AHC: Restore the Shah

[Patton]

Is there anyway that a the Pahlavi Monarchy could be resotred in Iran with a Pod no ealier than 1954 ? it doesn't have to be Mohammad Reza as Shah just a member of the Pahlavi family. Note the Monarchy still as to get over at some point (through in dosen't have to be 1979) I am not asking you to stop a Iranian Revolution, I am just asking you to restore the Monarchy after it gets overthrown. Is this even remotely possible or should this be in ASB.

[Patton]

Bumpppp it

[Wolfpaw]

Mohammed Reza Shah is irreparably compromised by the '53 coup. If he is somehow removed and Reza Shahzade takes the throne, you might be able to keep the Pahlavis in power, but he's going to have to take a hard line against the West, renegotiate the oil deals, stop harassing the clerics, and muzzle SAVAK if he wants to stay on.

[Volvox]

What if Saddam doesn't invade in 1980? The war strengthened Khomeini's faction, allowing the Islamists to more easily defeat other factions. If Saddam decides that going to war would be counterproductive, he could instead use his resources to covertly aid some Iranian groups, helping throw Iran into civil war. In that case, you might have a Pahlavi return years later to restore order, as people would grow tired of the constant in-fighting. Basically, weaken Khomeini and his supporters, and let Saddam mess around but not invade, helping turn Iran's internal power struggles into outright civil war.

Also, you might have the Shah decide against proposing legislation to exempt U.S. military personnel from Iranian law. That takes away the 1964 protests, which means Khomeini doesn't have as large a presence, and there isn't quite as much pent-up frustration against the Shah. I'm not sure exactly what effect this would have, but it might help combined w/ my other option to make the return of the Pahlavi dynasty to power more palatable.

[Kriegdämmerung]

We had a decent discussion about this in my Farsi class (fun fact, my professor this past year was a former governor for the Shah, and now a tad eccentric...).

Ultimately the best you could hope is a Shah that, while supporting the White Revolution, was actually providing some framework for the land reforms, etc., to not lead to the economic issues that those caused. Similarly, not relying so heavily on the SAVAK and other brutal means would make the White Revolution more...agreeable, especially to elements of Iranian society that supported the White Revolution, but simply hated the Shah enough to condemn the much needed reforms.

Now, POST-revolution, there is one real possibility. Preferably earlier (within the first generation of the revolution), have there be a major succession crisis in the Islamic Republic. Have the Shah invited back as a "father of the nation" figure, similar to what they did in Afghanistan with their Shah in 2001...

[jerseyrules]

Well technically if we have an early enough restoration, it would likely be Farah to take the throne before October 31, 1981. She was named regent in the event that Mohammad-Reza died before Reza was 21 years old, and would serve in that regard until Reza was 21. Had there been no revolution and the Shah died on schedule, she would've had about a year and a half on the throne. How would Iranians respond to a female Shah?