CAIRO, Egypt -- Crown Prince Reza, fighting back tears, proclaimed himself shah of Iran today in a simple ceremony devoid of all royal pomp and called on Iranians to end the 'nightmare' Islamic regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
'I shed the tears which you must hide,' the son of the late Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi said in a 10-minute speech addressed to the Iranian people from Cairo's Kubbeh Palace.
Reza, who turned 20 today, enabling him to claim the vacant Peacock Throne based on the 1906 constitution, took the name Reza Shah II, fulfilling the deathbed wish of his father, who Reza said died with 'a broken heart.'
'It is imperative that all patriotic groups, inside and outside Iran, should now join forces in the common cause,' he said, without specifically mentioning Khomeini once in his speech.
Reza, a student at Cairo's American University, spoke from a Kubbeh palace office. A Koran was before him, and behind stood the imperial flag. On one side there was a small table bearing a framed color picture of his father signing a document.
Dressed in a business suit and wearing the Order of Pahlavi, Reza read the message observed only by two press photographers and two TV crews. The reporters said they could not tell which part of the speech caused the brief emotional reaction because he spoke in Farsi.
Unlike his father's gala coronation to mark the 2,500-year of the Persian dynasty, there was no throne, no crown and no crowds. At the speech's conclusion the Iranian national anthem was played from a tape recorder.
Referring to the Khomeini regime, Reza said, 'you may be confident that this nightmare, like others in our history, will pass' and hailed as 'martyrs' the Iranians executed by Khomeini's firing squads and killed in the fighting with Iraq.
'I share the pain and the sense of loss felt by those who are left to mourn. I share it in a very personal way as I mourn the death of my father,' he said.
Beginning the speech with the opening words of al-Fatiha, the Moslem equivalent of the Lord's Prayer, he said: 'In the name of God the compassionate and the merciful, and in accordance with the constitution of Iran and its amendments, I declare as from this day, October 31, 1980, my readiness to accept full responsibilities as the lawful king of Iran.
'I recognize that in the exceptional circumstances prevailing in my country, the swearing-win ceremony cannot be held until, by the will of the Almighty, conditions are so changed as to make it possible.'
Indicating his move was aimed at rallying Iranian opposition forces against Khomeini, Reza said, 'Now that destiny demands that I take up my new duties, I dedicate myself to a new and shining era in our history. I seek your support, and I am confident of your response.
'Long live Iran and may God protect its people.'
Reza's monarch father fled Iran in January l979, when opposition forces loyal to Khomeini were on the verge of taking over the country and putting him on trial for his life.
The deposed shah traveled the globe in search of a secure home and finally settled in Egypt last March when it became clear only President Anwar Sadat would guarantee his safety. He died in Cairo in July after suffering from cancer for many years.
