I’ve spent the past week with someone who was born and raised in Iran and who has close family members still there. Their statements surprised me - according to them, while Iranians as a whole are not supporters of monarchy specifically, the vast majority see the theocracy as intolerable at this point and see Pahlavi as the only viable path forward with enough support to form a working government.

Do they want to live under the Shah? Most likely not, but they would absolutely prefer it to the status quo.

The goal here isn’t to put the Shah in power, but to rely upon him to form a transition government to avoid a power vacuum and then work out what comes next.

It also happened over three decades ago.

I’m not saying airing the Pavlavis is a great idea. But I wouldn’t assume it’s negative without evidence.