Iran’s exiled prince spent an entire Zoom call welcoming Germany into the war, but he couldn’t notice how the “adviser” was dressed during the call

Iranian monarchist leader Reza Pahlavi was tricked by Russian pranksters into thinking Germany was ready to bomb Iran. One of the pranksters was dressed as Adolf Hitler during the entire video call. Pahlavi appeared to welcome the idea without noticing the costume.

According to The Middle East Eye, the pranksters, known as Vovan and Lexus, pretended to be advisers to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on a Zoom call. The person dressed as Hitler told Pahlavi that German intelligence was “ready to bomb Tehran.” Neither Pahlavi nor his team seemed to notice anything was wrong.

Pahlavi responded by saying that “the more countries we have in coalition to attack the regime in Iran, the better it is.” He also said it is “a welcome point for us to have more people joining in this crusade.” He stressed the importance of neutralising Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) so that Iranians could overthrow the government.

The prank exposed a sharp gap between what Pahlavi wants and what Germany actually stands for

At one point, the “Hitler” prankster told Pahlavi that his grandfather had known Pahlavi’s father, the last Shah of Iran, and had “served in the German army and was an agent in Tehran in the 40s.” Pahlavi simply replied, “That’s very interesting, good to know.”

The actual position of the German government is very different from what Pahlavi was told. Chancellor Merz has warned against a collapse of the Iranian state, saying “the Iranian state must remain functional, and public order and basic services must be maintained.” 

He also said “the Iranian economy must not collapse” and that “uncontrolled migration from Iran must be prevented.” Meanwhile, tensions around Iran’s military remain high, with families of soldiers killed in Iran speaking out about the ongoing conflict and its costs.

Even US President Trump has shown doubt about Pahlavi as a future leader. When asked about him at the White House, Trump said, “We haven’t been thinking too much about that. It would seem to me that somebody from within, maybe, would be more appropriate.” 

On the political front, there has also been debate in Congress over restricting the president’s Iran war powers, with two Republican lawmakers breaking from their party in a surprising move. The call was cut short when Pahlavi’s adviser, Justin Forsyth, called him away for another phone call. 

Forsyth, a British national, resigned from his role at UNICEF in 2018 after facing complaints of inappropriate behaviour towards female staff during his time as chief executive of Save the Children. Pahlavi has not made any public comments about the prank.

Pahlavi is the son of Iran’s monarch who ruled from 1941 to 1979. He has been positioning himself as a potential leader if the Islamic Republic collapses and has openly supported Israeli and American attacks on Iran. 

Vovan and Lexus have been running prank calls since 2011, targeting figures such as former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They have been accused of having ties to Russian intelligence, which they deny.