A famous account is told from the early days of Reza Shah’s exile—days when Allied armies had occupied Iran and the foundation of the First Pahlavi state’s authority was collapsing. According to this account, on the pier of Mauritius, somewhere between exile and destiny, Reza Shah calls upon his twin daughter, Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, and addresses her with a sentence that would later etch itself into the political memory of the Pahlavi dynasty:

“His Majesty the Shah needs you more than he needs me.”

This sentence was not merely a routine fatherly recommendation; it was a command signaling the transfer of a great historical responsibility. With her father’s royal decree, Ashraf’s entry into the political arena began. She resolved to rush to the aid of a young king who sat upon a shaking throne in the midst of foreign occupation, domestic turmoil, and the rivalry of global powers. From then on, rather than just being a princess, she transformed into one of the closest and most influential supporters of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

Ashraf ol-Molouk Pahlavi was born in Tehran on October 26, 1919, alongside her twin brother, Mohammad Reza, who later became the Crown Prince and then the Shah of Iran. She was born into the family of Reza Shah, who at the time was known and designated as “Reza Khan Sardar Sepah.”

The childhood of Ashraf Pahlavi coincided with the formation of the modern Reza Shah state—an era when the centralization of power, the creation of a modern army, the gradual dismantling of the old Qajar order, and the modernization of the administrative structure were on the agenda. From her early childhood, she saw herself at the center of politics and power. From the bloom of her youth, as she later wrote in her memoirs, her relationship with her brother, the Shah, was shaped in a way that, beyond family ties, was intertwined with governance and political decision-making.

In the contemporary history of Iran, few figures have been the target of political attacks, ideological myth-making, and biased judgments as much as Ashraf Pahlavi. Opponents of the Shah, ranging from leftist movements to clerics and religious-nationalists, spent decades attempting—and to a large extent succeeding—to construct a reality-distorted image of her. They used this image for propaganda warfare and political hostility against the Shah and the Pahlavi government. Ashraf should not be understood through rumors, hostile memoirs, or revolutionary narratives. To truly know and comprehend this exceptional woman, who ranks among the great figures of contemporary Iranian history, one must return to an era when Iran was trapped between the danger of partition, Soviet influence, the rivalry of global powers, and the weakness of the central government. The narrative of her life is far more than the story of a privileged princess; it is the story of a woman who, in the twilight of Iranian politics, was propelled from the sidelines of the court into the text of power. She was a woman who was both praised and targeted by hate-mongering, who left an impact, and who paid the price.

September 1941 is tied to one of the most critical chapters of Iran’s history—to days when Reza Shah, following the country’s occupation by the Allies, was forced to abdicate and go into exile, consequently leaving the political structure of Iran on the verge of collapse. Because the country’s army had disintegrated and the authority of the central government was weakened, many feared that Iran would be partitioned or completely occupied by Allied forces—a fate that befell several countries during World War II. To escape those chaotic conditions, and through the deliberation of the country’s elders, a swift transfer of power to Mohammad Reza Shah took place. This transfer transcended a customary royal transition; it was an effort to preserve the integrity of the country, maintain the continuity of the central government, and prevent a power vacuum.

Reza Shah and the royal family, who had left Tehran in an atmosphere filled with anxiety, were transferred first to Mauritius and then to South Africa. This exile became a turning point for Ashraf, who accompanied the family, launching her into a new phase of her life. In April 1942, accepting the responsibility her father had entrusted to her, she returned to Tehran—a city that no longer resembled the powerful capital of the Reza Shah years. Chaos and disorder cast a shadow not only over Tehran but over the entirety of Iran. The country was still struggling under the occupation of British and Soviet forces, some political figures viewed the young Shah as lacking sufficient authority, separatist forces from Azerbaijan and Kurdistan to Khuzestan were busy plotting, and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)