Menu
Social media
Sections
31 May 2026
The heir to the Iranian throne visited Odesa
Ця стаття також доступна українською0
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.
