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‘What will you do with your liberty, when others your age are dying for theirs?’ exiled crown prince asks
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Iranian exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi addressed a full-campus audience Wednesday at Liberty University, urging students to stand up for Iran’s persecuted youth amid ongoing instability.
Pahlavi opened his speech by condemning the Iranian government’s persecution of pro-democracy protestors in recent months, citing the mass killings of 30,000 in January and an ongoing internet blackout that started 35 days ago.
“I stand before you not only as an Iranian, but as a witness on behalf of millions of my compatriots whose voices have been silenced, whose names you may never hear, but whose courage is reshaping the future of my country,” Pahlavi said.
Pahlavi, who also spoke at CPAC 2026 last weekend, reflected on the hope he has in students bringing change and called upon Americans to be the voice of liberty for those who have no voice.
“What will you do with your liberty, when others your age are dying for theirs?” Pahlavi said.
He also urged the American government not to retreat or waver in combating the Iranian regime.
“America must be clear. There is no negotiating with evil. There is no reforming a system built on brutality. There is only one path forward: the end of this regime,” Pahlavi said.
“Stay the course. Finish the job,” he told students.
Administrators at Liberty, an evangelical Christian university in Virginia, maintained strict security protocols leading up to the event and did not announce the guest speaker until approximately one hour before the talk took place.
Pahlavi is the son of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran before the collapse of the monarchy during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Exiled from Iran since then, Reza is an opposition figure advocating for a secular, democratic Iran and the collapse of the current Islamic authoritarian regime.
Wednesday’s event was particularly meaningful for Iranian students in attendance. As Pahlavi took the stage, they chanted “Long live King Reza Pahlavi!” in Farsi.
Three siblings at Liberty whose family left Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, were particularly moved by the opportunity to meet with Pahlavi after Convocation, the school’s twice-weekly student body assembly.
“It was a complete honor to meet His Royal Highness Reza Pahlavi,” the siblings told The College Fix in a joint text message statement following the event. “We are inspired, on a broad scale, by his heartfelt desire for the deliverance of the Iranian people, and, on a more personal level, by his kindness.”
Speaking right after the talk, one of the siblings said seeing Pahlavi speak on campus was particularly surreal because he is a symbol of national pride and a widely recognized figure in Iran. The siblings asked that their names not be used due to concerns about being targeted.
“Everyone in Iran, like our grandmother, loves him so much; everyone loves him,” he told The Fix.
Other students were impacted by Pahlavi’s account of the regime’s violence and his conviction to see Iranian society transformed.
“I love how he was contrasting the life that we have, the liberty that we have, compared to what’s going on in Iran. It was honestly an eye-opening experience,” graduate student Marco Marino told The Fix.
Marino reflected on how Pahlavi portrayed America’s democratic ideals as a beacon of hope and advocated for the freedom of speech and freedom of religion for his home country.
“When you hear someone as powerful as that coming from Iran, believe those things and want those things for Iran, that just gives a lot of hope and encouragement for something like that to happen,” Marino said.
Other students in attendance were impressed by the resilience of Iranian students in the movement for freedom.
“Students have been a major force, and I appreciated the way that he brought that up. They’re standing up for freedom,” sophomore Alice Crawford said.
Several also said the event made them more aware of the severity of the situation in Iran and the importance of staying aware of the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East.
“I got the feeling that he was wanting America to help even more, and I feel like as America, we’ve been doing a lot to help them … but it sparked some more questions for more research,” freshman Talen Turiano said.
The College Fix contacted several university representatives for comment via email Wednesday, asking about what it meant to have Pahlavi speak at Liberty as well as the rationale and logistics behind the speaker choice, but they declined to comment.
Pahlavi charged students and American leaders to continue championing the people of Iran and to stand on the side of freedom.
“There was a time when Iran stood for something very different … The regime in Iran today has betrayed that legacy. It does not represent the Iranian people. It fears them, and it will fall because of them,” Pahlavi said.
“Freedom is worth everything. Freedom is worth dying for,” he said.
Inspired by the exile’s conviction, one of the Iranian student siblings at Liberty said she is hopeful for the future of Iran.
“The humility, love, and care of His Royal Highness for Iranians was so evident and inspiring, it made me very expectant of what is to come,” she told The Fix.
MORE: Iranian students defy crackdown as new wave of anti-government protests launch
