Reza Pahlavi attacked in Berlin amid calls to abandon Tehran talks

Iran's exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi was attacked with ketchup in Berlin, a video of which was shared by Iranian state media. The attack occurred as he was in Germany to urge EU leaders to increase pressure on the regime in Tehran.

Iranian state media broadcaster on Thursday shared a video where exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi was seen getting attacked with tomato ketchup. In a 47-second clip posted by IRNA, it was seen that Pahlavi was exiting a building in Berlin when he was attacked by a man who threw a red liquid on his back. The man was soon grabbed by security members as Reza Pahlavi was escorted to a car standing ahead of several people waving flags of Iran. Reza Pahlavi was attacked with ketchup in Berlin. pic.twitter.com/yZbIDjeVTA — IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) April 23, 2026

Pahlavi's Call to Pressure Tehran

Politico reported on Thursday that Pahlavi had called on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to abandon talks with Tehran as European leaders prepared to gather in Cyprus for an EU Summit. As per Politico, Pahlavi told reporters in Berlin, "If your governments continue to focus only on somehow maintaining the status quo, you're neither helping us liberate ourselves, nor are you truly addressing the concerns that you will have down the line. It should be the prerogative of democratic governments not to be dictated [to] by a bunch of thugs and terrorists."

Pahlavi has time and again presented himself as a leader capable of steering a transitional administration in Iran. According to Politico, he called on EU leaders to apply more pressure on the regime in Tehran. "There are a lot of things that Europe can do that it hasn't... Nothing has been done by putting more pressure on the regime to stop executions. Nothing has been done to force them to release political prisoners."

European Diplomatic Efforts

Ahead of his visit to Germany, on Wednesday evening, Pahlavi had said in a post on X that he was visiting Berlin to be the "voice" for Iranians who "continue to fight for their freedom". His post had further mentioned holding discussions with the media, meetings with the Iranian diaspora and interacting with elected officials from various political parties at the Bundestag.

Last week, the exiled crown prince had met with a cross-party delegation of Italian MPs and had discussed the "moral responsibility Italy and Europe" have to back the Iranians' demand for human rights, religious freedom, Internet access, and an end to the Islamic Republic. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)