In contrast, homeland’s Aryan nationalism was deeply rooted in Persian history and became synonymous with an anti-Arab sentiment instead. Furthermore, the Achaemenid and Sasanian periods were perceived as the real Persia, a Persia which commanded the respect of the world and was void of foreign culture before the Arab invasions. Nahavandi was known to be close to Queen Farah Pahlavi, who shared his interest in education, culture, and social modernization.
His access to the royal family allowed him to influence policies in cultural and academic fields. Throughout his political life, Nahavandi was viewed as part of the technocratic elite—Western-educated, reform-minded, and loyal to the Shah’s vision of a modern, secular, and industrialized Iran. However, he also expressed concern about the widening gap between the ruling elite and the public, the growing corruption, and the need for political openness—issues that would later contribute to the 1979 Revolution.
