Prince Reza Pahlavi's press office on Thursday evening, 29 October 2026, Cyrus the Great Day, released a 27-second video which, according to the office, shows images of Cyrus the Great and the Pahlavi family above a highway in Iran. The Prince's office published the video with the slogan "Long live the King!" and wrote that compatriots had sent it from inside the country.
The video reached the Prince's team through the "Rise Iran" (Barkhiz Iran) bot, the channel the national cooperation campaign set up so that citizens inside Iran can contact his team directly. The Prince's office did not name the city, the highway or the time of recording, and no other source had confirmed its details by the time of writing.
The Lion and Sun in the shadow of Pasargadae
A few hours earlier, the Prince's office released another image that compatriots had sent for the occasion: the Lion and Sun emblem near Pasargadae, the tomb of Cyrus the Great. The office described the image as the Lion and Sun shining in the shadow of Pasargadae.
In a message that morning, Prince Reza Pahlavi called Cyrus Day a celebration of Iran's history and of freedom and tolerance, and recalled that ten years ago, on 28 October 2016, tens of thousands gathered at Pasargadae; he described that gathering as a turning point in the Iranian national movement. His message ended with "Long live Iran".
Cyrus Day and the Islamic Republic
Cyrus Day has no place in the Islamic Republic's official calendar. In past years, security forces have repeatedly closed the roads leading to Pasargadae and the gates of the tomb complex on this day to stop people from gathering. Even so, citizens mark the day every year in other ways, from writing slogans to sending images.
The release of these images comes as contact between citizens inside Iran and the Prince's team through the "Rise Iran" bot grows; questions had been raised about the bot's security. This week, 43 Iranian organisations also thanked the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for awarding its Freedom Prize to the Iranian people and inviting Prince Reza Pahlavi.
On Cyrus Day, citizens inside Iran sent images of Cyrus the Great and the Pahlavi family to Prince Reza Pahlavi's team.
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