Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would the Iranians accept Pahlavi? They don't love the current regime, but overthrowing the Shah was widely popular. I hear that Pahlavi is less bad than his father, but surely somebody in Iran has a claim to leadership without being an obvious American puppet.
I'm just a dude in the southern US, so I obviously don't have first-hand knowledge. The best I can do is speak with my friends and colleagues with ties to Iran; those conversations have led me to believe that Pahlavi is the best option to lead a transitional government. From what I gather it's not that the Iranian people want to return to a Shah, but that Reza has been consistent in stating a desire to lead Iran to a…
That said... if it turns out the Pahlavi can bring about an Iran that makes most of its people reasonably happy and free, I'm all for it.