Eleven political and civic organisations of Iranian republicans, in a letter addressed to the board of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, backed the German foundation's decision to award the "2026 Freedom Prize" to the Iranian nation and to invite Prince Reza Pahlavi to receive it on the nation's behalf. Prince Reza Pahlavi's media office released the letter early on Thursday 22 October 2026, and its full text appears on the website of the "We Will Take Iran Back" campaign.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which is affiliated with Germany's Free Democratic Party, has given this year's Freedom Prize to the Iranian nation rather than to an individual. The award ceremony will be held on Saturday 7 November 2026 in St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt, and Prince Reza Pahlavi will receive it in trust on behalf of the Iranian nation. Stephan Sobisch, chairman of the foundation's board, has said the Prince will keep the prize until the day it can be handed to the freely elected representatives of the Iranian nation. Bijan Djir-Sarai, the Free Democratic Party's foreign policy spokesman, will give the laudation at the ceremony.
The republicans' case for supporting Prince Reza Pahlavi
The signatories, who describe themselves as republicans, stress in the letter that support for Prince Reza Pahlavi should not in itself be taken as support for a return of the monarchy, and that his supporters also hold a range of views on the form of Iran's future government. They write that the form of Iran's future government must not be determined in advance by any individual, movement or foreign government, and that "it is the Iranian nation that must be the final decision-maker".
The organisations list their shared principles as the preservation of territorial integrity and national sovereignty, individual freedoms, equality of citizens before the law, the separation of religion and state, and the nation's right to choose the form of government freely in a free and fair election. They write that in the absence of free elections, free parties and independent media in Iran, political leadership and public trust are formed through collective action and open popular support, and they point to the January uprising and the large rallies of Iranians in cities around the world on 14 February 2026 in response to Prince Reza Pahlavi's call.
The signatories
The letter was signed by the Woman Life Freedom Association Europe, the Think of Iran group, the Iran National Freedom Front (JAM), the Society of Republicans Supporting Prince Reza Pahlavi, the Secular Democratic Republicans of Iran, the National Republicans of Iran (JAMA), the Iranians' Freedom and Welfare Party (ARA), Hezb-e Ma (Our Party), the Confederation of Iranian National Democrats, and the groups BE HER VOICE and FRAU LEBEN FREIHEIT Koblenz.
Prince Reza Pahlavi's trip to Frankfurt follows his programme in Belgium, where earlier Belgium's foreign minister took a cautious position on inviting him to parliament. The republicans' letter shows that support for Prince Reza Pahlavi's leadership during the transition has gone beyond monarchists and also includes some secular republicans.
Eleven Iranian republican organisations endorsed Prince Reza Pahlavi receiving the 2026 Freedom Prize on behalf of the Iranian nation.
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