Israeli minister meets with widow of Iran's last Shah, Crown Prince Pahlavi in rare secret meeting

Innovation, Science, and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel met last month with the exiled Queen of Iran, Farah Diba, and her son, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi in an unnamed European capital.

The meeting was revealed in posts to social media by Gamliel on Sunday, in which she shared videos of her meeting with Pahlavi and the widowed Farah Diba.

According to reports in Hebrew media, Gamliel and the former Iranian royal family decided not to publish the meeting until at least two weeks after, for the sake of security.

The meeting between Minister Gamliel and the Queen, was the first such meeting between an Israeli minister and the wife of the former Shah of Iran.

It was not the first time that Gamliel and the Crown Prince have met. In May 2023, Gamliel invited Reza Pahlavi to Israel for Holocaust Remembrance Day, where he attended a ceremony at Jerusalem’s World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Yad Vashem.

Pahlavi also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli dignitaries, where he spoke of the “Biblical relationship” between Persia (Iran) and Israel and his desire to see the establishment of the “Cyrus Accords”, establishing peace between Iran and Israel based on that relationship. Cyrus the Great is the Persian king who helped exiled Jews return to Israel following the Babylonian Exile, and provided funds to help rebuild the destroyed Temple in Jerusalem.

During that visit, Pahlavi also met All Israel News Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg, and was interviewed for The Rosenberg Report, where he talked about the Iranian people’s desire for freedom and peace with the world, especially Israelis.

During those meetings, Gamliel shared about the plight and bravery of the Iranian women during protests against the government of the Iranian Republic.

Gamliel said at the time that, as a woman, she was moved by the women shouting out, “Women, freedom.” She said the women of Iran “have conquered my heart.”

In her meeting with the former Queen, Gamliel spoke of her continued respect for Iranian women, saying, “The women of Iran embody incredible strength, steadfast determination, and extraordinary courage – they are lionesses in spirit.”

Queen Farah Dibah told Gamliel that for her it is “most important that Iran will be free.”

Following the post from Minister Gamliel, Crown Prince Pahlavi responded with a post of his own.

The Islamic Republic has sown chaos and destruction across the Middle East for four decades. The arsonist cannot put out the fires.

However Iranians, Israelis, and our friends across the region, can bring prosperity and stability to our region by working together for peace. https://t.co/Cv9hzjJnN5

— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) March 8, 2025

In his post, he called for Iranians, Israelis, “and our friends across the region” to bring prosperity, stability, and peace to the Middle East.

Gamliel, who has maintained a relationship with Pahlavi even before his 2023 visit, told the Jerusalem Post that she believes Israel can help Iran with many of the issues it is currently facing.

She described the meeting with Pahlavi and his mother as “very emotional.”

“It gave us a glimpse of what could be the day after the Iranian regime falls – when we can develop relationships between our nations,” Gamliel stated.