MUNICH — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran — an extremely rare meeting at such a level for the former crown prince who is one of many figures vying for prominence among the fractured Iranian opposition in exile.
The meeting took place on February 13 during the Munich Security Conference, where Zelenskyy will deliver a major speech and is holding a series of meetings with foreign leaders.
Pahlavi is not reported to have any similar meetings in Munich planned.
‘It’s From The Heart’
Video shot by Ukrainian public TV showed the two men shaking hands in a wood-paneled room and then sitting at a table. Pahlavi thanked Zelenskyy for voicing support for Iranian protesters during his speech at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Sometimes [it is] very important to give strong support in time, when it’s important, not after,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s from the heart.”
Security forces killed thousands of people during mass protests in Iran in January, according to reports, prompting strong condemnation from Washington and its allies.
This includes Zelenskyy, who in January declared that “every decent person on this planet sincerely wishes that the people of Iran would finally be freed from the current regime, which has brought so much evil to Ukraine and other countries.”
