TEHRAN – Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last dictator, will soon be featured in a TV program broadcast by the UK-based Iran International TV channel, which is linked to Saudi Arabia, according to Nour News.

In collaboration with a media consulting group, a number of Saudi intelligence agents based in one of Iran International’s offices in the UK launched initial plans for production and broadcast of a TV program featuring Reza Pahlavi, who left the country along with his father in 1979, Nour News reported, quoting unnamed sources.

It said Pahlavi had asked for a very high salary for playing a part in the new program but eventually agreed to a salary one-fiftieth of his initial request after being pressured by a European country’s intelligence service.

The goal of the program is to beef up the Pahlavi dynasty, eliminate the Iranian society’s hatred toward the dynasty’s treasons and create a positive image of the Pahlavi family in the public mind, the report added.

According to Nour News, the proposal for creating the program was first formulated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, despite strong objections by the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), which threatened to make disclosures about the program.

The Guardian revealed last year that Iran International is funded through a secretive offshore entity and a company whose director is a Saudi Arabian businessman with close links to the Saudi crown prince. 

Quoting an unnamed source, the Guardian said bin Salman, who many believe is responsible for the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is the force behind the anti-Iran TV channel.