By Faramarz Kouhpayeh 

A ‘revolution’ pursued by bots

With very few supporters inside or outside Iran, opposition figures use AI-enabled operations to incite revolt

TEHRAN – On June 16th, an X user shared an AI-generated picture of the deposed Shah's son, Reza Pahlavi, seated on a throne, and said, "He will bring Iran freedom and prosperity!" His father, Mohammad Reza Shah, fled Iran twice during his reign: first, when the MI6 and CIA were conspiring to overthrow the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mosaddegh in 1953, and a second time, when he admitted hearing "the voice" of the people's revolution in January 1979.