Episode Details

She spent 804 days in an Iranian prison. Now Kylie Moore-Gilbert is receiving death threats again, this time from supporters of the man many hope will replace the regime. She tells Tom Switzer why the Shah’s son is no messiah, why Trump botched the chance for regime change, and who is most likely to rule Iran if the Islamic Republic falls.

After writing a column in The Age questioning Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last Shah, Kylie received death threats, rape threats and threats against her family. She argues that the movement around him has become a cult of personality that tolerates no criticism, borrows from Trump’s playbook with “Make Iran Great Again”, and attacks anyone who asks hard questions.

Is Pahlavi really a democrat, or is he following his father’s playbook? Kylie explains why his transition plan worries her, why many in the diaspora romanticise the Shah’s Iran, and why the dissidents who have risked prison and death inside Iran, such as Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Toomaj Salehi, deserve far greater recognition.

Plus, has military intervention made the struggle for Iranian freedom more difficult? Did Trump botch the chance for regime change? If the Islamic Republic falls, who will actually rule Iran? And is Mojtaba Khamenei even alive?

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:46 What 804 days in prison taught her about the regime
04:08 Death threats and a radicalised diaspora
06:39 Reza Pahlavi’s cult of personality
10:34 Like father, like son?
13:18 The dissidents inside Iran
16:54 Is the diaspora romanticising the Shah?
22:31 Did Trump botch regime change?
27:09 What Iranian dissidents say about America
32:16 Has the war fuelled Iranian nationalism?
37:01 Who will rule Iran next?
40:28 Is Mojtaba Khamenei even alive?

About the guest
Kylie Moore-Gilbert is a Melbourne-based academic in Middle East studies. She was held in an Iranian prison for 804 days, between 2018 and 2020, on unsubstantiated espionage charges. Her book about her ordeal is The Uncaged Sky: My 804 Days in an Iranian Prison.

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About the host
Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and News24 (formerly Sky News), where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

#Iran #RezaPahlavi #KylieMooreGilbert #TomSwitzer