lab report outlined how this coordinated digital network targeted Iranian social media users on platforms such as X and Instagram. It utilized deepfake videos, fabricated news stories, and synchronized content pushes to promote pro-Pahlavi narratives while denouncing the Islamic Republic government.
Activity across these accounts reportedly spiked during Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June, exploiting wartime instability to encourage protests and sow division inside Iran. Several videos circulated online during that period appeared to show Iranians celebrating Israeli strikes or “liberating” Iranian cities—videos that were later proven to be staged or AI-generated.
Reza Pahlavi has long attempted to position himself as a secular and Western-friendly alternative to the Islamic Republic. His 2023 visit to Israel—his first ever—was widely seen as symbolic of his deepening ties with Tel Aviv. By 2024, amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel, Pahlavi had become a more visible figure at American Zionist conferences, where he was often introduced as the “King of Iran.”
On June 13th, the first day of Israel’s war with Iran, Pahlavi publicly urged Iranian soldiers and police to “break from the regime and join the people.” However, his comments during the conflict drew outrage—particularly when, after being pressed about Iranian civilian casualties from Israeli airstrikes, he defended Israel’s actions as “precise” and justified against “the regime’s military and nuclear sites.”
The war ended just two days later, with Iran’s government emerging far stronger than Tel Aviv or Washington had expected. Domestically, the brief conflict consolidated popular support around the Islamic Republic, while Pahlavi’s perceived alignment with Israel effectively ended what remained of his political credibility inside Iran.