From Brussels to Tel Aviv: Reza Pahlavi and the Partition Plan for Iran
WANA (Aug 26) – On June 14, 2025, just one day after Israel launched its military assault on Iran, a secret meeting was held in Brussels. According to news sources, the gathering brought together a mix of Iranian opposition figures, Mossad officers, representatives of Western intelligence services, and a European minister. The main agenda was to discuss Iran’s political future and to assign roles for the post–Islamic Republic era.
“King of the Central Region”: A Vision of a Partitioned Iran
One of the most controversial accounts relates to an alleged conversation between Reza Pahlavi and Benjamin Netanyahu. Reformist politician Behzad Nabavi claimed that in a private meeting the Israeli Prime Minister told Pahlavi: “You will be the king of central Iran.”
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah in Iran, living in America, had called people of Iran to participate in the protest. Social Media / WANA News Agency
Observers argue that this remark suggested a plan going far beyond regime change — pointing instead to a geographic partition of the country.
In this scenario, Iran would be divided into separate regions, with only the “central” area designated to be governed under Pahlavi’s authority.
The Supreme Leader’s Account
Iran’s Supreme Leader referred to the matter in his September 24, 2025 speech, stating: “One day after the attack on Iran, a group gathered in a European capital to discuss replacing the Islamic Republic… They even appointed a king for Iran.”
He added: “Among that group was an Iranian. Shame on that Iranian who works against his own country in favor of the Jews and America.”
These remarks effectively revealed the dimensions of a project that aimed not only at regime change but also at dismantling Iran’s territorial integrity.
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Alternative Options: From Pahlavi to Narges Mohammadi
Media activist Abdollah Ganji later elaborated, writing that during the Brussels meeting Reza Pahlavi was introduced as the primary candidate. Should obstacles arise, Narges Mohammadi was to assume the role of “transitional leader.” According to him, the participants even set a specific date for the “conquest of Tehran”: June 21.
Why the Plan Failed?
Despite political, logistical, and media coordination, the planners’ calculations did not materialize. Iran’s defense systems intercepted a significant portion of missile and drone attacks. Calls by Persian-language media abroad for nationwide protests also failed to attract a massive response.
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)
Behzad Nabavi admitted: “At the outset of the war, even I could not believe that our defense system would be capable of such a reaction.”
The Brussels design — from role assignments to fixing a date for the “conquest of Tehran” — ultimately collapsed. Netanyahu’s reported remark to Pahlavi about becoming “king of central Iran” revealed the true nature of the project: an imagined Iran carved into pieces, each under a foreign sphere of influence. Yet where outside calculations rested on partition, the realities on the ground told another story: national cohesion and public resistance prevented Iran from becoming the stage for such a scenario.
