Abdication and Exile
Reza Shah’s reign came to an abrupt end during World War II. Although Iran declared neutrality, the Allied powers—Britain and the Soviet Union—feared his growing ties with Germany and sought to secure supply routes to the Soviet Union. On 25 August 1941, Anglo-Soviet forces invaded and occupied Iran.
Under intense pressure, Reza Shah was forced to abdicate in favor of his eldest son, Mohammad Reza Shah. The British offered to preserve the monarchy on the condition that Reza Shah go into exile. He was first sent to Mauritius, where he lived under surveillance at Château Val Ory, and later relocated to South Africa.
Death and Burial
Reza Shah died in exile in Johannesburg on 26 July 1944 at the age of sixty-six, reportedly from a heart ailment. His final years were marked by isolation, declining health, and a simple lifestyle. After his death, his body was transported to Egypt, embalmed, and temporarily buried at the Al-Rifa’i Mosque in Cairo.
In 1950, his remains were returned to Iran and buried in a grand mausoleum in the town of Ray, near Tehran. The Iranian parliament posthumously bestowed upon him the title “Reza Shah the Great,” reflecting the high esteem in which he was held by the Pahlavi state.
Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the mausoleum was destroyed by revolutionary forces. Conflicting accounts persist regarding the fate of his remains. In 2018, a mummified body believed to be Reza Shah’s was discovered near the site of the former mausoleum, reigniting public debate about his legacy.
