31 May 2026

The heir to the Iranian throne visited Odesa

(Reza Pahlavi. PHOTO: Black Sea Security Forum)

On Saturday, May 30, 2026, the heir to the Iranian throne, and now a political migrant living in the United States, Reza Pahlavi visited Ukraine for the first time in history.

According to the head of the Black Sea Security Forum, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko, it happened in Odesa during the forum.

During the visit, the heir in exile accused the current Iranian Ayatollah regime of human rights violations, non-democratic rule, and mass murder - in particular, he accused the Ayatollah regime of killing 40,000 people in two days.

"The Islamic Republic has had its own version of the world for 47 years. First, they fought against their own people, then against their neighbors, and then against other countries. Russia also has its own regime against democracy, against Georgia. And together with the Islamic Republic, they are fighting against Syria, against Ukraine," said Prince Reza Pahlavi.

Reza Pahlavi is a descendant of the Iranian throne who was forced to leave Iran with his family after the Islamist regime seized power in 1979. Pahlavi constantly monitors the situation in Iran and in 2025 expressed support for the mass protests in the country.

The third annual Black Sea Security Forum, the largest security forum in the Black Sea region, was held in Odesa on May 29-30 at the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater and brought together more than 1,200 participants from Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. Among the U.S. representatives was Mark Bence, who is called Donald Trump's pastor. According to the organizers, his visit is connected with supporting Ukraine and participating in discussions on peace and security.

Other guests of the forum include U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Mark Kelly, Congressman Jim Himes, and Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine Julie Davis.

The Black Sea Security Forum is an annual international forum held in Odesa to discuss current security challenges, economic and political issues in the Black Sea region. The forum was initiated in 2024 by a group of Ukrainian MPs, becoming the first and largest geopolitical event in southern Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Кирило Бойко

You may also like:

Sept. 8, 2026

A confiscated apartment in a luxury residential complex in Odesa has been listed for 82 million

An Odessa lawmaker accused her colleagues of seeking to replace the court in land disputes

New air raid alert levels have been introduced in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions

Traffickers from Odessa were recruiting women for marriages to foreigners

Marusya Zhenzheruk: "In Odessa, I always felt like a black sheep"

The Regional State Administration has not commented on reports of Keeper's dismissal

The High Anti-Corruption Court arrested a representative of Kropiva, the former deputy head of the Odesa Regional State Administration

Passengers were killed in a traffic accident involving minibuses near Odesa

Authorities in Odesa are cracking down on the illegal "Granat" on Evropeyskaya Street

Zmiinyi and Occupied Crimea: A New Mural by the Main Intelligence Directorate Unveiled in Kyiv

Anatoliy Korchovyi, the long-time deputy mayor of Podilsk, has died

In the Odesa region, a court punished a village head who overpaid for benches to be used as shelters

Destroyed structures and damaged pavilions: photos from the "7th Kilometer"

Patrol officers were involved in a traffic accident in Odesa: a minor was injured

"We're taking money from children": A dispute over 38 million broke out in Odesa