Son of Iran’s deposed Shah visits Israel, meets with Netanyahu

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the late Shah of Iran, who was deposed in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Pahlavi was officially welcomed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, where he was greeted by Israel's Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel.

As part of his program, Pahlavi attended a ceremony at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in West Jerusalem marking the start of Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, according to i24NEWS.

"It's my duty to be here representing my fellow compatriots, to honor the victims of the Holocaust and pay my respects to this nation and its people," he said.

Pahlavi has been living in exile since 1979 after the Iranian Islamic Revolution managed to overthrow the Shah’s regime.

At the ceremony, Netanyahu vowed to continue the fight against the Iranian government and its nuclear program.

Rivalry between Israel and Iran has been heightened in recent years as the two sides accuse each other of targeting their facilities and interests in the Middle East.

Israel also accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb, a claim denied by Tehran, which says its nuclear program is designed for peaceful purposes.