Mr. Pahlavi was destined to succeed his father on Iran's Peacock Throne. Now he lives a modest life in suburban Maryland, but still dreams of going back to serve his country, even as "a simple citizen."

Pahlavi, 42, says the Islamist regime that toppled his father on 1979 has deprived the Iranian people of freedom and democracy. In speeches and newspaper articles, he argues that secular democracy would offer Iranians a better choice than the theocracy under which they live now.

Pahlavi said recent events in Iran have given him hope. Celebrations following World Cup soccer matches have turned political, with thousands of young people — including women — taking to the streets, some shouting anti-government political slogans, others violating Iran's laws by throwing off their headscarves or dancing.

Pahlavi, who says his speeches and articles reach Iran via satellite and his Web site, believes the Iranian people, and even some officials within the regime, are ready for a change.

He attributes the discontent within Iran to two things: lack of political freedom and lack of economic opportunity. Noting that half of Iran's 66 million people lives below the poverty line, he says: "The people are ready to explode. They are looking for a way out of this mess."

"It doesn't matter what kind of a smiling face they put on", said Pahlavi. "The problem is that this system is incapable of reforming. The problem is within the law and the nature of the regime itself."

Like many exiled royals before him, Pahlavi says he is willing to step forward if his country needs him. He says that if Iranians chose to live under a constitutional monarchy, as in Spain, Sweden or Japan, he would be willing to serve as king. But he says he would be equally happy returning to Iran as "a simple citizen."

"I don't know what will happen to me personally. That is not in my hands to decide. It's for the Iranian people to determine in which capacity I'll be there", he said.

When his father fled the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Pahlavi was 19 years old and studying to be a fighter pilot in Texas. The Iranian revolutionaries denounced the shah as a corrupt and a puppet of the United States. Pahlavi defends his father as a "decent man" who "tried to do the best that he could for the country", but he admits he made mistakes.

The shah died in Egypt in 1980, reportedly leaving tens of millions of dollars or more to his family.

Today, Pahlavi lives modestly with his wife, who is a lawyer, and two daughters. He does not work himself, but gets some financial support from other Iranians living abroad.

He denies he has millions of dollars. "I've been hurt by this stigma, because these accusations were made, but the fact is that it's total hogwash, it's total nonsense. It is not true, and was never the case," he said.

Pahlavi says that what he offers Iran today is not his royal birth, but his point of view as a modern man and a realist. "I am my own man. I have my own vision. I have my own ideas of how I can best help my country as an Iranian citizen before anything else.

Editor’s note: Highlights are from IPS