More than 1,000 people of Iranian descent gathered on the National Mall in Washington to voice support for the war and to call for the return of exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi. Waving Iranian and American flags, demonstrators chanted 'Long live the shah' and expressed hope that Pahlavi could guide Iran through a political transition following the recent killing of the country’s supreme leader in joint strikes by Israel and the United States.

Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last monarch who was overthrown in the 1979 revolution, has drawn renewed attention during recent anti-government protests in Iran, where chants in favor of his return were heard nationwide. Although he did not attend the rally because he was speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, his wife and daughter addressed the crowd.

Many attendees described the conflict as a necessary step toward ending the current leadership and establishing democracy. While some expressed full support for Pahlavi as a transitional leader, others said they backed him only for an interim period, emphasizing the need for free elections to allow Iranians to choose their future government.