Reza Pahlavi and his family in 2021

In August, Pahlavi announced that he has been secretly planning to overthrow the Iranian government, stating "So far I have been unwilling to unveil the existence of the concerted plans for I do not wish to jeopardize the lives of some of our best children... many of our actions have been unknown to you, but I want to assure you that the necessary steps are being taken in the best orderly way to save Iran".