Exiled prince Reza Pahlavi said on Thursday that the Munich Security Conference (MSC) retracted his invitation at the behest of the German government due to threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“The Ayatollah is pulling the strings in Berlin," Pahlavi said on X. “This is a betrayal of both the Iranian people and Germany’s democratic values. This German government has not only silenced the voice of the Iranian people but has actively done the Islamic Republic’s bidding.”
In a statement to Iran International, conference organizers said its chairman, Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, decided not to follow through on an informal invitation to the exiled prince following discussions with the German government.
"After consultation with the German government, Mr. Heusgen decided not to formalize the invitation to Mr Pahlavi,” the statement said, adding "Iranian opposition figures and representatives of the Iranian civil society have been regular guests".
The German foreign office told Iran International that the government communicates with the conference, which it said makes decisions on invitees.
"Of course, the Federal Government is in constant contact with the Munich Security Conference (MSC). In principle, the MSC decides independently on its invitations," it said in a statement, appearing not to directly address the exiled prince’s allegation.
An official X account managed by US-based Pahlavi's office quoted what it said was a letter from the high-profile event's organizers saying they had decided not to formalize his invitation upon consultation with German authorities.
“Instead of supporting those fighting for freedom, Germany has chosen to appease a dictatorship that murders its citizens, takes Europeans hostage, and sponsors terrorism,” Pahlavi said, adding that Germany was "outsourcing censorship to Berlin".
Prince Pahlavi last attended the conference in 2023 and organizers told Iran International that dissident journalist and women's rights activist Masih Alinejad had been invited to attend this year.
Earlier in the month, the conference had restored its invitation to Pahlavi after it had rescinded it under pressure from the German Foreign Ministry, Iran International reported.
A source familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified, told Iran International last week that the German Foreign Ministry had asked the organizers of the Munich Security Conference to withdraw the invitation, as it believed it would harm its relations with the Islamic Republic.
"The German government was concerned that inviting Prince Pahlavi could endanger the situation of German dual-national prisoners in Iran," the source added.
The Munich Security Conference was also under pressure in 2023 to withdraw its invitation to Pahlavi, according to Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Last year he said: "A few days before the Munich conference, one of the organizers—who used to be my student at Georgetown—told me they were under pressure to revoke Reza Pahlavi's invitation."
